Republic

Republic

A republic is a system of government where people choose representatives through elections to make decisions in the public's interest. In contrast, a democracy might rely primarily on sortition (e.g. juries) to make decisions by a representative sample of the public while an autocracy concentrates power in very few hands. As of 2017, 159 of the world's 206 sovereign states use the word "republic" as part of their official names. Not all of these are republics in the sense of having elected governments, nor is the word "republic" used in the names of all states with elected governments. 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 the Empire in 27 BCE. 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 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.

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