Republicanism is one possible
ideology of governing a society or state as a
republic. The key point is that the people hold
popular sovereignty, rather than the people being subjects of a monarch. Many countries are republics, but this article covers only those that adhere to the ideology of
republicanism. Republicanism emerged as an identifiable theme in the
Roman Republic, where the founders of the Republic—
Lucius Junius Brutus and
Collatinus—denounced the former
Roman Kingdom, and had the Roman people declare a solemn oath to never allow monarchy to return.