Perhaps the most important political change in the 20th century has been the widespread acceptance of democracy as the "normal" form of government to which any nation is entitled. There remains, however, an undercurrent of scepticism about prospects for democracy in the non-western world. That scepticism has received much encouragement from the recent events in Iraq. Critiques of the Iraq intervention often move from a justified censure of an ill thought-out and counterproductive military operation to a far less justified general scepticism of any notion of a democratic Iraq. Indeed, there is a widespread assumption that democracy is a peculiarly western norm, not in tune with foundational values elsewhere, such as in Arab countries. Underlying both the approaches, the militarist and the cynical, there is a basic misunderstanding about the nature of democracy.

Democracy is best seen as the opportunity of participatory reasoning and public decision making - as "government by discussion". Voting and balloting are, in this perspective, just part of a much larger story. The ancestry of democracy goes much beyond the strictly confined history of some narrowly designated practices. Tribute must, of course, be paid to the powerful role that modern western thinking, linked with European enlightenment, played in the development of liberal and democratic ideas. But the roots of these general ideas can be found in Asia and Africa as well as in Europe and America.