The History of the Word “Democracy” in France

Pierre Rosanvallon is director of studies at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris. This essay, which traces the history of the French word démocratie, originally appeared in the inaugural issue of La pensée politique, a semiannual review published by the Centre de Recherches Politiques Raymond Aron at EHESS. It was translated from the French by Philip J. Costopoulos.

Philip J. Costopoulos is executive editor of the Journal of Democracy.