<P> Japan had moved towards democracy during the Taishō period during the 1920s, but it was under effective military rule in the years before and during World War II . The country adopted a new constitution during the postwar Allied occupation, with initial elections in 1946 . </P> <P> World War II also planted seeds of democracy outside Europe and Japan, as it weakened, with the exception of the USSR and the United States, all the old colonial powers while strengthening anticolonial sentiment worldwide . Many restive colonies / possessions were promised subsequent independence in exchange for their support for embattled colonial powers during the war . </P> <P> The aftermath of World War II also resulted in the United Nations' decision to partition the British Mandate into two states, one Jewish and one Arab . On 14 May 1948 the state of Israel declared independence and thus was born the first full democracy in the Middle East . Israel is a representative democracy with a parliamentary system and universal suffrage . </P> <P> India became a Democratic Republic in 1950 after achieving independence from Great Britain in 1947 . After holding its first national elections in 1952, India achieved the status of the world's largest liberal democracy with universal suffrage which it continues to hold today . Most of the former British and French colonies were independent by 1965 and at least initially democratic; those that were formerly part of the British Empire often adopted the Westminster parliamentary system . The process of decolonisation created much political upheaval in Africa and parts of Asia, with some countries experiencing often rapid changes to and from democratic and other forms of government . </P>

Who invented democracy and what does it mean