Flashcard: Foundations of Democratic Societies — 24 carte

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.