Republican
From Free net encyclopedia
Republican; pertaining to a republic
Overview
The term has come in practice to refer to a constitutional system without a hereditary element; a system under which sovereignty resides in the people of the country, as opposed to a person or a small group.
It has also come to describe a number of different organizations, principles, or political movements, and/or the persons supporting these.
However, at its most basic, a republican form of government is one in which several states retain some degree of autonomy or independence from the central governing authority in the conduct of its sovereign authority, and does not necessarily correlate with the concept of democracy, as suggested by current convention. Historically, several republics have in fact been associations between monarchies. The Venetian Republic was an oligarchy in which the chief executive (Doge) held office for life. The Icelandic Commonwealth that was founded by the first settlers in the 10th century was also very different from any modern system.
Republics can range from the extremes represented by the original Articles of Confederation for the United States of America (USA) and the Confederate States Constitution (Confederate States of America) to the relationship between the states of the USA and the Federal Government under the current United States Constitution. See also federation and especially European Union.
It may also refer to
- Campaigners advocating the abolition of a monarchy, for example, the Australian Republican Movement and the British republican movement (see Republicanism).
- Political parties (see Republican Party and Republican People's Party), in particular the Republican Party (United States).
- A willingness to remain within the existing constitutional system while advancing democracy, as with the Democratic-Republican Party in the early USA. The exact nature of the new republic was unclear in the early days and was settled in favour of the Democratic-Republican view.
- A demand for complete Irish independence, as distinct from Home Rule. Later, a willingness to use armed force to detatch Northern Ireland from the UK. It is part of the official name of Fianna Fáil the Republican Party. But it would be associated more with Sinn Féin, though the heritage is disputed. See Irish Republicanism for more details.
- A person, event, or institution of the ancient Roman Republic.
- An activist, event or institution of (and/or resulting from) the French Revolution.
- Supporters of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War.
- Adherents of any other kind of republicanism and/or of political ideals of republics.
- The Republican River of Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas, USA, named for the Republican Party (United States).
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