Republic and Democracy

Jul 08, 2026

In Indivisible, we frequently refer to our democracy and the work we are doing to revitalize it. “Democracy” is a shorthand, of course, for a broad range of topics. Some of our readers and followers on social media have taken issue with our language, though. It’s time for us to clarify our terms and be more specific about what we mean. We live in an age where people redefine terms for their own purposes, and we need to be clear about our definitions for the sake of productive dialogue.

We commonly call the United States a democracy, and that’s true in a general sense. But technically, the United States of America is a federal constitutional republic. Here are some definitions from an online civics course at Arizona State University:

The Constitution creates the form of government we have in the United States, which is a constitutional and federal republic. A constitutional republic means that it is one in which, rather than directly governing, the people select some of their members to temporarily serve in political office; the constitutional part means that both the citizens and their governing officials are bound to follow the rules established in that Constitution. A federal republic is one in which a federal government is given only limited powers for limited purposes, while state governments retain most powers of government. The Constitution describes this division of power, establishing which specific powers have been given to the federal government, while reiterating that most remain with the state governments.

Merriam Webster Dictionary defines the term “republic” this way:

A form of government in which the power belongs to a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by the leaders and representatives elected by those citizens to govern according to law.

Another way to describe this is that a monarchy has a hereditary king or queen and a republic has an elected head of state. The United States is a republic because we have no kings. (The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy, but that’s a topic for another day.)

Our republic has a constitution which defines how our government is structured. Republics are based on the rule of law rather than the rule of one person, and the Constitution is the highest level of law. In order to prevent tyranny, constitutional republics normally employ separation of powers between branches of government, so that no one person, group, or institution holds too much power.

The United States is also a democracy. Democracy is defined this way:

Government by the people : rule of the majority.

A republic requires elections, which are a mechanism of democracy. The people elect representatives, and those representatives then form our government. Our republic requires democratic processes in order to function. Our nation is both a republic and a democracy.

Direct democracy, which has been a thing since Aristotle in ancient Greece, means laws are passed directly by popular vote. This is rarely used in modern nations because it is unwieldy in practice. The US Constitution establishes Congress with its representatives to address the details of governance on behalf of our citizens. Some US states pass laws through direct referendum (such as California). This is an example of direct democracy in practice.

Pure democracy has a fatal flaw: majority rule often leads to tyranny over the minority. The founders of our nation were deeply aware of this. Our Constitution, laws, and even the norms of our government institutions are designed to protect the rights of minority groups. The Senate filibuster rule is one example, which permits a minority of senators to stop legislation from passing. These structural adaptations in our republic are intended to protect freedom and rights for everyone, even for groups that do not currently hold power.

There is a tension between the principles of a republic and the principles of democracy. This tension is evident in US history. Conceptually, a republic does not specify who has the right to vote. Voting rights are established by the republic’s laws, perhaps even in its constitution. It’s possible to form a republic with a very limited group of voters. All that’s required is that the leader is elected by eligible voters. This is evident in US history in the fact that, at our founding, only white male citizens had the right to vote. This did not change in a substantial way until after the Civil War.

The principles of democracy imply that the pool of voters should be as large as possible. If democracy is government by the people, then ideally all of the people should participate. This leads to laws that represent the broadest possible will of the people.

One way to examine US history is through the tug-of-war between these two sets of principles. One party focuses on the structure of the republic, and one party focuses on broad participation by all citizens. Who has power and sovereignty? Who has the right to choose our leaders? It has always been a matter of emphasis. This perspective has shifted between our political parties over our history, but today the Republicans focus on the republic and Democrats focus on democracy.

For Republicans today, the idea of restricting voting rights to white, wealthy males makes sense conceptually and historically. After all, that’s how it was at the beginning of our national history. Minority groups are not required to participate in electing the leaders of our republic. The MAGA Republican party seeks to exclude anyone who disagrees with their ideology from participation in the governance of our republic. The broad inclusion inherent in democracy is de-emphasized and unnecessary to them. It is, in fact, an obstacle to their goals.

The Democratic party is focused today on wide inclusion in our political processes. Women, LGBTQ, and non-white communities are each a major focus for inclusion. The principle of broad participation in our democracy is paramount for the party.

This is admittedly an oversimplification, but my purpose is to highlight a critical difference between Republicans and Democrats today. The parties have different understandings and priorities about the structure of our government. These differences are deeply grounded in history as much as in anything else. This is one of the reasons why the parties are talking past each other today.

While we have this concept of a constitutional republic in mind, let’s consider a few other current trends that are affecting our nation.

A constitutional republic requires that everyone must follow the law, including the President and all other government leaders. No one can be above the law in a republic. Following the rule of law is foundational to the survival of a republic. When leaders ignore the law, the republic is lost, and the government turns into some sort of dictatorship. This happens quickly, as it is in the United States today. Our administration ignores court orders, violates the law, tramples on the civil rights of residents of the nation, and ignores foundational legal principles such as due process. This has become a consistent practice across our federal government, as well as in many state governments.

Corruption also destroys a republic. When leaders take illegal and immoral actions to enrich themselves and consolidate power, they attack the foundation of the constitution and the republic through lawless, self-dealing behavior. No government works effectively when the people inside of it decide to behave badly. The rule of law is lost, which is essential to a republic.

When leaders incite hatred, sow division, and invoke racism to enhance their power, the republic is set on a path to destruction. When leaders create a military force and deploy it against their own people, then those people cannot freely participate in civic and political life.

When leaders corrupt the election processes on which the republic depends, then the republic loses its ability to select good leaders and to hold bad leaders accountable. Republics require free and fair elections.

When leaders corrupt the courts with justices who conform to the leader’s ideological agenda rather than promoting true justice for all, then the republic is lost. An independent judiciary is required to balance the power of the President as the Constitution requires. An independent legislative branch is required for the same reasons.

The point is this: what is happening today has destroyed our republic. It has destroyed our democracy, too. We could have exactly the same conversation in terms of our republic’s health that we have been having about the health of our democracy. It doesn’t matter how you look at it, what is going on is toxic for our government and our society. This is a fact that every American, whether Republican, Democrat, or Independent, should be able to agree on.

One final point: we are missing something in our public discourse by not speaking more clearly about this. If we only consider the United States as a democracy, then it’s possible to say that we are still safe because we are still having elections. But that’s not the whole picture. Russia and China have elections, too. Many of the threats we face today are threats to our constitutional republic, which requires us to speak in those terms.

For Fishers Resists and many others, democracy is the term that describes the opposite of authoritarianism. It describes government by the people, which in technical terms, is under a constitutional republic. All of us are invested in our republic, and in our democracy. All people who support our republic should oppose what is going on today in our country. This is not an issue of left or right, but an issue for our republican form of government.

By Phil

Fishers Resists

Discussion about this post

Ready for more?