In the modern world, the republican form of government is perhaps the most popular in the state structure of the countries of the globe. But what exactly is she? What are the types of republics? Let's try to figure it out.
Views of the republics: an excursion into history
The term itself comes from the Latin words res (business) and publica (general). That is
literally, it means a common (public) cause. In ancient Greece and Rome, at a certain stage of their existence, such a form of government existed. Actually, even then it became clear in practice that the republican concept can have different forms, designed into specific types of republics. So, in the Greek policies there was its democratic version. This meant that all full-fledged citizens of the policy (men who have reached maturity and have lived on its territory since birth) have the right to vote at public meetings (ekklesia), where issues of particular importance were decided and a governing body was elected - the council of archons.
In the Roman state, there was the so-called aristocratic republic, in whichonly aristocrats (patricians) ruled. After the fall of ancient civilization and the formation of barbarian kingdoms, this form of power did not leave the stage of history at all, although it was far removed from the feudal, and later - absolute
monarchy.
Different types of republics existed in Venice, Genoa, some German lands. In Novgorod Russia, the boyars, who entered into an agreement with the princes, had significant levers of power. Zaporizhzhya Sich is also often called the Cossack Republic. However, a truly full-fledged revival of the republican form of government occurred after the Renaissance.
Modern ideas were formed under the influence of the ideas of prominent enlighteners: Locke, Rousseau, Hobbes. An important place here was occupied by the idea of the so-called social contract, which expressed the idea that once upon a time people voluntarily renounced some of their rights in favor of state power. However, this entailed the obligation of the state itself to the people and the right of the latter to revolt if the power exceeds the legal limits. The 19th and 20th centuries were the time of the fall of monarchical regimes and the establishment of a democratic system - first in European countries, and then around the world.
Modern republic: concept, signs, types
In the modern world, such a device assumes the following fundamental properties:
- The principle of separation of powers implies the creation of several branches of government (independent of each other and with differentpowers). This principle is needed
- Obligatory regular election of the highest authorities: the president and parliament (in some cases, the president can be elected indirectly, through parliament).
- The supremacy of the Constitution in the legal system of the state. Legal responsibility before the law of the authorities.
as an additional measure of protection against possible usurpation of power by one person or a group of like-minded people. Most often, three branches are distinguished: legislative (parliament), executive (president and cabinet) and judicial (actually, the system of courts), but in some countries there are additional ones (supervisory, examination, and so on).
Republics can be parliamentary and presidential, depending on the balance of powers between these institutions. For example, the United States is a classic presidential one, where the initiative to form a government belongs to the head of state. Various types of presidential republic are represented in many countries of Latin America and Africa. In Italy (and almost everywhere in Europe), on the contrary, the president himself is elected by the parliament, which means that the latter has more leverage.
