Were the powers separated in Rome?
I previously very briefly introduced four concepts of differentiation — individual (prehistory), group-over-person (egalitarianism), person-over-group (chiefdom), and administrative (early state with an apex). We turn now, again briefly, to a fifth type of society that I tentatively refer to as one of ‘participatory differentiation’.
I will eventually compare two potentially archetypal manifestations of ‘participatory differentiation’ — ancient Athens and the Roman republic. Here I intend only to introduce a single question that is sometimes posed about the Roman republic — was there a ‘separation of powers’? The question allows me to (1) identify some problems that arise when applying the term ‘separation of powers’ in a premodern context, (2) discuss ‘power’ vis-a-vis ‘domination’ in order to determine a common factor that may be commensurable across all the ‘differentiations’ in society types, and (3) introduce the possibility of system analysis where interactive governance ‘powers…