James Harrington and Montesquieu

political representation in the Republic

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the possible convergences and disagreements between English and French republicanisms based on an analysis of the issue of “political representation” in the republic having as its theoretical axis the reflections promoted by two modern thinkers affiliated with republicanism: James Harrington and Montesquieu. Aiming to achieve this objective, the analysis will fundamentally consist of three moments: first, it aims to map the theme of “political representation” in Harrington’s thought; secondly, the aim is to identify the theme under the pen of Montesquieu and, thirdly, to raise an equivalence between the views of Harrington and Montesquieu regarding “politcal representantion”. Seeking to value the converging points and demarcate the theoretical distances between these thinkers, we will be carryng out and unprecedented analysis of the English and French republican matrices, and analysis that will enable us to understand the nature of these republicanisms.