POLYBE ET MONTESQUIEU : aspects d’une réflexion sur le pouvoir

Abstract

In the Considérations sur les causes de la grandeur des Romains et de leur décadence, Montesquieu refers, among other sources, to Polybius. Starting from the Roman example, both authors carry out a larger reflection, intended for the statesmen, on the nature of power and the conditions for its conquest and maintenance. While bringing out the many specific strengths that enabled Rome to prevail, they also point out that any government casting aside its core principles is naturally doomed to collapse. Although unavoidable, this corruption can be evaluated and anticipated by means of the very logic of the process, and can even be postponed through a balance of the political powers.