• HighElfMage@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Technically, no. The Constitution says “the United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government,” but “republican” has historically been very loosely interpreted. Technically, China and North Korea are both republics.

      • HighElfMage@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Well part of the problem is that there isn’t total agreement on what a republic is. By some definitions it’s basically anything that isn’t a monarchy. Some medieval republics didn’t have elections and instead chose their officials by sortition, which is essentially a lottery. China and North Korea do have elections, but they’re total shams (and North Korea is basically a monarchy is a thin coat of republican paint, since by law they can’t have any leader that isn’t descended from Kim Il Sung).

    • AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      According to Putin, from the Russian republic, there’s no need to hold elections if you know what the likely result will be.