The English first established this in the seventeenth century. The ancient Greeks made some efforts in this direction. Democracy was first established and partly debugged under conditions in which it was not universal. Thus the Magna Carta of 1215 established rights of barons relative to King John which neither party had any intention of extending to anyone else. Social Inadequacies Large scale ideological instabilities.
Local government works stably when it is in the framework of a national constitution.
This is because of its limited powers. If local governments were sovereign, e.g. could execute dissidents and forbid emigration, being local wouldn't help much. There have been very small tyrannies. At national levels there are greater instabilities. Governments can become militarist, tribal or racist, communist or fascist.