Original scientific paper
FORMS OF POWER IN THE RENAISSANCE: UNIQUENESS OF THE DUBROVNIK MODEL
Damir Grubiša
; Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The author looks into the forms of political power in the Renaissance, and
the typology thereof as provided by Niccolo Machiavelli in The Prince and
in Discourses on Livy. The article aims to examine whether there is a differentia
specifica distinguishing the Dubrovnik form of political order from
similar forms of political power in Renaissance times. Republican forms of
political power are analysed here, and the author stresses the existence of
forms situated along the transition line from republic to principate, i.e. monarchy,
and vice versa. An expos of presuppositions of Machiavelli’s initial
analysis of comparative political orders is followed by a comparative analysis
of the Florentine republican model of government, the Venetian form of
political power, and, finally, the Dubrovnik model of political order. Although
each model had distinctive features, they were similar inasmuch as each preserved
the common idea of civil republicanism (repubblicanesimo civile), and
then shaped its political order in accordance with the interests of the main
social and political forces in the country, i.e. in its territory. For instance, the
Florentine republicanism developed into a so-called “democratic republicanism”
(here the term democracy means exclusively that which Machiavelli refers
to as governo dei molti – the government of many). Although such forms
of wider participation of citizens in decision-making satisfied most citizens of
Florence, the system was unstable, because it was subject to internal conflicts
between fractions and parties, and to external pressures. The Venetian system
of aristocratic republicanism was much more stable, but its social base was
narrower and, ultimately, prior to its downfall, it transformed into a self-contained
police system. The Dubrovnik model of political order was also a form
of aristocratic republicanism, but its uniqueness lies in the fact that, unlike
Venice or Genoa, it limited the authority and prerogatives of the state ruler,
in this case the rector, who guaranteed the stability and non-corruption of the
system. The inclusion of commoners through confraternities [bratovština] in
the city’s public affairs made it possible to expand the social basis of such
an order. These two characteristics also make the Dubrovnik political model
unique.
Keywords
Machiavelli; civil republicanism; Florentine “democratic” republicanism; Venetian aristocratic republicanism; Dubrovnik Republic; rector
Hrčak ID:
55125
URI
Publication date:
12.4.2010.
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