Did the roman republic have a democrotic government?

Answer 1

The Roman Republic had democratic elements, but was not a democracy. The most powerful political body was the senate, which was unelected and represented the interests of the aristocracy. There were five officers who performed executive functions independently within the remit of their offices. There was not a centralised executive. These officers were elected and their term of office was one year, except for the censors, whose term was 18 months. The three senior officers were elected by the Assembly of the Soldiers whose voting system was heavily biased in favour of the rich. The two junior officers were elected by the Assembly of the soldiers, which had a more democratic system of voting.

Answer 2

The Greeks described Rome as a 'mixed constitution.' By this they meant that it did not fit into any particular political system and that combined a variety of features. In the early republic it was ruled by a circle of ex magistrates. Iteration, the election of the same people to the office of the consulship for several times, was common. This was due to the need to draw from experienced officials as Rome was frequently under attack by neighboring peoples in the early to mid 5th century. The situation stabilised in the second half of that century but resumed after the Gallic sack of 390 BC. Iteration reached its peak with the Samminte Wars (343-290 BC).

With the expansion of Rome into Italy, the (unelected) senate became the central decision-making body as it was equipped to deal with the complexities of expansion. Rome also became an oligarchy ruled by a patrician and (rich) plebeian nobility and the consulship was shared more widely from among the members of that elite. A law ruled that consuls could not be re-elected for 10 years. This was designed to eliminate iteration.

Rome had two assemblies, one elected the higher officers of state and acted as appeal court for treason and capital punishment cases, but its voting system was heavily weighted in favour of the rich. The other one was nominally more egalitarian but it elected the lower officers of state (it also hard all other appeal cases). Therefore, there was a democratic element, but it was very limited and did not amount to power by the people which is what the Greeks meant by democracy. A plebeian council was created by the plebeians during their first rebellion. It was supposed to represent the interests and grievances of the poor, which to some extent it did. However, it was used by rich plebeians as an instrument for them to gain access to state positions and to power and to become part of the mentioned nobility.

In short, Roman society was too complex to fit neatly into any category

Answer 3

The Roman Republic had democratic elements, but was not a true democracy. It was an oligarchy. The most powerful political body was the senate, which was unelected and represented the interests of the patricians (the aristocracy). The Republic was essentially an oligarchy run by the patricians and the equites (equestrians, the rich entrepreneurial group). The officers of state were from these two social groups and defended the interests of these two groups. When their privileges were challenged, they could react with violence.

There was an element of democracy in Rome in that the officers of state were elected annually (apart from the censors whose office was 18 months). The Assembly of the Tribes (where all citizens voted) elected the junior ones (the aediles and the quaestors). The Assembly of the Soldiers elected the senior ones (consuls, praetors and censors) and also voted on bills. The Assembly of the Soldiers was only a very partially democratic body as the landless poor were excluded, its voting system was stacked in favour of the rich whose votes counted more who voted first and the small peasants often did not have a chance to vote. The fact that this system was accepted shows that the Romans did not really have a democratic mind and that they accepted power differences within the social hierarchy.

The plebeians (the commoners established the leaders, the plebeian tribunes, and their assembly, the Plebeian Council, during a rebellion. It elected the tribunes and voted on bills. These laws were original binding on the plebeians. Later they were made binding on the whole people, including the patricians. In the Late Republic the Gracchi brothers, plebeian tribunes who passed a law to redistribute land to the poor and agitated for their implementation, were suppressed with violence. Later, this tribunate was coveted by people who coveted it for their own political career and advantage, rather than for the benefit of the people.

Answer 4

Yes, because the people were allowed to vote. However the voting system was very different from modern democratic systems, as the Romans used "block votes" as opposed to individual votes.