ABSTRACT
This chapter shows why every republican constitution is inherently inferior to democratic monarchy. Before turning to that comparison, however, it will be helpful to distinguish between two types of republican constitution: ‘congressional’, and ‘parliamentary’. Election guarantees both a head of state’s competence and commitment to parliamentary democracy. Also, a republican constitution makes provision for the removal of senile or otherwise dangerously incompetent or dangerously anti-democratic heads of state.’ The chapter assesses the faults and virtues of these two kinds of republican constitution and finds that the parliamentary form is inherently better than the congressional form. In contrast, the American interpretation requires that there be no overlap of personnel between the three branches (legislative, executive, and judicial). More importantly, it excludes any branch from acting on its own from selecting or replacing the people who hold offices in one of the other branches.
