POLI 212 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Counter-Reformation, Protestant Reformation, French Revolution
17 May 2018
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POLI 212 - Lecture 2
01/12/2018
Topic 1: The Historical Stage: Is Democracy Europe’s Birthright? (cont.)
● The most radical alternative to old regimes
○ Of liberalism, nationalism, and republicanism, republicanism was the most radical
challenge of all
○ Liberalism did challenge old regimes
■ But liberals could live with monarchs so long as they were limited by
constitutions
○ Nationalism did challenge old regimes
■ Motivating principle is to locate popular sovereignty within the people
■ So long as the monarch was limited in appropriate ways that let popular
sovereignty rule, it was fine
○ Republicanism goes deeper
● Seven Points of Republican Challenge:
1. Republicans sought to do away with monarchs all together
a. They weren’t satisfied with introducing constitutional limits on monarchs
b. In more practical terms they were interested in a republican constitution in
which the head of state was elected
c. French revolution began as an attempt to limit powers of French monarch
2. Republicanism was anti-Catholic
a. Republicanism was a form of civil religion
i. Sought to introduce its own institutions
ii. Wanted to organize, penetrate, and become central to civil society
b. Catholicism was a form of legitimation for French monarchy
i. Republicanism wanted to separate church and state
ii. Finally successful in 1905 in France
c. Catholicism had its own deep roots in society
i. Had its own kinds of activities in social sphere
ii. For republicanism to be hegemonic it had to challenge the Catholic
church
d. Republicanism is thus especially radical in societies in which Catholicism
played a pivotal role
3. The Republican challenges more than the Liberal challenge
a. Liberals could live with a constitutional monarchy, republicans could not
b. Those countries with constitutional monarchs tend to be societies in which
the Protestant reformation took root or in which the Catholic counter-
reformation was unsuccessful
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Document Summary
Topic 1: the historical stage: is democracy europe"s birthright? (cont. ) The most radical alternative to old regimes. Of liberalism, nationalism, and republicanism, republicanism was the most radical challenge of all. But liberals could live with monarchs so long as they were limited by constitutions. Motivating principle is to locate popular sovereignty within the people. So long as the monarch was limited in appropriate ways that let popular sovereignty rule, it was fine. Sought to introduce its own institutions: wanted to organize, penetrate, and become central to civil society, catholicism was a form of legitimation for french monarchy, republicanism wanted to separate church and state. Finally successful in 1905 in france: catholicism had its own deep roots in society, had its own kinds of activities in social sphere. Fifth republic led by a figure that is similar to a monarch (de. Draws contrast between pre- and post-enlightenment europe.
