9781422277706

They did not submit to a supreme authority. But the power of the citizen lasted only about two hundred years. It was lost in the cen- turies that followed in govern- ments where the individual was expected to be obedient to the state. But even as the state

Key Idea

Three major elements of a modern state are a system of centralized authority, the rule of law, and accountability.

maintained authority, new forms of government continued to develop. One of them was the republic, which first appeared in ancient Rome around 500 BCE . A republic was a representative form of government. Roman citizens elected public officials to represent them. Laws and rules made by ancient kings gave way to rules established by lawmaking bodies of men. Known as senates, parliaments , and assemblies, these groups helped establish the rule of law within their societies. The rule of law refers to well- defined and established public rules and written law. In modern times it is usually part of a written constitution —the document that creates a government and defines and limits its functions. Modern Governments Political scientist Francis Fukuyama has written that there are three political institutions essential to political order: the state (a centralized authority), the rule of law, and accountability (the idea of being subordinate to the will of the people). The first two institutions, he explains, developed in early civiliza-

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The Evolution of Government