Temma Kaplan - Democracy: A World History

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DEMOCRACY

A WORLD HISTORY

TEMMA KAPLAN

Democracy: A World History

The

New

Oxford

World

History

Democracy: A World History

Temma Kaplan

UNIVERSITY PRESS

UNIVERSITY PRESS

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide.

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© Oxford University Press 2015

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kaplan, Temma, 1942- Democracy : a world history / Temma Kaplan. pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index ISBN 978-0-19-517676-6 (hardback); 978-0-19-533808-9 (paperback) 1. Democracy—History. 2. World politics. I. Title. JC421.K365 2015 321.8—dc23 2014028716

1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper

Frontispiece: Women voting in Japan. Library of Congress, LC-DIG-ggbain-34126

Contents

Editors' Preface vii

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 Parting the Waters and Organizing the People 5

Chapter 2 Prophetic Movements and Cities of Promise 18

Chapter 3 Democracy against All Odds 31

Chapter 4 Which People Shall Rule? 46

Chapter 5 Social Revolution and Participatory

Democracy 62

Chapter 6 Civil Disobedience and Racial Justice 77

Chapter 7 Optimism and Outrage in Struggles for

Democracy 95

Chapter 8 New World Dawning 112

Chronology 127

Notes 129

Further Reading 139

Websites 143

Acknowledgments 145

Index 151

Editors' Preface

T

his book is part of the New Oxford World History, an inno­vative series that offers readers an informed, lively, and up-to- date history of the world and its people that represents a signifi cant change from the "old" world history. Only a few years ago, world history generally amounted to a history of the West—Europe and the United States—with small amounts of information from the rest of the world. Some versions of the "old" world history drew attention to every part of the world except Europe and the United States. Readers of that kind of world history could get the impression that somehow the rest of the world was made up of exotic people who had strange customs and spoke difficult languages. Still another kind of "old" world history pre­sented the story of areas or peoples of the world by focusing primarily on the achievements of great civilizations. One learned of great build­ings, influential world religions, and mighty rulers but little of ordi­nary people or more general economic and social patterns. Interactions among the world's peoples were often told from only one perspective.

This series tells world history differently. First, it is comprehensive, covering all countries and regions of the world and investigating the total human experience—even those of so-called peoples without his­tories living far from the great civilizations. "New" world historians thus share in common an interest in all of human history, even going back millions of years before there were written human records. A few "new" world histories even extend their focus to the entire universe, a "big history" perspective that dramatically shifts the beginning of the story back to the big bang. Some see the "new" global framework of world history today as viewing the world from the vantage point of the Moon, as one scholar put it. We agree. But we also want to take a closeup view, analyzing and reconstructing the significant experiences of all of humanity.

This is not to say that everything that has happened everywhere and in all time periods can be recovered or is worth knowing, but that there is much to be gained by considering both the separate and inter­related stories of different societies and cultures. Making these connec­tions is still another crucial ingredient of the "new" world history. It emphasizes connectedness and interactions of all kinds—cultural, eco­nomic, political, religious, and social—involving peoples, places, and processes. It makes comparisons and finds similarities. Emphasizing both the comparisons and interactions is critical to developing a global framework that can deepen and broaden historical understanding, whether the focus is on a specific country or region or on the whole world.

The rise of the new world history as a discipline comes at an oppor­tune time. The interest in world history in schools and among the gen­eral public is vast. We travel to one another's nations, converse and work with people around the world, and are changed by global events. War and peace affect populations worldwide as do economic condi­tions and the state of our environment, communications, and health and medicine. The New Oxford World History presents local histories in a global context and gives an overview of world events seen through the eyes of ordinary people. This combination of the local and the global