politics


  1. Politics in roman and greek world

  • Definition of politics  by Oakeshott: The activity of attending to the general arrangements of a set of people whom chance or choice has brought together.

  • Politics as a means of distribution: Politics distribution: the structure and process that determines who gets what

  • The ancient greek typology of gov: 

    • Rule by 1

    • Rule by few

    • Rule by many (or all)

    • Monarchy / tyranny

    • Aristocracy / oligarchy

    • Democracy / ochlocracy

  1. athenian Democracy: Institutions, Practices, Criticisms

  • Reforms of the arkon Cleisthenes (508/7 BCE):

    • Redivided all Athenians into 10 tribes determined by territory rather than birth

    • Divide Attica into 3 regions, a city region, a coastal region, and an interior region

      • Each region was subdivided into 10 parts called trittyes and that is further divided into 140 demes of varying sizes

  • Cleisthenes created very scattered voting blocs full of people from all over the region to facilitate nationalism, wanted ppl to feel tied to Athens as a whole not just their region

  • Council of 500: decided what issues the assembly will vote on 

  • Every year, each of the 10 tribes appoints 50 members to serve in the Council of 500

  • Ostracism: any Athenian citizen could be forced to leave Attica for a decade for any random reason whatsoever

  • Ostrakon: voting for any Athenian to be put into exile

    • 6k votes need to be cast and there needs to be a majority

  • Aristeides

  • Athenian assembly: elected military generals, passed laws

    • Reserved only to adult male citizens

    • Made decrees which were treated in principle as a decision on behalf of the entire Athenian population even though these assemblies were very exclusive (only 6k ppl)

    • Anyone could raise their hand and speak up at the assembly, though a only few did–this is who we would call politicians

  • If an assembly member advocated for a policy that backfires, they face the blame

  • Generals were elected bc stakes are so high

  • Most influential political figures in Athens were usually generals

    • Ex. Pericles (495-429 BCE): elected general every yr from 443 to 429

  • Universal hostility against democracy bc…

  1. A direct democracy is unequal and not egalitarian bc not all ppl are equally worthy. Greater education for example may make someone inherently better than someone who isn’t.

    1. Described by Plato as a disorder which dispenses a sort of “equality” to equal and unequal alike

  2. Too much legislation: Aristotle describes democracy as “the mass of the people is sovereign instead of the law,” meaning laws are getting passed and turned over too quickly resulting in instability

  3. Democracy is a disaster bc it allows the poor majority to rule over the wealthy minority. 

  • Overall, Athenian democracy is the definition of a pure, not a direct one. It also was exclusive towards slaves, women, and foreigners

  1.  Politics in the Roman Republic

  • Roman magistrates and officials:

  • Cursus honorum (sequence of offices)

  • Quaestor (age 30; 20 per yr)

  • Praetor (age 39; 8 per yr)

  • Consul (age 42; 2 per yr)

  • Aediles (4 per yr)

  • Tribunes of the Plebs (10 per yr)

  • Censor (5 yr term)

  • Main roman voting assemblies

  • Concilium Plebis

    • Legislation: election of Tribunes of Plebs

    • 35 tribes (hereditary): 4 urban + 31 rural

  • Comitia centuriata

    • Elections, some legislations

    • 193 wealth classes

  • Cicero (106-43): senator, consult, political figure who is a participant in political struggle, his agenda clearly influences his writings. He sought to balance of interest between diff groups in Rome

  • Political parties at rome:

    • Optimates = best men who favorited authority of senate, ancestral custom, right of private property

      • conservative

    • Populares = men of the people, demagogues, used as a term of reproach by Cicero

      •  supported land reform, property redistribution, and combatting debt and wealth inequality

  • Polybius on the power of the ppl: argues how the ppl can reject or accept laws, deliberate and decide on questions on peace and war, ratify treaties… shows how they have the greatest share of power in gov and thus the Roman constitution is a democracy

    • Nuanced take: more of a mixed constitution with other elements like aristocracy as well

  • Democracy of oligarchy?

  • Patronage : system of asymmetrical and reciprocal elationship between individuals of groups where the more powerful party provides the weaker party w  shelter, protection and food in exchange for votes

    • Undermines democracy

  • Patrons and clients 

  • Legislation

  • Concilium plebis

  • 35 tribes (4 urban and 31 rural)

    • Bias was in favor of urban inhabitants bc voting stations were only in the city of Rome, transcended one’s assignment to any tribe.

    • De facto: people who happened to be in Rome had greater voting power

  • Contio (pl. contiones): pre assembly forum to discuss the issue at hand, politicians can test if a measure is popular or not before actually proposing it

  • Lex gabinia (139) [secret ballot: elections]

  • Lex Papiria (131) [secret ballot: legislation]

  • Ppl voted in groups and most proposals got voted yes

  • Elections

  • 2 consuls

  • 8 praetors

  • 4 aediles

  • 10 tribunes of the plebs (elected in the concilium plebis)

  • 20 quaestors 

  • Comitia centuriata

  • Voting units: 193 “centuries”

  • The wealthy could not control elections

  • Key terms:

  • Commentariolum petitionis (“A Brief Guide to Electioneering”)

  • Quintus Tullius Cicero (brother of Marcus Tullius Cicero):