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86-417: The Government of Colombia is a republic with separation of powers into executive, judicial and legislative branches. Its legislature has a congress , its judiciary has a supreme court , and its executive branch has a president . The citizens of Colombia cast votes concerning their government, and they employ a public sector office for an inspector general to oversee the public interface of
172-416: A directorial republic , a council jointly exercises the powers and ceremonial roles of both the head of state and the head of government collectively. The council is elected by the parliament but is not subject to parliamentary confidence during its fixed term. The president is a member of the directorial council in a primus inter pares (first among equals) capacity and has no powers over other members of
258-425: A prime minister is the active head of the executive branch of government. In some cases, the prime minister is also the leader of the legislature , while in other cases the executive branch is clearly separated from legislature (although the entire cabinet or individual ministers must step down in the case of a vote of no confidence ). The head of state is a monarch who normally only exercises their powers with
344-547: A city-state should ideally be a republic, but maintained that a limited monarchy was better suited to a state with a larger territory. The American Revolution began as a rejection only of the authority of the British Parliament over the colonies, not of the monarchy. The failure of the British monarch to protect the colonies from what they considered the infringement of their rights to representative government ,
430-525: A commercial elite being republics. Italy was the most densely populated area of Europe, and also one with the weakest central government. Many of the towns thus gained considerable independence and adopted commune forms of government. Completely free of feudal control, the Italian city-states expanded, gaining control of the rural hinterland. The two most powerful were the Republic of Venice and its rival
516-572: A different model in the Middle East; it installed local monarchies in several colonies and mandates including Iraq , Jordan , Kuwait , Bahrain , Oman , Yemen and Libya . In subsequent decades revolutions and coups overthrew a number of monarchs and installed republics. Several monarchies remain, and the Middle East is the only part of the world where several large states are ruled by monarchs with almost complete political control. List of countries by system of government This
602-421: A general way to refer to any regime, or to refer specifically to governments which work for the public good. In medieval Northern Italy , a number of city states had commune or signoria based governments. In the late Middle Ages, writers such as Giovanni Villani described these states using terms such as libertas populi , a free people. The terminology changed in the 15th century as the renewed interest in
688-528: A largely apolitical, ceremonial role. In these systems, the head of government is usually called the prime minister, chancellor or premier. In mixed republican systems and directorial republican systems , the head of government also serves as head of state and is usually titled president. In some full parliamentary systems, the head of state is directly elected by voters. Under other classification systems, however, these systems may instead be classed as semi-presidential systems as presidents are always attached to
774-445: A mixture of the other forms, oligarchy and democracy . He argued that this was one of the ideal forms of government. Polybius expanded on many of these ideas, again focusing on the idea of mixed government and differentiated basic forms of government between "benign" monarchy , aristocracy , and democracy, and the "malignant" tyranny , oligarchy, and ochlocracy . The most important Roman work in this tradition
860-598: A number of small states embraced republican systems of government. These were generally small, but wealthy, trading states, like the Mediterranean maritime republics and the Hanseatic League , in which the merchant class had risen to prominence. Knud Haakonssen has noted that, by the Renaissance , Europe was divided with those states controlled by a landed elite being monarchies and those controlled by
946-449: A political party and may have broad powers (despite their weak presidency). Full parliamentary republican systems with presidents being purely ceremonial and neutral with no broad powers usually do not have a directly elected head of state and instead often use either an electoral college or a vote in the legislature to appoint the president. Non-UN members or observers are in italics. A combined head of state and head of government in
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#17327661850651032-665: A relatively strong federal republic to replace the relatively weak confederation under the first attempt at a national government with the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union ratified in 1781. The first ten amendments to the Constitution called the United States Bill of Rights , guaranteed certain natural rights fundamental to republican ideals that justified the Revolution. The French Revolution
