Elections and electioneering in Rome

The book analyses the Roman electoral system under the late Republic and its impact on the Republican political system as a whole. The political system of the Republic is often described as narrowly oligarchic; all forms of popular participation had little real impact on how the Republic was run. Though this view has been challenged in recent years, the Republican electoral system is still widely regarded as controlled and manipulated by the narrow circle of Roman nobility (among other things, through patronage). This book offers a very different picture: a wide popular electorate, free to choose between upper-class candidates who fiercely competed for the votes of the populace and had to make great efforts in order to win popularity with the common people. Competitive popular elections influenced the whole balance of power between the common people and the elite. The book refers, by way of comparison, to modern electoral systems and their impact on the relations between the people and the social and political elite. „His book should be required reading for all historians of the Roman Republic“ Phoenix "Y.'s cogent and lucid presentation of a highly original interpretation, salted with many thought-provoking insights, may well be the most important and original contribution of the last decade to our continuing efforts to reveal the public character of the res publica. It should stimulate lively and fruitful debate.„ Scripta Classica Israelica “Insgesamt können Y. s Ergebnisse in Hinblick auf weitere Forschungen zur clientela gar nicht hinreichend gewürdigt werden. Y. s Dissertation offenbart die gewaltige Leistung der nobiles, die generationenlang durch ihre hohe Kontaktfrequenz mit den Bürgern ihre Legitimation stets aktualisierten.„ Historische Zeitschrift “All dies sind außerordentliche Gedanken und Schlussfolgerungen, die große Aufmerksamkeit erfordern und in jeder weiteren Diskussion solcher Fragen eine unübersehbare Rolle spielen werden. Y. hat nicht nur unser Wissen, sondern auch unsere Beurteilung der ausgehenden Republik nachdrücklich gefördert. Ich glaube, dass seine Gedanken über die Gründe für den Untergang der Republik neue Perspektiven eröffnen." Anzeiger für die Altertumswissenschaften