The best example of a country that used a direct democracy as a system of government was Ancient Athens. In the seventh century B.C.E., Athens was a typical aristocratic polis (an a

It is important to mention one of the most important occurrences in Greek history at this point, because it helped shape Greek democracy. This is the redistribution of farmland, or agrarian reform. This redistribution occurred over a period of time throughout Greek history in different city-states, however in Athens by the sixth century, there was already some type of agrarian reform. As the historian Hansen says “Like hundreds of other poleis, Athens was struggling towards the formal political recognition of a true class of yeomanry, who owned their own plots, and sought political representation equal to their success.” This step is crucial to the formation of a democracy, because most modern political theorists believe that “If horizontal networks of civic engagements help participants solve dilemmas of collective action, then the more horizontally ordered an organization, the more it should foster institutional success in the broader community.” (116). This means that representative and constitutional governments cannot develop, unless there is preexisting social and economic equality amongst the citizens. In the Ancient Greek world, agrarian reform provided the “horizontally ordered organization” or the socio-economic equality. This made the later development of democracy possible.

The Roman Republic was founded in 509 B.C.E., when the nobles overthrew the king. Two consuls were elected to serve for one year, and the Senate, originally consisting of 200 members, passed laws. In order to be elected to the Senate, a person had to be of the Patrician (upper) class. The consuls had an imperium, or absolute power of life and death, although this power was limited to while the consuls were leading an army. Within the borders of Rome, however, the citizens had the right to appeal all cases involving capital punishment to the popular assembly. In times of emergency, a single dictator who would have absolute control could be nominated, however this was limited to a maximum term of six months. As the government grew, more positions such as Censor, Praetor, Aedile, and others were added to the government. However, there were always between two and six officials elected to the position (the amount of officials depended on the position). The system was clearly designed to prevent rapid change, as historians Kagan et al say, “The many checks on consular action tended to prevent initiative, swift action, and change, but this was just what a conservative, traditional, aristocratic republic wanted.” In other words, the Roman Republic was a government of checks and balances. However, these were not checks and balances as in the American system of government, rather the Romans sought to balance power by appointing a person to a position of power, and installing another person with equal power in that same position.

The Roman Republic is one of the earliest examples of a republican system of government. Roman society was highly unequal and authoritarian for most of its early years. Described well by Finer the Roman Republic began “life under the rule of its king, who was advised by a Council of Elders, and where decisions on war and peace were voted in the Assembly of warriors. It evolved into a republic, where former royal functions and duties – religious, judicial, and military – were exercised by a number of separate magistracies, and the Council of Elders had become a Senate…” In fact, not much is known about Rome before the Republic, other than the fact that the common people were very subservient to the upper class, and rendered certain services to them in return for their protection,

Some topics in this essay:
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