Skip to main content

Search from vocabulary

Content language

Concept information

Preferred term

republic (government)  

Definition

  • The word republic is derived from the Latin res publica, meaning “the common thing” or “the public good.” Cicero, among other Latin writers, translated the Greek politeia into res publica, and, in 55 BCE, he wrote his famous political treatise De Re Publica. Although the term republic has been used in a variety of ways and historical contexts, we can distinguish two main meanings, “substantive” and “formal.” In the substantive sense, “republic” refers to a government in which the supreme power resides not in a monarch or a king but in a body of citizens entitled to vote. [Source: International Encyclopedia of Political Science; Republic]

Broader concept

Belongs to group

URI

https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/republic_(government)

Download this concept: