Origins of Athenian democracy — reforms?
Clisthène's reforms introduced tribes and selection by lot.
Citizen participation mechanisms — examples?
Voting, speaking, holding magistracies, and debating in assemblies.
Role of rhetoric — importance?
Central to debates, persuasion, and democratic expression.
Excluded groups in Athens — who?
Women, metics, and slaves.
Philosophical reflections — key idea?
Enlightenment emphasized liberty, equality, and popular sovereignty.
French early 19th-century suffrage — system?
Limited to property-owning elites (censitaire).
Suffrage expansion — mid-19th-century France?
Broadened to universal male suffrage, asserting popular sovereignty.
Second French Empire — regime type?
Authoritarian, with electoral manipulation and limited freedoms.
Third Republic — social tensions?
Class conflicts, secularism debates, and social unrest.
US democracy — development?
Federal system, separation of powers, and expanding white male suffrage.
Tocqueville’s analysis — danger?
Majority tyranny and subtle despotism threaten liberty.
Latin American crises — causes?
Cold War geopolitics and US influence.
Clisthène’s reforms — key?
Created tribes, introduced selection by lot, opened magistracies.
Citizen participation in Athens — who?
All male citizens over 20, active in assemblies and courts.
Rhetoric — function?
Persuasion, debate, and democratic accountability.
Women in Athens — social status?
Legally minors, domestic roles, religious festival participants.
Metics — social status?
Foreign residents, excluded from political rights, but could own property.
Slaves — role?
Essential workers in agriculture, industry, and households.
Democratic ideals — 18th-century view?
Liberty, equality, and sovereignty of the people.
French regimes — suffrage?
Property-based, limited to elites; expanded gradually.
Napoléon III — regime?
Authoritarian with electoral façade, repression, and limited liberties.
Third Republic — social tensions?
Class conflicts, secularism debates, social unrest.
US checks and balances — purpose?
Prevent concentration of power and protect freedoms.
Tocqueville’s warning — major risk?
Majority tyranny and democratic despotism.
Test your knowledge with 12 questions on Foundations of Democratic Societies.
1. How would Clisthène's reform of selecting Boule members by lot from each tribe be applied to ensure equal political participation in Athens?
2. What are the key characteristics of public offices in Athenian direct democracy that ensured broad citizen participation?
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