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 defines how the state may be run. The constitution limits the power of each officeholder. Constitutional republics usually have a separation of powers. This ensures that no single officeholder can gain unlimited power. John Adams said that a constitutional republic was "a government of laws and not of people".[1]
A constitutional republic attempts to limit the dangers resulting from simple majority rule. The constitution limits the power of each officeholder and protects the rights of minorities from the "tyranny of the majority". In a constitutional republic, no officeholder can achieve a position of absolute power.[2]
Aristotle 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 limits the power of the monarch.
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Related pages
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.
