What is the difference between a democratic republic and a non-democratic republic? (general, Greek)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
According to Wiki, "In modern times the definition of a republic is also commonly limited to a government which excludes a monarch." Irrespective of whether the power to rule extends all the way down to the citizenry. Most countries that are still monarchies (Norway, Canada, Spain, etc.) are de-facto republics, as the administration of the state is in the hands of elected representatives of the people who serve at the pleasure of a king who doesn't really have much to say about the matter, and would be immediately deposed if he pretended to have any authority in matters of state.
In order for a country to not be a de-facto republic, absolute power would need to be in the hands of a person who had either a hereditary or a theocratic accession to his title. I'm not sure there are any of those, except the Vatican. Even some of those, like Mauritania, call themselves "Islamic Republic", which is a clear oxymoron that goes unchallenged among docile and polite diplomats. The rest of the world just calls them what they say they want to be called, partly in French (the paradoxical "Republic of Côte d'Ivoire") if requested. (Even the USA has neither the gall nor the power to force everyone to cease and desist from calling it "l'Etats Unis" or "Chủng Quốc Hoa Kỳ" in their own language.)
In the case of a Democratic Republic, they almost invariably come about when somebody tells the president "you are not democratic" and he says "Yes I am, and I'll rename the republic to prove it".
The People's Republic of China
The Union Of Soviet Socialist Republics
Der Deutsche Demokratische Republik (East Germany)
The Islamic Republic of Iran
The Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Rule of thumb - Any "Republic" in which that word is preceded by a qualifying adjective is pretty certain to be non-democratic, ie its ruler is really an absolute monarch under another name.
I agree with the above statement. They are both words which represented common themes. The first one is traceable to Greek-> Latin->French->English, the second one is traceable Latin->French->English.
As a practical matter, most countries that are assembled from smaller states with a central government are called republics, while democracy refers to the amount of power given to the vote.
"Republic" isn't a scientific term with a fixed meaning, and it has referred to different political structures over time. In the broad sense a republic is just a form of government where there is some type of governing power held by the public itself, rather than just a single monarch or dictator.
That may coincide with elections (a democratic republic) but it does not necessarily do so.
For example, imagine a country made up of smaller city-states. The head-of-state of the entire country is chosen from each city-state on a rotating basis, with a fixed-length term. The choice of candidate is determined by each city-state itself, maybe subject to veto by the leaders of the other city-states. So perhaps one city-state's candidate is chosen by a conclave of well-regarded city elders who get together Vatican-style until the white smoke rises from their chimney.
That would be a republic, but not a democratic republic, since public elections are not involved.
Best answer, and the only one that truly answers the question.
What is the difference between a democratic republic and a non-democratic republic? Thanks
USA vs China
Both are Republics
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.