“Status Rei Publicae”: from the History of Concepts and Institutions

Abstract

In the Modern Times European political thought definitively adopted the term which goes back to the Latin “status” and translates in Russian as «государство». It signifies the institute of public authority present in one or another form to every people reached a determined stage of evolution. The history of the concept “state” by itself and the establishing of corresponding terminology, including that of different forms of rule, were often discussed and continues to be discussed in modern works on the history and politology. Controversial are the questions on the impact of preceding epochs on the conception of the state and on its definition in the Early Modern Times, in particular in Italian political thought at the beginning of 16th century; such questions will be dealt with in this contribution.