Republicanism

Republicanism is a political ideology that encompasses a range of ideas from civic virtue, political participation, harms of corruption, positives of mixed constitution, rule of law, and others.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] Historically, it emphasizes the idea of self-governance and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or aristocracy to popular sovereignty. It has had different definitions and interpretations which vary significantly based on historical context and methodological approach.

Republicanism may also refer to the non-ideological scientific approach to politics and governance. As the republican thinker and second president of the United States John Adams stated in the introduction to his famous A Defense of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America,^[6] the "science of politics is the science of social happiness" and a republic is the form of government arrived at when the science of politics is appropriately applied to the creation of a rationally designed government.

Rather than being ideological, this approach focuses on applying a scientific methodology to the problems of governance through the rigorous study and application of past experience and experimentation in governance. This is the approach that may best be described to apply to republican thinkers such as Niccolò Machiavelli (as evident in his Discourses on Livy), John Adams, and James Madison.

The word "republic" derives from the Latin noun-phrase res publica (public thing), which referred to the system of government that emerged in the 6th century BCE following the expulsion of the kings from Rome by Lucius Junius Brutus and Collatinus.^[7]^[8]

This form of government in the Roman state collapsed in the latter part of the 1st century BCE, giving way to what was a monarchy in form, if not in name. Republics recurred subsequently, with, for example, Renaissance Florence or early modern Britain. The concept of a republic became a powerful force in Britain's North American colonies, where it contributed to the American Revolution. In Europe, it gained enormous influence through the French Revolution and through the First French Republic of 1792–1804.

^ Lovett, Frank (2022), "Republicanism", in Zalta, Edward N.; Nodelman, Uri (eds.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2022 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved 2024-01-21
^ Hammersley, Rachel (2020). Republicanism : an introduction. Cambridge, UK. ISBN 978-1-5095-1341-3. OCLC 1145090006.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ Sellers, Mortimer NS (2015). "Republicanism: Philosophical Aspects". International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences. 16 (32) (2nd ed.): 477–482. doi:10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.63076-3. ISBN 978-0080970875.
^ Dagger, Richard (2011). Klosko, George (ed.). "Republicanism". The Oxford Handbook of the History of Political Philosophy: 701–711. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199238804.003.0043.
^ Bellamy, Richard (2022). "Republicanism: Non-domination and the free state". Routledge international handbook of contemporary social and political theory (2nd ed.). London & New York: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781003111399-12. ISBN 978-1003111399. S2CID 242874484.
^ "The Works of John Adams, 10 vols". oll.libertyfund.org – Online Library of Liberty. Retrieved 2019-01-10.
^ Mortimer N. S. Sellers. American Republicanism: Roman Ideology in the United States Constitution. (New York University Press, 1994. p. 71.)
^ Fronda, Michael P. (2015). "Why Roman Republicanism? Its Emergence and Nature in Context". A companion to Greek democracy and the Roman republic. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell. pp. 44–64. doi:10.1002/9781118878347.ch3. ISBN 978-1118878347.

[1] Lovett, Frank (2022), "Republicanism", in Zalta, Edward N.; Nodelman, Uri (eds.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2022 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved 2024-01-21

[2] Hammersley, Rachel (2020). Republicanism : an introduction. Cambridge, UK. ISBN 978-1-5095-1341-3. OCLC 1145090006.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[3] Sellers, Mortimer NS (2015). "Republicanism: Philosophical Aspects". International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences. 16 (32) (2nd ed.): 477–482. doi:10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.63076-3. ISBN 978-0080970875.

[4] Dagger, Richard (2011). Klosko, George (ed.). "Republicanism". The Oxford Handbook of the History of Political Philosophy: 701–711. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199238804.003.0043.

[5] Bellamy, Richard (2022). "Republicanism: Non-domination and the free state". Routledge international handbook of contemporary social and political theory (2nd ed.). London & New York: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781003111399-12. ISBN 978-1003111399. S2CID 242874484.

[6] "The Works of John Adams, 10 vols". oll.libertyfund.org – Online Library of Liberty. Retrieved 2019-01-10.

[7] Mortimer N. S. Sellers. American Republicanism: Roman Ideology in the United States Constitution. (New York University Press, 1994. p. 71.)

[8] Fronda, Michael P. (2015). "Why Roman Republicanism? Its Emergence and Nature in Context". A companion to Greek democracy and the Roman republic. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell. pp. 44–64. doi:10.1002/9781118878347.ch3. ISBN 978-1118878347.

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