1118-691: A republic, in which the people, rather than a monarch, are described as sovereign. The Israelite confederation of the era of the Judges before the United Monarchy has also been considered a type of republic. The system of government of the Igbo people in what is now Nigeria has been described as "direct and participatory democracy". Early republican institutions come from the independent gaṇasaṅgha s — gaṇa means 'tribe' and saṅgha means 'assembly'—which may have existed as early as
1204-530: A system of government which derives its power from the people rather than from another basis, such as heredity or divine right . While the philosophical terminology developed in classical Greece and Rome , as already noted by Aristotle there was already a long history of city states with a wide variety of constitutions, not only in Greece but also in the Middle East . After the classical period, during
1290-455: A wealthy merchant class developed in the important trading cities. Despite their wealth they had little power in the feudal system dominated by the rural land owners, and across Europe began to advocate for their own privileges and powers. The more centralized states, such as France and England, granted limited city charters. In the more loosely governed Holy Roman Empire , 51 of the largest towns became free imperial cities . While still under
1376-411: Is by law concentrated within one political party whose operations are largely fused with the government hierarchy (in contrast to states where a multi-party system formally exists, but this fusion is achieved anyway through election fraud or underdeveloped multi-party traditions ). Non-UN members or observers are in italics. A committee of the nation's military leaders controls the government for
1462-601: Is Cicero's De re publica . Over time, the classical republics became empires or were conquered by empires. Most of the Greek republics were annexed to the Macedonian Empire of Alexander . The Roman Republic expanded dramatically, conquering the other states of the Mediterranean that could be considered republics, such as Carthage . The Roman Republic itself then became the Roman Empire. The term republic
1548-441: Is a list of sovereign states by constitutionally-defined de jure system of government . This list does not measure the degree of democracy , political corruption , or state capacity of governments. These are systems in which the head of state is a constitutional monarch ; the existence of their office and their ability to exercise their authority is established and restrained by constitutional law . Systems in which
1634-415: Is debate about the extent to which classical, medieval, and modern republics form a historical continuum. J. G. A. Pocock has argued that a distinct republican tradition stretches from the classical world to the present. Other scholars disagree. Paul Rahe, for instance, argues that the classical republics had a form of government with few links to those in any modern country. The political philosophy of
1720-588: Is divided into two branches: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate consists of 114 members whereas the House of Representatives consists of 199 members. Despite being broken up into two branches, they must work together to make sure that they take control of their responsibilities. The judiciary of Colombia (Spanish: Rama Judicial de Colombia) is a branch of the State of Colombia that interprets and applies
1806-544: Is not commonly used to refer to pre-classical city-states, especially if outside Europe and the area which was under Graeco-Roman influence. However some early states outside Europe had governments that are sometimes today considered similar to republics. In the ancient Near East , a number of cities of the Eastern Mediterranean achieved collective rule. Republic city-states flourished in Phoenicia along
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#17327661850651892-468: Is reflected in the Arthashastra , an ancient handbook for monarchs on how to rule efficiently. It contains a chapter on how to deal with the saṅgha s , which includes injunctions on manipulating the noble leaders, yet it does not mention how to influence the mass of the citizens, indicating that the gaṇasaṅgha are more of an aristocratic republic, than democracy. The Icelandic Commonwealth
1978-411: Is the head of government , and is elected and remains in office independently of the legislature. There is generally no prime minister, although if one exists, in most cases they serve purely at the discretion of the president. Non-UN members or observers are in italics. The following countries have presidential systems where the post of prime minister (official title may vary) exists alongside that of
2064-753: Is to ensure governmental fiscal responsibility . An independent Ombudsman deals with maladministration complaints and functions. The executive branch of power in Colombia is headed by the President of the Republic. He is supported by the Vice President of Colombia, the Council of Ministers and Government entities of Colombia| Administrative Departments of Colombia. The government is in charge of creating and developing policies concerning Colombia, while
2150-402: Is ultimately supreme and any administrative divisions (sub-national units) exercise only the powers that the central government chooses to delegate. The majority of states in the world have a unitary system of government. Of the 193 UN member states , 126 are governed as centralized unitary states, and an additional 40 are regionalized unitary states. States in which most power is exercised by
