A democratic republic is a form of government operating on principles adopted from a

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

and a

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

. As a cross between two similar systems, democratic republics may function on principles shared by both republics and democracies. While not all democracies are republics ( constitutional monarchies, for instance, are not) and not all republics are democracies, common definitions of the terms ''democracy'' and ''republic'' often feature overlapping concerns, suggesting that many democracies function as republics, and many republics operate on democratic principles, as shown by these definitions from the ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...

'': * ''Republic'': "A state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch." * ''Democracy'': "A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives." Eugene Volokh of the UCLA School of Law observes that the United States exemplifies the varied nature of a constitutional republica country where some decisions (often local) are made by direct democratic processes, while others (often federal) are made by democratically elected representatives. As with many large systems, US governance is incompletely described by any single term. It also employs the concept, for instance, of a constitutional republic in which a court system is involved in matters of jurisprudence. As with other democracies, not all people in a democratic republic are necessarily citizens, and not all citizens are necessarily entitled to vote.

Suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

is commonly restricted by criteria such as voting age, and sometimes by

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "''félonie''") to describe an offense that r ...

or imprisonment status.

History

Historically, some inconsistency around the term is frequent. Prior to the American Revolution in what is now the United States—and before the coming of age of the "crowned republics" of constitutional monarchies in the United Kingdom and other European countries—''democracy'' and ''republic'' were "used more or less interchangeably", and the concepts associated with representative democracy and hence with a democratic republic are suggested by John Adams (writing in 1784): "No determinations are carried, it is true, in a simple or representative democracy, but by consent of the majority or their representatives." The

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

(

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

) claims to be the oldest of Asia's democratic republics, though its recent history of democratic process is largely linked only to Taiwan. Likewise, Africa's oldest democratic republic,

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

(formed in 1822), has had its political stability rocked by periodic violence and coups.

Global use of the term

Starting in the 20th century after World War II, many countries used the term "democratic republic" in their official names—most of which were Marxist–Leninist, or socialist, one-party states—that did not allow political opposition, free press or other democratic norms and institutions. These include states no longer in existence or who have changed their governmental systems and official names (almost all Marxist–Leninist): the German Democratic Republic (

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

), the Somali Democratic Republic, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam ( North Vietnam), the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen ( South Yemen), the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, and the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.The Republic of India declares itself a "Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic " in the Preamble to its Constitution. As of October 2024, states which use the term "Democratic Republic" in their official names include many that do not hold free elections and have been rated as "undemocratic" or "unfree" by organizations that gave such ratings.

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

, Laos,

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan do not hold free elections and are rated as undemocratic " hybrid regimes" or " authoritarian regimes" by The Economist Democracy Index. In addition, there are a few countries which use the term "Democratic Republic" in the name and have a good record of holding free or relatively free general elections and were rated "flawed democracy" or "full democracy" in the Democracy Index, such as the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste ( East Timor), the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, and the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

References

{{Reflist Organizational theory

Types of republics

History

Global use of the term

See also

References