Since ancient times, when societies were tribal, there were councils or a headman whose decisions were assessed by village elders. This is often referred to as tribalism. Some scholars argue that in ancient Mesopotamiathere

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The first parliamentary bodies involving representatives of the urban middle class were summoned in 12th century Spain. In 1187, the

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In the Kingdom of Great Britain, the monarch, in theory, chaired cabinet and chose ministers. In practice, King George I's inability to speak English led the responsibility for chairing

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France swung between different styles of presidential, semi-presidential and parliamentary systems of government; parliamentary systems under Louis XVIII, Charles X,

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Nineteenth century urbanisation, industrial revolution and, modernism fueled the political left's struggle for democracy and parliamentarism. Democracy and parliamentarism became

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• Democratisation § Historical cases
• History of democracy
• List of democracy and elections-related topics

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• History of Parliament

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