2236-415: The 159 states that use the word republic in their official names as of 2017 , and other states formally constituted as republics, are states that narrowly constrain both the right of representation and the process of election. The term developed its modern meaning in reference to the constitution of the ancient Roman Republic , lasting from the overthrow of the kings in 509 BC to the establishment of
2322-636: The Empire in 27 BC. This constitution was characterized by a Senate composed of wealthy aristocrats wielding significant influence; several popular assemblies of all free citizens, possessing the power to elect magistrates from the populace and pass laws; and a series of magistracies with varying types of civil and political authority. Most often a republic is a single sovereign state , but there are also subnational state entities that are referred to as republics, or that have governments that are described as republican in nature. The term originates from
2408-517: The Fascist regime . These frustrations contributed to a revival of the Italian republican movement. King Umberto II was pressured to call the 1946 Italian institutional referendum to decide whether Italy should remain a monarchy or become a republic. The supporters of the republic chose the effigy of the Italia turrita , the national personification of Italy, as their unitary symbol to be used in
2494-703: The Greco-Turkish War (1919–22) , the monarchy was briefly replaced by the Second Hellenic Republic (1924–35). In 1931, the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic (1931–39) resulted in the Spanish Civil War leading to the establishment of a Francoist regime . The aftermath of World War II left Italy with a destroyed economy, a divided society, and anger against the monarchy for its endorsement of
2580-569: The Habsburgs tried to reassert control over the region both rural farmers and town merchants joined the rebellion. The Swiss were victorious, and the Swiss Confederacy was proclaimed, and Switzerland has retained a republican form of government to the present. Two Russian cities with a powerful merchant class— Novgorod and Pskov —also adopted republican forms of government in 12th and 13th centuries, respectively, which ended when
2666-476: The Latin phrase res publica ('public affair'), is a state in which political power rests with the public through their representatives —in contrast to a monarchy . Representation in a republic may or may not be freely elected by the general citizenry. In many historical republics, representation has been based on personal status and the role of elections has been limited. This remains true today; among
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2752-466: The Levantine coast starting from the 11th century BC. In ancient Phoenicia, the concept of Shophet was very similar to a Roman consul . Under Persian rule (539–332 BC), Phoenician city-states such as Tyre abolished the king system and adopted "a system of the suffetes (judges), who remained in power for short mandates of 6 years". Arwad has been cited as one of the earliest known examples of
2838-564: The Middle Ages , many free cities developed again, such as Venice . The modern type of republic itself is different from any type of state found in the classical world. Nevertheless, there are a number of states of the classical era that are today still called republics. This includes ancient Athens and the Roman Republic . While the structure and governance of these states was different from that of any modern republic, there
2924-457: The Republic of Genoa . Each were large trading ports, and further expanded by using naval power to control large parts of the Mediterranean. It was in Italy that an ideology advocating for republics first developed. Writers such as Bartholomew of Lucca , Brunetto Latini , Marsilius of Padua , and Leonardo Bruni saw the medieval city-states as heirs to the legacy of Greece and Rome. Across Europe
3010-539: The Roman Empire . The term politeia can be translated as form of government , polity , or regime , and it does not necessarily imply any specific type of regime as the modern word republic sometimes does. One of Plato 's major works on political philosophy, usually known in English as The Republic , was titled Politeia . However, apart from the title, modern translations are generally used. Aristotle
3096-551: The 6th century BC and persisted in some areas until the 4th century AD in India. The evidence for this is scattered, however, and no pure historical source exists for that period. Diodorus , a Greek historian who wrote two centuries after the time of Alexander the Great 's invasion of India (now Pakistan and northwest India) mentions, without offering any detail, that independent and democratic states existed in India. Modern scholars note
3182-510: The Creole elite had little interest in giving these groups power and broad-based popular sovereignty . Simón Bolívar , both the main instigator of the revolts and one of its most important theorists, was sympathetic to liberal ideals but felt that Latin America lacked the social cohesion for such a system to function and advocated autocracy as necessary. In Mexico, this autocracy briefly took
