Re-reading republican freedom: J.J.Rousseau and general executive republicanism

In the thesis, the concept of freedom was re-evaluated through republicanism and liberalism. In doing so, the aim is to point out the differences in the historical development and interpretation of freedom, as well as to display that Rousseau's concept of general will can be a new way to interpret freedom. Although the Republic is very old as a concept, it has been interpreted throughout different perspectives. Res-publica is a political regime based on virtue and law. Within the framework of common good, participation, citizenship, patriotism, virtue and law, the best political regime has been tried to be created. It can be said that neo-Roman republicanism is much more compatible with the modern era and is closer to liberalism. Freedom is a privileged concept most valued in human life. However, the idea of freedom and its applicability under the conceptual restriction of equality differs in accordance with historical settings. In the period we call classical republicanism, republican freedom has been raised on the basic concepts such as publicity, virtue, self-domination and morality. After the modernity, republican freedom has been perceived as non interference with more individualistic approaches under the influence of liberalism. The distinction of "Positive Freedom and Negative Freedom which is conceptualized by Isaiah Berlin brings the search for a different understanding of freedom in republican expressions of freedom. In the first part of the thesis, Hobbes and Berlin's approaches to freedom are examined under the scope of negative freedom. In the second part, Pettit and Skinner's the new conceptions of freedom as an alternative to negative freedom are analyzed. In the last part, Rousseau's republican understanding of freedom is investigated through the concept of general will. Our ultimate aim in this part is to emphasize that Rousseau's concept of general will creates a large area on the axis of neo-roman republicanism without restricting the freedoms of the individual in social life. The aim of the comparative analysis is to state that the concept of general will is not far from neo-roman republicanism; on the contrary, it can enrich the liberal freedom at certain points.