> Now, let's see. Someone who has been living in The Netherlands for > almost 36 years says that the country is not a republic. There are no > government documents that say that the country is still a republic (it > ceased to be a republic a long time ago).
Perhaps in Dutch, Jeroen van Baardwijk is given more authority than a dictionary.... I can assure you, however, that in English this is definitely not the case.
It's not my authority. Nobody is taught in school that The Netherlands is a republic, there aren't any government documents that say The Netherlands is a republic, the Constitution doesn't mention it, and we have a group here called (translated) "The Republican Society" who would like nothing better than to get rid of the monarchy and turn the country into a republic -- which indicates that the country isn't a republic, otherwise there would be no reason for them to want to turn the country into a republic.
All that carries a lot more weight than *one* definition in a dictionary, especially since other definitions say exactly the opposite of that one definition.
Definition #2 Jeroen.
Dan has mentioned that the first definition indicates that a republic does not have a monarch. Jon has posted a definition of republic that says: "a government having a chief of state who is not a monarch and who in modern times is usually a president". On what basis have you decided that these definitions do not apply to The Netherlands -- especially given the fact that we have a monarch and not a president? So far, it looks like you only choose to ignore these definitions because they contradict your claim that The Netherlands is a republic.
> The Constitution does not even *mention* the word "republiek" (which > it would if it were).
I see no reason why it would.
The Netherlands is a Kingdom, and this is mentioned in the Constitution. As it is mentioned, it's reasonable to expect that the Constitution would also mention it if the country were a republic.
Anyhow, now that Jeroen's insistence to never be proven wrong has now engulfed the rest of the List
Most members have not contributed to this discussion, so your statement is a major exaggeration. And I do not "insist to never be proven wrong"; if someone can prove me wrong than s/he is more than welcome to do so. However, you have sofar failed to prove me wrong -- you simply choose to ignore that what contradicts your claim.
Thus, despite our colloquial speech, the US, the UK, and the Netherlands are republics, not
democracies.
We are not a republic, and we won't become one unless the US invades The Netherlands and turns it into the 51st state of the US (or the 52nd or 53rd, depending on when Puerto Rico and the UK get assimilated by the US).
Jeroen "Make love, not war" van Baardwijk
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