The Cradle of Democracy. Origin and Erosion of Political Participation in Europe

History has traditionally been written from the perspective of rulers, the victors of inevitable power struggles.
Only in Europe could certain groups of ordinary people, from the Middle Ages onward, influence political policies at the level of principalities. The institutions established for this purpose operated very differently, were not accessible to everyone, and often became corrupt.
From the 19^th century onward, nation-states justified the existence of elected parliaments by pointing to their ancient predecessors.
Only now do we truly understand how political participation developed across Europe and how it functioned in practice.