Get complete information on the meaning of republican government

Republic (government) (Latin res public, literally “the public thing”), form of state based on the concept that sovereignty resides in the people, who delegate the power to rule in their behalf to elected representatives and officials. In practice, however, this concept has been variously stretched, distorted, and corrupted, making any precise definition of the term republic difficult. It is important, to begin with, to distinguish between a republic and a democracy.

In the theoretical republican state, where the government expresses the will of the people who have chosen it, republic and democracy may be identical (there are also democratic monarchies). Historical republics, however, have never conformed to a theoretical model, and beginning in the 20th century the term republic was freely used by dictatorships, one-party states, and democracies alike. Republic has, in fact, come to signify any form of state headed by a president or some similarly titled figure, and not a monarch. Republic form of government

A republican form of government is a type of government in which the citizens of a country have an active role in the affairs of the government, and the government is not headed by a hereditary ruler such as a king. This Definition leaves a lot of room for wiggle room, as you can see; many governments around the world are considered to be run along the lines of a republican form of government ranging from dictatorships to representative democracies.

Many people think that the republican form of government is a particularly strong and effective form of government. This type of government takes its name and inspiration from the Roman Republic, which actually involved the input of only a very small number of citizens. Many people in the West idealize Greek and Roman culture, so it is perhaps not surprising that the republican form of government has become so popular. Fans of this form of government argue that when well run, a republic truly represents the will of its people, and it can be easily changed if citizens desire changes.

There are lots of different types of republics. Some are governed by a constitution, for example, in which case they are known as constitutional republics; these governments are often headed by a President, and they may include branches of government which oversee legislation and judiciary matters.

Others are collectives of numerous states, as in the case of the United States, and these are known as federal republics. Parliamentary republics like the United Kingdom have a separate head of state and a head of government who share powers with each other and with a parliament, while Islamic republics are run in accordance with Islamic law.

The strength of the republican form of government relies on the people involved. In some countries, citizens are extremely active in their governments, working to reform things they dislike, participating in elections, and holding officials accountable for their actions. In other nations, people are not as active, either out of a lack of will or understanding or because the officials in the government keep them in a state of fear or confusion.

The “people’s republics” in some Asian countries are one example of this sort of republican government, which is in theory run for and by the people but is actually run by a small and elite group.

There are lots of ways to set up and administer a republican form of government. The important thing to remember is that such a government is not necessarily a democracy. Democracy as a concept is often integrated into republican forms of government which try to be fair to their citizens, but it is also possible to see abuses of power and a ruling class in a republican form of government.

Democracy and Republicanism

A Republican democracy is a republic which has democratic forms of government. One of the key principles is free and open debate prior to casting a vote. The United States of America is a Democratic Republic. A republic in the modem understanding is a nation or state where the people are sovereign. It is not a monarchy, where the king or queen is the head of state.

By this definition there are abundant examples of states that are republics but not democracies, and of states that are democracies but not republics. Another characterization of a republic is its emphasis on law and rule of the people through elected representatives. In this sense it refers to the notion representative democracy, as one meaning of republic is a system of restricted democracy.

Q9. Distinguish between monarchical absolute and dictatorial regimes and characteristic of arbitrary rule.

Ans. Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government where the king or queen has absolute power over all aspects of his/her subjects’ lives. Although some religious authorities may be able to discourage the monarch from some acts and the sovereign is expected to act according to custom, in an absolute monarchy there is no constitution or legal restriction on the monarch’s power.

As a theory of civics, absolute monarchy puts total trust in well-bred and well-trained monarchs raised for the role from birth. In theory, an absolute monarch has complete and total power over his or her people and land, including the aristocracy and sometimes the clergy. In practice, absolute monarchs have often found their power limited-generally by one or other of those groups.

Some monarchies have powerless or symbolic parliaments and other governmental bodies that the monarch can alter or dissolve at will. Despite effectively being absolute monarchies, they are technically constitutional monarchies due to the existence of a constitution and national canon of law.

Evils of Absolute Monarchy

The absolutistic nature of monarchy has much to its discredit. It has, on its side, only the past. No one advocates it, nor does anyone admire it. Its evils have overshadowed it merits. Because monarchy is hereditary in its character, it is, by that standard, ludicrous. The principle of heredity does not guarantee that a ruler would be good. History has thrown numerous monarchs who were eccentric and despotic. It is ridiculous to believe that great wisdom and good character will be passed from one generation to the other. Thomas Paine had very aptly said once: “A hereditary governor is as inconsistent as a hereditary author.”

The absoluteness, in a monarchical regime, of the ruler is a great evil. To be absolute in the exercise of power is natural for a person who is not accountable to anyone. Power corrupts such a person and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Tyrannical rule is next to absolute rule. Absolute monarchy thrives on discriminatory system where only sycophancy matters. Totalitarianism and absolutism go together.

The absolute system has to be totalitarian and a totalitarian regime has to be absolute. The monarchical system “is both absolute and totalitarian. The monarch has not only powers, which have no limitations, he has the authority which is not only total but complete as well. The monarch has all powers over his subjects: his command extends to the region he reigns as well as rules.

Absolute monarchy is undemocratic. It is fact, an inherently undemocratic concept. The monarch is neither elected by the people nor is he accountable to them. History shows that a monarch would govern a state in an autocratic manner and would wield vast powers, including powers over life and death. The idea of a ruling monarch is direct opposition to the idea of responsiveness, and accountability. It is the rule of irresponsibility and of a totalitarian regime with fascist tactics.

Though the idea of absolute monarchy no longer exists, yet absolute monarchy has been assailed, and assailed very severely. Its principle of heredity has been condemned and its autocratic rule, damned. All attempts to project monarchy as having only influence and 110 powers, as in modern times, have not earned much support. Monarchy has become a pre-modernistic idea; Indeed, a medieval one.

The transition from monarchy to republicanism in western societies has not been alike and always smooth. In Great Britain, the Britishers, without declaring themselves as republicans, became democratic by slashing the autocratic powers of the monarch through Magna Carta (1215). Petition of Rights (1628), and Bill of Rights (1689), and by democratisation of the House of Commons, introduction of local self-government acts, and so on.

Britain emerged as a democracy without being a republic gradually over a long period of a couple of centuries. In France, on the other hand, the transition to republicanism was through a revolution in 1789 by abolishing monarchy as an institution. In other European countries such as Germany and Italy (1840), for example, the transition to republicanism was due to intense growing nationalism while in Russia, monarchy was abolished through events like the first World War (1914- 1918) and the socialist revolution (1917).