3268-471: The English word commonwealth came to be used as a translation of res publica , and its use in English was comparable to how the Romans used the term res publica . Notably, during The Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell the word commonwealth was the most common term to call the new monarchless state, but the word republic was also in common use. At the present time, the term republic commonly means
3354-559: The French liberal thinkers, and also in the history of the classical republics. John Adams had notably written a book on republics throughout history. In addition, the widely distributed and popularly read-aloud tract Common Sense , by Thomas Paine , succinctly and eloquently laid out the case for republican ideals and independence to the larger public. The Constitution of the United States , which went into effect in 1789, created
3440-463: The Latin translation of Greek word politeia . Cicero , among other Latin writers, translated politeia into Latin as res publica , and it was in turn translated by Renaissance scholars as republic (or similar terms in various European languages). The term can literally be translated as 'public matter'. It was used by Roman writers to refer to the state and government, even during the period of
3526-687: The Norwegian king Haakon IV for the Icelanders to rejoin the Norwegian "family", led the Icelandic chieftains to accept Haakon IV as king by the signing of the Gamli sáttmáli (" Old Covenant ") in 1262. This effectively brought the Commonwealth to an end. The Althing, however, is still Iceland's parliament, almost 800 years later. In Europe new republics appeared in the late Middle Ages when
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3612-735: The People combined American, European, and Chinese ideas. Under his leadership, the Republic of China was proclaimed on January 1, 1912. Republican ideas were spreading, especially in Asia. The United States began to have considerable influence in East Asia in the later part of the 19th century, with Protestant missionaries playing a central role. The liberal and republican writers of the West also exerted influence. These combined with native Confucian inspired political philosophy that had long argued that
3698-525: The Vajji Mahajanapada were the Licchavis. The Empire of Magadha included republican communities such as the community of Rajakumara. Villages had their own assemblies under their local chiefs called gramakas . Their administrations were divided into executive, judicial, and military functions. Scholars differ over how best to describe these governments, and the vague, sporadic quality of
3784-445: The central government. What local authorities do exist have few powers. States in which the central government has delegated some of its powers to regional authorities, but where constitutional authority ultimately remains entirely at a national level. States in which the national government shares power with regional governments with which it has legal or constitutional parity . The central government may or may not be (in theory)
3870-681: The city-states of Italy and the Hanseatic League, both were important trading centres, with a large merchant class prospering from the trade with the New World. Large parts of the population of both areas also embraced Calvinism. During the Dutch Revolt (beginning in 1566), the Dutch Republic emerged from rejection of Spanish Habsburg rule. However, the country did not adopt the republican form of government immediately: in
3956-425: The classical republics has influenced republican thought throughout the subsequent centuries. Philosophers and politicians advocating republics, such as Machiavelli , Montesquieu , Adams , and Madison , relied heavily on classical Greek and Roman sources which described various types of regimes. Aristotle 's Politics discusses various forms of government. One form Aristotle named politeia , which consisted of
4042-422: The consent of the government, the people and/or their representatives (except in emergencies, e.g. a constitutional crisis or a political deadlock). In a parliamentary republic , the head of government is selected or nominated by the legislature and is also accountable to it. The head of state is usually called a president and (in full parliamentary republics) is separate from the head of government, serving
4128-525: The country in themselves. In 1641 the English Civil War began. Spearheaded by the Puritans and funded by the merchants of London, the revolt was a success, and King Charles I was executed. In England James Harrington , Algernon Sidney , and John Milton became some of the first writers to argue for rejecting monarchy and embracing a republican form of government. The English Commonwealth
4214-513: The decisions of the assembly. Elected by the gaṇa , the chief apparently always belonged to a family of the noble class of Kshatriya Varna . The chief coordinated his activities with the assembly; in some states, he did so with a council of other nobles. The Licchavis had a primary governing body of 7,077 gaṇa mukhyas , the heads of the most important families. On the other hand, the Shakyas , Koliyas , Mallakas , and Licchavis , during
4300-434: The directory. The prime minister is the nation's active executive, but the monarch still has considerable political powers that can be used at their own discretion. Specifically, monarchies in which the monarch's exercise of power is unconstrained by any substantive constitutional law. The monarch acts as both head of state and head of government. Non UN members or observers are in italics. States in which political power
