A Political Study On The Roman Republic

Analyzing the thoughts on the regime, citizenship and freedom during the Roman republic, the thesis tries to elaborate the influence of the Roman republic, inheriting the Greek political thoughts, on the central values of classic republicanism of the West. There are two clues in the thesis: one is to analyze the construction of the Roman republic and republic system, and to discuss the thoughts on the regime, citizenship and freedom of the Roman republic with the Roman characteristics; the other is to compare the Greek thoughts with the Roman's, and to discuss the development and change of the thoughts on the Roman republicanism.The thesis consists of seven parts: the first chapter is the introduction, in which the main idea and origins of the thesis is explained and the study and document concerned is introduced. The last section of the part is about the writing ways and structure of the thesis.The main body of the thesis consists of five chapters except the introduction and the conclude.The second chapter is about the construction of the Roman republic system, including four sections. The first section explains the concepts of the Roman republic and Roman republic system, and defines the origins and nature of them; the second section elaborates the construction basis of the Roman republic system; the third section tells the development process of the Roman republic system; the last section analyses the inner contradictions and characteristics of the system.The third chapter discusses the thought on the regime of the Roman republic, including three sections. The first section sets out the Greek thought on the republic system before the Roman republic, mainly including the thoughts in the early period of Greece, the Plato's an Aristotle's thoughts; the second section discusses the development of the thought on the republic system of the Roman republic, especially analyses that of Polybius and Cicero, then points out the differences of the thoughts between Greece and Rome; the third section elaborates the change of the republic system from the balance to the checks and balance, which means the transformation from static balance of the system to the dynamic checks and balance of the system.The forth chapter elaborates the thought on the citizenship of the Roman republic, including three sections. The first section discusses the standard of the citizenship of Greece and Rome, and analyses the different significance of the citizenship for the Greek and the Roman people; the second section elaborates the equality of Roman citizens and explains the implication of the equality on the basis of the extension of citizen group, citizen's requirement and affection of the Stoic; the third section elaborates the thought on the civic virtue of the Roman republic.The fifth chapter discusses the thought on the freedom of the Roman republic, including three sections. The first section analyses the meaning of freedom in the Roman republic; the second section discusses the mechanism of protecting freedom from the system and law of the republic; the third section elaborates the relationship between freedom and democracy and sets out the thought of limited democracy in Rome.The sixth part elaborates the influence of Rome on the republican tradition, including two sections. The first section sets out the rediscovery and re-study of the Roman republic in the Renaissance and the influence of the republic on the political thoughts in that era; the second section elaborates the influence of political thought of the Roman republic on the republicanism.