| Article type | Research article |  |
| Year | 2026 | |
| Author(s) | Ter-Vardanyan A. | |
| Journal title | Vestnik of Russian-Armenian University (series: humanities and social sciences) | |
| Issue | 2 | |
| Pages | 139-173 | |
| Publication format | ||
| DOI | 10.24412/1829-0485-2026-2-139-173 |
ABSTRACT
The articles examine the attitudes of a number of prominent ancient thinkers toward democracy, from the perspective of their political preferences. In this regard, the aim is to analyze and identify, first and foremost, the characteristic features of their negative attitudes toward popular government. The aim of the paper is to examine and understand not the causes of such criticism, but rather the consequences - that is, the results of various attitudes toward democracy, based on their preferences for the best form of government. To achieve this goal, the opinions of ancient authors are systematically examined within the framework of a comparative historical analysis, identifying and clarifying the characteristic features of their critical attitudes toward democracy. The relevance of this study lies in the need for a more in-depth study and understanding of ancient ideas about democracy.
Keywords: form of government, extreme democracy, moderate democracy, majority rule, freedom, equality.
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