List of republics

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This is a list of republics. For antiquity (or later in the case of societies that did not refer to modern terminology to qualify their form of government) the assessment of whether a state organisation is a republic is based on retrospective analysis by historians and political theorists. For more recent systems of government, worldwide organisations with a broad political acceptance (such as the United Nations), can provide information on whether or not a sovereign state is referred to as a republic.

List by period[edit]

Antiquity[edit]

State Dates of existence (BCE) Notes
Mahajanapadas[1] c. 7th/6th century – c. 345 Sixteen kingdoms or oligarchic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE, during the second urbanisation period.
Licchavikas[2][3] c. 7th/6th century – c. 468 The leading confederate tribe of the Vajjika League Mahajanapada; the city of Vesālī was the republic's capital.[2][3]
Vaidehas[2][4] c. 7th/6th century – c. 468 One of the confederate tribes of the Vajjika League Mahajanapada; the city of Mithilā was the republic's capital.[2][4]
Nāyas[2][5] c. 7th/6th century – c. 468 One of the confederate tribes of the Vajjika League Mahajanapada; the city of Kuṇḍagāma was the republic's capital.[2][5]
Mallakas[2][6] c. 7th/6th century – c. 468 One of the confederate tribes of the Vajjika League Mahajanapada; the Mallakas were divided into two republics with the cities of Kusinārā and Pāvā as their respective capitals.[2][6]
Sakyas[7] c. 7th/6th century – c. 5th century
Koliyas[8] c. 7th/6th century – c. 5th century
Moriyas[9] c. 7th/6th century – c. 5th century
Bulayas[10] c. 7th/6th century – c. 5th century
Bhaggas[11] c. 7th/6th century – c. 5th/4th century
Kālāmas[12] c. 7th/6th century – c. 5th/4th century
Roman Republic 509–27
Classical Athens 508–322 Various Greek city-states under Classical Athenian influence; these loyalties and governments changed frequently (see synoecisms), and in some instances were even under the influence of Sparta without succumbing to oligarchy.
Ancient Carthage 480–146 In 308 BC, an attempted coup to restore the monarch to full power failed, which led to Carthage retaining its republican government.[13]

Middle Ages[edit]

Maritime republics[edit]

A maritime republic was a thalassocratic city-state during the Middle Ages in which the merchant class had considerable power.

Free imperial cities[edit]

A free imperial city was a self-ruling city member of the Holy Roman Empire that was represented in the Imperial Diet.

Early modernity[edit]

Sister republics[edit]

A sister republic was a client state of France established by French armies or by local revolutionaries and assisted by the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars.

Modernity[edit]

19th century[edit]

Africa

North America

South America

Asia

Europe

Oceania

20th century[edit]

Africa

America

Asia

Europe

Oceania

21st century and later[edit]

List by type[edit]

In modern usage, a republican system of government is loosely applied to any state which claims this designation.[20] For example, the Dominican Republic under Rafael Trujillo is considered a republic, as is the Republic of Iraq under Saddam Hussein.

Arab republics[edit]

Confederal republics[edit]

Confederal republics are associations of sovereign states, usually having power over critical common issues such as defense and foreign policy:

Crowned republics[edit]

A crowned republic, is a form of constitutional monarchy where the monarch's role is commonly seen as largely ceremonial and where all the royal prerogatives are prescribed by custom and law in such a way that the monarch has limited discretion over governmental and constitutional issues.

Democratic republics[edit]

Main article: Democratic republic

Democratic republics are usually socialist states, although not all of them are necessarily socialist.

Federal republics[edit]

Main article: Federal republic

Federal republics are federal states in which the administrative divisions (states or provinces) theoretically retain a degree of autonomy which is constitutionally protected, and cannot be revoked unilaterally by the national government. Federal republics are not unitary states.

Islamic republics[edit]

Republics governed in accordance with Islamic law:

People's republics[edit]

Main article: People's republic

People's republics are said to be governed by the people. The name is most often (but not always) used by communist states.

Current people's republics[edit]

Former people's republics[edit]

Socialist republics[edit]

These are republics that use the word "socialist" in their official name.

Unitary republics[edit]

Unitary republics are unitary states which are governed constitutionally as one single unit, with a single constitutionally created legislature. Unitary states are not federations or confederations.

Republics of Russia[edit]

See also: Republics of Russia