ABSTRACT
This chapter confronts the claim that democracy is culturally or structurally limited to the Western world. While acknowledging that modern democracy first emerged in Europe and its settler colonies, the chapter makes clear that this historical fact has been wrongly transformed into a claim of cultural exclusivity. Drawing on evidence from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, the chapter shows that democracies have emerged and endured under diverse cultural, economic, and institutional conditions. The chapter critically reassesses arguments emphasising Western values, strong states, or wealth as prerequisites for democracy, demonstrating that none of these factors are necessary conditions. The chapter also highlights how colonialism and Cold War geopolitics actively suppressed democratic development outside the West for much of the 20th century. Rather than postponing democracy until conditions are ripe, the chapter argues that democratic practice itself fosters the norms and capacities needed for long-term stability. Democracy is not Western by nature, but universal in its adaptability.
