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Journals / Eskişehir Osmangazi Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Dergisi / 2026 / Cilt: 21 Sayı: 2

Property and the Republic: James Harrington’s Political Thought and His Ideal State, Oceana

Mülkiyet ve Cumhuriyet: James Harrington’ın Siyasi Düşüncesi ve İdeal Devleti Okyanusya

Gökhan Çelen(FIRAT ÜNİVERSİTESİ)0000-0002-4853-228X
Pages
195–218
Publication Date
2026-07-31
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

This study examines, through Oceana, how property equality or inequality influences the foundation and durability of republican institutions.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:James Harrington, a prominent figure of seventeenth-century England, made a significant contribution to political theory with his Oceana (1656), a work largely overlooked in Turkish scholarship.
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Key Findings & Data:In this text, Harrington advanced a constitutional model aimed at securing institutional and political stability.
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Conclusion & Impact:This study examines, through Oceana, how property equality or inequality influences the foundation and durability of republican institutions.
🔬Design:Modeling & Simulation
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:cumhuriyet · denge · eşitlik

Abstract

James Harrington, a prominent figure of seventeenth-century England, made a significant contribution to political theory with his Oceana (1656), a work largely overlooked in Turkish scholarship. In this text, Harrington advanced a constitutional model aimed at securing institutional and political stability. Central to his argument was the claim that the distribution of property among citizens directly shapes the political system: balanced ownership fosters stability, while concentration undermines it. He further asserted that republican government is the most appropriate regime when property is broadly held. This study examines, through Oceana, how property equality or inequality influences the foundation and durability of republican institutions.

Özet

İngiltere’nin on yedinci yüzyılına damga vuran yazarlardan bir tanesi olan James Harrington, Okyanusya (1656) eseriyle siyasal teori alanına katkıda bulunmuştur. Ancak, bu eser Türkçe yazında göz ardı edilmiştir. Okyanusya eserinde anayasal bir sistem sunan Harrington, kurumsal ve siyasal istikrarı bu öneri üzerinden gerçekleştirmeye çalışmıştır. Mülkiyetin ülke içerisindeki yurttaşlar arasındaki dağılımının ülkenin siyasal sistemiyle doğrudan bağlantılı olduğunu savunan düşünür, mülkiyetin yurttaşlar arasında dengeli bir şekilde elde tutulmasının istikrarı sağlayacağını savunmuştur. Çokluğun mülkiyete sahip olmasına en uygun yönetim biçiminin de cumhuriyet olduğu ileri sürülmüştür. Bu çalışmada, yurttaşların mülkiyet eşitlikleri ya da eşitsizliklerinin cumhuriyetin kurulması ve yaşatılmasındaki rolü Okyanusya eseri üzerinden değerlendirilecektir.

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Cite This Article

Çelen, G. (2026). Property and the Republic: James Harrington’s Political Thought and His Ideal State, Oceana. Eskişehir Osmangazi Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Dergisi, Cilt: 21 Sayı: 2, 195–218. https://doi.org/10.17153/oguiibf.1795331

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