A republic is a form of
government in which the country is considered a
"public matter" (Latin: res publica), not the
private concern or property of the rulers, and
where offices of states are subsequently directly
or indirectly elected or appointed rather than
inherited. In modern times, a common simplified
definition of a republic is a government where
the head of state is not a monarch. In modern
republics such as the United States and India, the
executive is legitimized both by a constitution
and by popular suffrage. Montesquieu included
both democracies, where all the people have a
share in rule, and aristocracies or oligarchies,
where only some of the people rule, as
republican forms of government.