Constitutional republic
A constitutional republic is a form of government, where the head of state and other representatives are elected from a group of people. It also means that there is a constitution. The constitution says how the state may be run. The constitution limits the power of each officeholder. Constitutional republics usually have a separation of powers. This acts so that no single officeholder can get unlimited power. John Adams said that a constitutional republic was "a government of laws and not of people".[1]
A constitutional republic is an attempt to limit the dangers which result from a simple majority rule. The constitution limits the power of each officeholder, and protects rights of minorities from the "tyranny of the majority". In a constitutional republic, no officeholder can get to a position of absolute power.[2]
Aristole was the first to write about the idea, in his works On Politics.
Constitutional monarchies are a special case: Even though the monarch is not elected, the people still elect other governing bodies. The constitution also limiits the power of the monarch.
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This article "Constitutional republic" is from Simple English Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Constitutional republic.
