It is hard to be an optimist about democracy today. Indeed, many believe that democracy is in crisis, if not inevitable decline, and that "illiberal" democracies like Hungary or some form of authoritarianism, as exists in Russia or China, is the wave of the future. Sheri Berman, professor of political science at Barnard College, Columbia University, asserts that assessing the current state of democracy requires looking beyond our immediate situation and thinking carefully about how democracy has historically developed. By reviewing democracy's backstory, particularly in Europe, Berman will pull out some lessons to better understand what is going on in the world today.