Plebeian Republicanism: The End of Oligarchy or Aristocracy?

This article deals with plebeian republicanism, a relatively new current within the classical (civic) republican tradition. This current is characterized by a special attention to the works of Machiavelli who insisted on the productive character of conflicts between patricians and plebs in the Roman republic and hoped to institutionalize in a similar way the conflicts between the nobility and the people in the Florence of his days. Based on such an interpretation of Machiavelli the authors of plebeian republicanism propose to reestablish the institution of the tribunes of plebs, integrating it into the political systems of contemporary liberal democratic regimes, in order to thwart an oligarchization of power that plebeian republicanism sees as inexorable. Organs of such a tribunate could be established at a local, regional or federal level, or at the level of a nation state. They should rely on a wide network of people’s assemblies at a primary level, necessary for agenda-setting and deliberation. The article considers different versions of such proposed reforms and evaluates their consequences for Western political systems, as well as for Russia.