4386-572: The dominion of the Holy Roman Emperor most power was held locally and many adopted republican forms of government. The same rights to imperial immediacy were secured by the major trading cities of Switzerland. The towns and villages of alpine Switzerland had, courtesy of geography, also been largely excluded from central control. Unlike Italy and Germany, much of the rural area was thus not controlled by feudal barons, but by independent farmers who also used communal forms of government. When
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#17327661850654472-410: The duration of a state of emergency . Constitutional provisions for government are suspended in these states; constitutional forms of government are stated in parentheses. States that have a system of government that is in transition or turmoil. These regimes lack a constitutional basis. Non-UN members or observers are in italics. A state governed as a single power in which the central government
4558-478: The electoral campaign and on the referendum ballot on the institutional form of the State, in contrast to the Savoy coat of arms , which represented the monarchy. On June 2, 1946 the republican side won 54.3% of the vote and Italy officially became a republic, a day celebrated since as Festa della Repubblica . Italy has a written democratic constitution , resulting from the work of a Constituent Assembly formed by
4644-566: The end of the French First Republic and her Sister Republics , each replaced by " popular monarchies ". Throughout the Napoleonic period, the victors extinguished many of the oldest republics on the continent, including the Republic of Venice , the Republic of Genoa , and the Dutch Republic . They were eventually transformed into monarchies or absorbed into neighboring monarchies. Outside Europe, another group of republics
4730-399: The evidence allows for wide disagreements. Some emphasize the central role of the assemblies and thus tout them as democracies; other scholars focus on the upper-class domination of the leadership and possible control of the assembly and see an aristocracy . Despite the assembly's obvious power, it has not yet been established whether the composition and participation were truly popular. This
4816-668: The form of a monarchy in the First Mexican Empire . Due to the Peninsular War , the Portuguese court was relocated to Brazil in 1808. Brazil gained independence as a monarchy on September 7, 1822, and the Empire of Brazil lasted until 1889. In many other Latin American states various forms of autocratic republic existed until most were liberalized at the end of the 20th century. The French Second Republic
4902-401: The form of an executive president is either elected by the legislature or by the voters from among candidates nominated by the legislature (in the case of Kiribati), and they must maintain the confidence of the legislature to remain in office. In effect, "presidents" in this system function the same as prime ministers do in other parliamentary systems . In presidential systems a president
4988-612: The formal declaration of independence ( Act of Abjuration , 1581), the throne of king Philip was only declared vacant, and the Dutch magistrates asked the Duke of Anjou , queen Elizabeth of England and prince William of Orange , one after another, to replace Philip. It took until 1588 before the Estates (the Staten , the representative assembly at the time) decided to vest the sovereignty of
5074-487: The government . This safeguards the public, and guarantees the human rights spelled out in the Constitution of 1991 , which provides the framework for a welfare state and a unitary republic . Colombia has "control institutions" that mix government and public officials, who work alongside one another. For example, the public's inspector general works closely with the government's controller general , whose job it
5160-503: The governors of the Departments of Colombia are elected by popular vote to represent the president and the executive branch of government. Mayors are subordinated to the governors, who are the maximum representatives of the executive branch of government at a municipal level. Mayors are also elected in regional elections, along with the department governors. In 2015, Colombia's Congress limited presidency to single term, preventing
5246-646: The largest and most powerful of the medieval republics. John Calvin did not call for the abolition of monarchy, but he advanced the doctrine that the faithful had the duty to overthrow irreligious monarchs. Advocacy for republics appeared in the writings of the Huguenots during the French Wars of Religion . Calvinism played an important role in the republican revolts in England and the Netherlands. Like
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#17327661850655332-621: The laws of Colombia, to ensure equal justice under law, and to provide a mechanism for dispute resolution. The judiciary comprises a hierarchical system of courts presided over by judges, magistrates and other adjudicators. Colombia is a centralized state, thus there is only one jurisdiction (with the exception of special indigenous jurisdictions), which is functionally divided by subject matter into an ordinary, penal, administrative, disciplinary, constitutional and special jurisdictions (military, peace , and indigenous matters). Republic List of forms of government A republic , based on
