Is republic equal to a representative democracy?
Let’s start with the definitions. The definition of a republic is quite simple – it just means “not a monarchy”. “Democracy” simply comes from the ancient Greek words for “people power” and it means any system in which people can vote. It’s perfectly possible to have a republic that is totally undemocratic. Look no further than the former Soviet Union. That was a republic as it had no king or queen but was most certainly not a democracy. OK they had elections but as there was only ever one choice to vote for they were pointless. In a Soviet election, voters simply picked up a ballot paper and put it straight into the ballot box without making a mark on it! It’s also perfectly possible to have a representative democracy that is not a republic. I should know – I’m British so I live in one. It would be perfectly possible to replace the Queen with an elected or appointed president, and it would make very little practical difference to us. We’d still have exactly the same democratic governm
