"Checks and balances are our only security" — John Adams
I recently found this very interesting article, published in 2018, on Sparta and the mixed constitution (*). Dr. David provides a detailed analysis of the Spartan constitution through the eyes of Plato, Aristotle and Polybios. He calls Plato "the founding father" of the mixed-constitution theory:
The mixed constitution was part of the effort to avoid extremes and sedition, and Sparta became his cherised model. Plato raises an etiological question: why was Sparta the only among those states to have succeeded in maintaining political stability for centuries? The answer is categorical: owing to the limitation of power [...] Plato's diachronic account focused on a system of checks and balances and a successful attempt to prevent a dangerous concentration of power.
Dr. David also discusses the superb paper published in 2010 by Mogens Herman Hansen, widely cited in this blog, on checks and balances, the separation of powers, and mixed government [see]. More and more scholars are advocating a 'rehabilitation' of the mixed government. Some of them, like Mr. David himself and Paul Rahe, are (rightly) focusing on Sparta as the starting point of the analysis. Great news!
(*) Ephraim David: "Sparta and the Mixed Constitution", in Renata Tatomi (ed). East-West Dialogue. Individual and Society Through Ages. Bucharest: Hyperion University of Bucharest, 2018. Sparta in Contrapesos: 1, 2, 3.
The mixed constitution was part of the effort to avoid extremes and sedition, and Sparta became his cherised model. Plato raises an etiological question: why was Sparta the only among those states to have succeeded in maintaining political stability for centuries? The answer is categorical: owing to the limitation of power [...] Plato's diachronic account focused on a system of checks and balances and a successful attempt to prevent a dangerous concentration of power.
Dr. David also discusses the superb paper published in 2010 by Mogens Herman Hansen, widely cited in this blog, on checks and balances, the separation of powers, and mixed government [see]. More and more scholars are advocating a 'rehabilitation' of the mixed government. Some of them, like Mr. David himself and Paul Rahe, are (rightly) focusing on Sparta as the starting point of the analysis. Great news!
(*) Ephraim David: "Sparta and the Mixed Constitution", in Renata Tatomi (ed). East-West Dialogue. Individual and Society Through Ages. Bucharest: Hyperion University of Bucharest, 2018. Sparta in Contrapesos: 1, 2, 3.
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