220103 History of Democracy in the 20th Century (K) (WiSe 2026/2027)

Democracy may not have won the Cold War, after all. With the global rise of (right-wing) populism, nationalism and authoritarianism, the idea and reality of (liberal) democracy are being tested in a way that few would have expected after the downfall of the Soviet-led communist regimes and the alleged end of the “age of extremes” in the late 20th century. As a consequence, the past and presence of democracy – in its many shades and forms – has not only become a dominant theme in current political debates but also a thriving field of schol-arly inquiry among historians as well as social and political scientists. Taking as its vantage point the turbulent history of German democracy in the 20th and early 21st century, the course will introduce students to current historical and conceptual scholarship on democratic ideas, systems and societies in a global and comparative perspective. We will pay particular attention to the conditions under which democratic forms of government rise, thrive, recede and fail. A second major focus will be on the cultural power the promise of democracy has generated in the past and continues to do so – in spite of its many contestations – in every part of the world to this day.

Bibliography

Tom Brooking, ed., A Cultural History of Democracy, vol. 5: Age of Empire (1800-1920) & vol. 6: Modern Age (1920-present) (2021).
Benjamin Isakhan/Stephen Stockwell, eds., The Edinburgh Companion to the History of De-mocracy (2012).
Paul Nolte, ed., Transatlantic Democracy in the Twentieth Century: Transfer and Transfor-mation (2016).
Roger Osborne, Of the People, by the People: A New History of Democracy (2011).
Jan-Werner Müller, Contesting Democracy: Political Ideas in Twentieth-Century Europe (2011).