There is, but only in the sense that a democracy is a type of political system (where power is vested in the people either directly or via elected representatives) and a republic is a type of state (where the head of state is an elected official rather than a monarch or other hereditary role).
The two words aren’t interchangeable because they describe two different things. Here are a few examples of why they can’t be used interchangeably:
United States of America: Presidential republic, federal democracy.
Australia: Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy, federal democracy.
United Kingdom: Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy.
People’s Republic of China: Unitary one-party socialist state.
Republic of Korea: Presidential republic, unitary democracy.
Myanmar: Military junta.
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea: Totalitarian dictatorship.
I understand the technical difference. But conservatives usually deploy this argument as an excuse to ignore the will of voters or generally ignore votes that were cast for something they don’t like.
My point is that neither system functions without votes being cast, counted, and respected. Neither a democracy or a republic will stay as such if the will of the voters is consistently ignored or reversed.
Exactly, and they're never arguing in good faith from a principled position. If votes are going their way then democracy is working as intended. If they aren't it's time to remember we're a republic and democracy is bad, actually.
In my state we pass constitutional amendments via direct democracy (citizen petitions that bypass the legislature and are approved via simple majority). Conservatives hate it because voters keep approving progressive policies on the general ballot and their supermajority in the legislature can't just ignore the will of the people like normal.
United States of America: Presidential republic, federal democracy, functional oligarchy since at least 2009 (ie: right after the subprime crash)
Feel like this is really important to call out. America hasn't been a true representative democracy in a long time due to the Senate being a fixed and unequal body. By now, the House should also have 150+ more Representatives/Congresscritters.
Adding:
Russia: Mostly totalitarian, oligarchy has been on display since Putin was first elected.
I mean, sure, but that’s not what the morons who say this mean. The just get their knickers in a twist about the word “democratic” anything, because they’ve all been programmed to.
Dictatorships are a tad different. Unlike a monarchy, it is not by necessity handed down through family lineage. If Kim Jung Un believed one of his generals would be a better replacement, for example, no line of succession demands that his progeny be the next in line.
There is one government. That one government may devolve some of its power down to smaller regional local governments, but ultimately those are part of the one singular government.
Federal governments, on the other hand, are a federation of somewhat-independent smaller governments. The concept of "States' rights" in the USA only exists because the central government is ostensibly a combination of all the individual states coming together to share governance.
To expand upon that, the United States is functionally more like the European Union government than, say, the French government. Its powers are derived entirely from the treaty between the states that authorised its formation (the Constitution of the United States of America). For all intents and purposes, the states are the real countries.
There is, but only in the sense that a democracy is a type of political system (where power is vested in the people either directly or via elected representatives) and a republic is a type of state (where the head of state is an elected official rather than a monarch or other hereditary role).
I was with you until you used the word totalitarian. It's just a buzz word developed so US rightwingers can make their favorite rightwing dictators look better.
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u/MindlessRip5915 1d ago
There is, but only in the sense that a democracy is a type of political system (where power is vested in the people either directly or via elected representatives) and a republic is a type of state (where the head of state is an elected official rather than a monarch or other hereditary role).
The two words aren’t interchangeable because they describe two different things. Here are a few examples of why they can’t be used interchangeably: