Information provided by David Lawrence, a serious Republican Remembrancer and Educator. Much thanks very useful material links to purpose of this Blogs Republican Week and Republican Soap Box Nation, any of you ''Republicans'' going to turn up. I will but not early as I have to go and do some other stuff out West first but you can get on with out me, as politically my Socialist Republicanism is sorted with the Great Unrest 2012. Next year you should consider a full on Republican Summer School Weekend with trips to local Republican Interest sites as at Abergwuan and Garreg Wasted.
A discussion of Democracy which I find interesting because it debates the Republican and Religious criticisms of the faults of this form of government and introduces Machiavelli's advocacy of it as a form of Republican government -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/
This one debates Republicanism in England prior to the Civil War and Commonwealth, but I think that it leaves out a lot ( and the trial of Charles 1st sort of follows naturally ? )
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/
The Norman Yoke was a popular Republican / Democratic idea ( linked to the ideas around Magna Carta ) invoked by radicals to justify themselves from the 17th century onwards -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/
Radicals would also cite Tacitus to invoke the idea of how Rome was destroyed by the tyranny of emperors over the senators trying to preserve the rule of law ( i.e. The Republic )
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/
After the fall of the Roman Empire in the west knowledge of Republicanism survived in the Byzantine Empire ( and when that fell manuscripts found their way to Machiavelli's Italy )
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/
Machiavelli's contribution to modern thought helped to give birth to the Enlightenment that in the 18th century finally welded Democracy to Republicanism ( even in Scotland )
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/
It is important to remember that the Enlightenment was about scientific authority challenging that based on religious or political authority, which led to revolutions of all sorts -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/
Of course revolutions are full of hope but are mostly disappointing ( especially when the law and order proposed by Republicanism is subverted by Democrats )
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/
Of course violence was in general use by those who felt that reasonable behaviour was not required of them ( e.g. that politics should be rational and just )
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/
As the Spanish and Portugeuse empires failed the question arose as to what kinds of state would replace them : republics based on autocracy ? beurocracy ? ( Nationality ? )
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/
But are all of these ideas now irrelevant politically, is this all story-telling to comfort ourselves with a sense of order and possibility ? ( Is history relevant to our problems at all ? )
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/
