Friend or foe? British receptions of Tocqueville's Democracy in America, 1835–1885.

Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America (1835, 1840) strongly influenced Western understandings of democracy. The dissemination and reception of Tocqueville's ideas had been studied in various countries, but not in Britain. While some scholars did notice the British influence on Tocqueville, few have asked the reverse question: how did he shape the British political lexicon, especially when it came to the issue of 'democracy'? Drawing on conceptual history and reception studies, this article examines the British uses and interpretations of Democracy in America in periodical reviews and parliamentary debates, with a few incursions into newspapers and monographs, from 1835 to 1885. I underline the dual nature of the British response to Tocqueville's work. Whereas in France and the USA, Tocqueville was identified as a liberal and read as such, in the British Isles, both conservatives and progressives tried to claim him as one of their own. The former argued that his book demonstrated the dangers of 'democracy', while for the latter it analysed both the challenges and benefits of the democratic age. Through this study of this double claiming of Tocqueville, I illustrate larger trends in the uses of 'democracy' and plea for an historical and reflexive understanding of current debates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]