ABSTRACT
It was during the Republican period (509-27 BCE) that Rome’s transformation from city to empire took place. This process coincided with growing popular involvement in Roman politics. To what extent was early Roman hegemony an outcome of the political will of the people? In this article I discuss the issue of popular power in the mid-Republic (250-150 BCE), and the degree to which popular decision making may have played a role in the rise of early Roman hegemony. I begin by surveying the historiographical debate on popular power in the republic, highlighting two major views, one “oligarchic” and the other “democratic”. I then focus on historiographical accounts (Polybius and Livy) which offer an interesting (if complex) vantage point for reflecting on the existence of a popular political culture and its role in the context of early Roman expansionism.
Keywords:
Rome; Republic; popular power; politics; historiography