About the Book: A concise yet sweeping history of democracy from its early roots in Syria‑Mesopotamia and the Indian subcontinent, through Athenian assembly democracy and the rise of representative government in the West, to today’s “monitory democracy” where constant scrutiny replaces periodic elections. Keane examines how democracy evolved, its triumphs and failures—and asks what its future might be in an age of populist strong‑men.