Democracy

Democracy is a form of government. The origin of the term is Greek, from the words demos (people) and kratos (rule). Although it is a very broad classification, democracy is generally understood to refer to representative, liberal democracy, in which the government is made up of representatives of the people, who are charged with the protection of liberties.

Although a number of societies have practiced some form of democracy, the concept as it is understood today was invented in ancient Athens, where citizens (not women or slaves) were allowed to vote in the Assembly which made the laws of the city-state.