Study On Guizot’s Theory Of Representative Government And Its Legal Implications

Guizot is a French statesman in the first half of the nineteenth Century who wasan important part of the famous political groups " Doctrinaires ". At the beginning ofthe nineteenth Century, France suffered a period which both old and new constitutionand ideology had an intense conflict. The Restoration of the dynasty of France shouldsuture the social rift caused by the Revolution, but political turmoil has become thetheme of era. In order to seek to resolution to eliminate this dilemma, Guizot resortedto history." The History of The Original of Representative Government in Europe "was a product of this change，which originally was lectures on history from Guizotbetween1820-1822， finally edited and published in1851. This paper attempts tocomb the content of the book and to analyses Guizot’s unique theory of representativegovernment and its legal implications.The full text can be divided into six parts. The first part is the introduction,which mainly is the summary of the article, reviews of relevant research at home andabroad, explains the main content and the main purpose of writing. The second part isa detailed background of Guizot. The political unrest during the period of theRestoration and the activities of Doctrinaires let Guizot to think more in-depth on theestablishment of a stable order, liberty and prosperity of the constitution. It is in theargument with the radical left which Guizot found the historical way to justify hissovereign power theory. Based on the political model of British and comparison andreflection of the French Revolution, Guizot thinks representative governmentconforms to the historical trend of the constitution. The third part mainly analyzes theconnection between the concept of "civilization" and the theory of RepresentativeGovernment. Outlined and refined in the works of history and, Guizot’s concept of"civilization" is intended to express a pluralistic, competitive historical and socialcondition. This pluralistic and competitive concept also appeared in his analysis of thehistorical evolution of representative government, such social condition wasconsidered by Guizot as the prerequisite of social progress. The fourth part putsforward and analyzes Guizot unique theory of representative government. Guizot usedthe concept of “sovereign power”to expound his unique theory of representativegovernment. This theory is based on the concept of "civilization" and the representative for the production of its form. Through the relevant content of cardingin the text, we can start from representative this clue, a better understanding of thepolitical and social transformation of Guizot ’s response. The fifth part is on Guizotlegal viewpoint. Guizot’s " dominion " concept emphasizes that the basic principles ofrule is rational, truth and justice. The law was regarded as the important way toimplement this principle. The sixth part is the conclusion. Has the unique significanceof Guizot in the special historical circumstances of the stick, let us also change on thepolitical concept and legal thought has a more profound understanding of.