5418-418: The legislature; and from the presidential system in that the cabinet, although named by the president, is responsible to the legislature, which may force the cabinet to resign through a motion of no confidence . In a premier-presidential system, the prime minister and cabinet are exclusively accountable to the legislature. Non-UN members or observers are in italics. In a president-parliamentary system,
5504-593: The limited and decentralized monarchies that had existed in most of the Middle Ages. It also saw a reaction against the total control of the monarch as a series of writers created the ideology known as liberalism . Most of these Enlightenment thinkers were far more interested in ideas of constitutional monarchy than in republics. The Cromwell regime had discredited republicanism, and most thinkers felt that republics ended in either anarchy or tyranny . Thus philosophers like Voltaire opposed absolutism while at
5590-571: The model it had for its earlier settler colonies of creating independent Commonwealth realms still linked under the same monarch. While most of the settler colonies and the smaller states in the Caribbean and the Pacific retained this system, it was rejected by the newly independent countries in Africa and Asia , which revised their constitutions and became republics instead. Britain followed
5676-487: The monarch's branding of those requesting redress as traitors, and his support for sending combat troops to demonstrate authority resulted in widespread perception of the British monarchy as tyrannical . With the United States Declaration of Independence the leaders of the revolt firmly rejected the monarchy and embraced republicanism. The leaders of the revolution were well-versed in the writings of
5762-537: The only republics in Europe. This changed when, after the 1908 Lisbon Regicide , the 5 October 1910 revolution established the Portuguese Republic . In East Asia, China had seen considerable anti-Qing sentiment during the 19th century, and a number of protest movements developed calling for constitutional monarchy. The most important leader of these efforts was Sun Yat-sen , whose Three Principles of
5848-463: The period around Gautama Buddha , had the assembly open to all men, rich and poor. Early republics or gaṇasaṅgha , such as Mallakas, centered in the city of Kusinagara , and the Vajjika (or Vṛjika) League, centered in the city of Vaishali , existed as early as the 6th century BC and persisted in some areas until the 4th century AD. The most famous clan amongst the ruling confederate clans of
5934-905: The populace had the right to reject unjust governments that had lost the Mandate of Heaven . During this period, two short-lived republics were proclaimed in East Asia; the Republic of Formosa and the First Philippine Republic . Republicanism expanded significantly in the aftermath of World War I when several of the largest European empires collapsed: the Russian Empire (1917), German Empire (1918), Austro-Hungarian Empire (1918), and Ottoman Empire (1922) were all replaced by republics. New states gained independence during this turmoil, and many of these, such as Ireland , Poland , Finland and Czechoslovakia , chose republican forms of government. Following Greece's defeat in
6020-465: The president from seeking re-election. In Colombia, reelections are not allowed, but they are given the four full years. In those four years, the president is head of the state and head of the government. The president is also commander-in-chief of armed forces and supreme administrative authority. The legislative branch is the branch that makes laws. Representatives are elected by the people and support their thoughts in government. The legislative branch
6106-437: The president. The president is still both the head of state and government and the prime minister's role is mostly to assist the president. Non-UN members or observers are in italics. In a semi-presidential republic a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet , with the latter two being responsible to the legislature. It differs from a parliamentary system in that it has an executive president independent from
6192-418: The prime minister and cabinet are dually accountable to the president and the legislature. Non-UN members or observers are in italics. A combined head of state and head of government (usually titled president) is elected by the legislature but is not held accountable to it (as is their cabinet), thus acting more independently from the legislature. They may or may not also hold a seat in the legislature. In
6278-535: The representatives of all the anti-fascist forces that contributed to the defeat of Nazi and Fascist forces during the liberation of Italy . In the years following World War II , most of the remaining European colonies gained their independence, and most became republics. The two largest colonial powers were France and the United Kingdom. Republican France encouraged the establishment of republics in its former colonies. The United Kingdom attempted to follow
6364-609: The republics were conquered by Muscovy / Russia at the end of 15th – beginning of 16th century. Following the collapse of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum and establishment of the Turkish Anatolian Beyliks , the Ahiler merchant fraternities established a state centered on Ankara that is sometimes compared to the Italian mercantile republics. The dominant form of government for these early republics
