In 2011, across the Arab worldThe part of the world in which Arab culture and the Arabic language are dominant. It is considered to stretch from Morocco in North Africa to Iraq in the Middle East., the people rose up and overthrew dictators who had been repressing them. They sought to establish democratic systems and the rule of lawThe idea that those who govern and the government itself must be subject to the same laws as everyone else..

By the end of 2012, almost every one of these nascentEmerging or coming into existence. democracies had been crushed. Only Tunisia remains democratic - and a new constitution being put to vote later this month could send it back into dictatorship.

Some think the world is following. In a speech to the United Nations General AssemblyThe General Assembly is the main deliberative body of the UN. All the world's states, and some non-state observers, are represented there., Prince Harry warned of a "global assault on democracy and freedom".

In the USA, the 6 January insurrection sparked fears for the future of democracy. The decision of the Supreme Court to abolish abortion rights without any democratic consultation seems confirmation of this.

In Europe, there are growing restrictions on individual rights.

Meanwhile, the global centre of gravity is shifting away from the democratic states and towards autocratic China. And there are signs China is beginning to undermine western democracies. Earlier this year, MI5 discovered that Chinese agent Christine LeeAn Anglo-Chinese solicitor who was given awards for her efforts in improving relations between Britain and China, until earlier this year, when it was revealed that she was working for the Chinese state. had been working to advance the careers of UK politicians considered friendly to Beijing.

It is no surprise that some think democracy is likely to be a casualty of the 21st Century.

The first democracies emerged in ancient Greece. They were different from what we would recognise today.

Most people could not vote: only men over a certain age who were not slaves. And they did not elect leaders to make their decisions for them. Instead, all voters would gather together and decide everything.

These democratic systems could often be chaotic. Sometimes the people made poor decisions. Democracy came to be synonymousIf two words are synonymous, they have the same meaning. with anarchyA situation in which there are no rulers. The term can be used to describe complete political chaos or mob rule, but those who call themselves anarchists generally believe in mutual aid and cooperation, not a war of all-against-all., and fell out of favour.

When thinkers tried to give power back to the people in the 18th Century, they called them "representative" systems, and sought to restrict the amount of power ordinary people held.

The idea that everyone should have a voice only emerged in the 19th Century, governments responded by expanding the franchiseWhen an individual or group is given the right to sell a company's products in return for a fee. Many McDonalds restaurants are franchises. . In most places, women were not allowed to vote until the 20th Century.

"Democracy" is a fragile idea, we should not assume that it will last forever.

Yes: Everyone wants to live in a society where they have rights, freedoms and a voice. Governments can only resist this pressure for so long. It is too soon to declare the end of democracy.

No: Democracy is a recent invention, one that has proved extremely fragile. With all the crises facing us, it would be easy for people to lose faith in democracy and seek an alternative.

Or... Arguably, we have never lived in an actual democracy. Everything is still run by and for a small elite. Our aim must be to create real democracy, not to preserve the system we have.