Demokratievorstellungen in der Frühen Neuzeit

Abstract

From the early 17th century, academic political theory in the German universities discussed at length the classical topic of democracy. The treatment of this issue shows two main characteristics. On the one hand democracy was judged in a quite negative way; on the other hand some authors presented it as a form of mixed constitution, which required a plurality of elements within the commonwealth. This interpretation changed during the course of the 17th century, as natural and international law developed into leading academic disciplines. Democracy was now understood as the original form of the sovereign state, and in the 18th century it was conceived as a historical phase that preceded the foundation of the state and which required a corresponding new field of knowledge.