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Modern republics
A republic is a form of government (and a
state so governed) where a monarch is not the
head of state. The word is derived from the Latin res publica, or "public affair", and suggests an ownership and control of the state by the population
at large. The concept of democracy, however, is not implicit to that of a
republic. The republican form of government may involve a limited democracy, where such rights are available only to a limited
group of people. In some cases, a republic may be a dictatorial or totalitarian state. The term is also broad enough to include representative democracies.
The use of a republic goes back at least as far as ancient Akkad. The best known
ancient republic was the Roman Republic, which lasted from 509 BC until 44 BC. In the Roman Republic, the
principles of annuality (holding office for a term of only one year) and collegiality (holding office with at least two men at the same time) were usually observed.
In modern times, the head of state of a republic is usually formed by only one person, the president, but there are some exceptions such as Switzerland,
which has a seven-member council as its head of state, called the Bundesrat, and San Marino, where the
position of head of state is shared by two people.
There is certainly nothing that says that among monarchies and republics one
is necessarily more democratic than the other since the powers of the head of state (whether monarch or president) may be purely
ceremonial, (although an elected head of state within a democratic system is generally considered more democratic than a
monarchy). Monarchs generally reign for life, and when they die they are succeeded by a relative, either chosen by themselves or
determined according to set rules. The presidents of republics, by contrast, are generally elected for a limited term, and their
successors are chosen by the body that elected them. These days even non-democratic republics generally claim to be democratic,
though the outcome of the election may be assured, and still maintain the ritual of regularly electing their head of state; and
frequently in these states heads of states have left office voluntarily (through resignation or retirement) or been forced out
(through constitutional means) by other members of the ruling elite. But there are still some exceptions -- each new Emperor of
the Holy Roman Empire, for instance, was elected by the chief
princes of the empire, though over the centuries the custom developed of always electing successive members of a particular
family to that office. Perhaps the most significant exception among the forms of today's monarchies is the oligarchical form of
election used in the United Kingdom (described under Privy Council).
Republic in classic and renaissance texts
(main article: Classic definition of
republic)
Before roughly the 18th century, all known republics were also more or less democratic. This is why in older texts you will
often see republic being used interchangeably with democracy. In recent times there have been a large number of
not-so-democratic republics, and the definition of the word has become more constrained.
Examples
Currently there is a very large number of republics in the world. A republican form of government can be combined with many
different kinds of economy and democracy. Some examples for certain forms of republic are:
See also
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