6450-500: The same time being strongly pro-monarchy. Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Montesquieu praised republics, and looked on the city-states of Greece as a model. However, both also felt that a state like France, with 20 million people, would be impossible to govern as a republic. Rousseau admired the republican experiment in Corsica (1755–1769) and described his ideal political structure of small, self-governing communes. Montesquieu felt that
6536-806: The towns of the Holy Roman Empire. Similar revolts occurred in Italy, notably the Ciompi Revolt in Florence. While the classical writers had been the primary ideological source for the republics of Italy, in Northern Europe, the Protestant Reformation would be used as justification for establishing new republics. Most important was Calvinist theology, which developed in the Swiss Confederacy, one of
6622-536: The word democracy at the time of the 3rd century BC and later suffered from degradation and could mean any autonomous state, no matter how aristocratic in nature. Key characteristics of the gaṇa seem to include a gaṇa mukhya (chief), and a deliberative assembly. The assembly met regularly. It discussed all major state decisions. At least in some states, attendance was open to all free men. This body also had full financial, administrative, and judicial authority. Other officers, who rarely receive any mention, obeyed
6708-423: The writings of Ancient Rome caused writers to prefer classical terminology. To describe non-monarchical states, writers (most importantly, Leonardo Bruni ) adopted the Latin phrase res publica . While Bruni and Machiavelli used the term to describe the states of Northern Italy, which were not monarchies, the term res publica has a set of interrelated meanings in the original Latin. In subsequent centuries,
6794-541: Was also not republican at its outset. Only after the Flight to Varennes removed most of the remaining sympathy for the king was a republic declared and Louis XVI sent to the guillotine. The stunning success of France in the French Revolutionary Wars saw republics spread by force of arms across much of Europe as a series of client republics were set up across the continent. The rise of Napoleon saw
6880-475: Was apparently the first classical writer to state that the term politeia can be used to refer more specifically to one type of politeia , asserting in Book III of his Politics : "When the citizens at large govern for the public good, it is called by the name common to all governments ( to koinon onoma pasōn tōn politeiōn ), government ( politeia )". In later Latin works the term republic can also be used in
6966-484: Was control by a limited council of elite patricians . In those areas that held elections, property qualifications or guild membership limited both who could vote and who could run. In many states no direct elections were held and council members were hereditary or appointed by the existing council. This left the great majority of the population without political power, and riots and revolts by the lower classes were common. The late Middle Ages saw more than 200 such risings in
7052-534: Was created as the Napoleonic Wars allowed the states of Latin America to gain their independence. Liberal ideology had only a limited impact on these new republics. The main impetus was the local European-descended Creole population in conflict with the Peninsulares —governors sent from overseas. The majority of the population in most of Latin America was of either African or Amerindian descent, and
7138-576: Was created in 1848 but abolished by Napoleon III who proclaimed himself Emperor in 1852. The French Third Republic was established in 1870 when a civil revolutionary committee refused to accept Napoleon III's surrender during the Franco-Prussian War . Spain briefly became the First Spanish Republic in 1873–74, but the monarchy was soon restored. By the start of the 20th century France, Switzerland and San Marino remained
7224-456: Was established in 930 AD by refugees from Norway who had fled the unification of that country under King Harald Fairhair . The Commonwealth consisted of a number of clans run by chieftains, and the Althing was a combination of parliament and supreme court where disputes appealed from lower courts were settled, laws were decided, and decisions of national importance were taken. One such example
7310-440: Was short-lived, and the monarchy was soon restored. The Dutch Republic continued in name until 1795, but by the mid-18th century the stadtholder had become a de facto monarch. Calvinists were also some of the earliest settlers of the British and Dutch colonies of North America. Along with these initial republican revolts, early modern Europe also saw a great increase in monarchical power. The era of absolute monarchy replaced
7396-714: Was the Christianisation of Iceland in 1000, where the Althing decreed that all Icelanders must be baptized into Christianity, and forbade celebration of pagan rituals. Contrary to most states, the Icelandic Commonwealth had no official leader. In the early 13th century, the Age of the Sturlungs , the Commonwealth began to suffer from long conflicts between warring clans. This, combined with pressure from
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