Political Mechanisms
Separation of Powers
Also Known As Trias Politica
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Separation of powers is the principle that a government's legislative, executive, and judicial functions should be held by separate bodies so that no one branch can dominate the others. The French philosopher Montesquieu gave the idea its most influential statement, building on earlier ideas from Aristotle and John Locke.
Facts
Origin YearYear Montesquieu published The Spirit of the Laws, his systematic statement of the theory; earlier thinkers had discussed dividing governmental functions before this. Founding ContextGiven systematic theoretical form by Montesquieu in his 1748 The Spirit of the Laws, drawing on John Locke's earlier distinction between legislative and executive power, and put into written constitutional design for the first time by the United States Constitution of 1787. 2 Cross-Tradition Connections
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The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy states Montesquieu's doctrine had an enormous impact on the framers of the US Constitution.
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