За смисъла на разделението на властите в "Духът на законите" на Шарл-Луи дьо Монтескьо
On the Meaning of the Separation of Powers in The Spirit of the Laws by Charles-Louis de Montesquieu

Summary/Abstract: The most famous and most discussed theme of Montesquieu’s political classic The Spirit of the Laws is the so-called “theory of the separation of powers” developed in chapter 6 of Book XI. The abundance of publications referring to it gives rise to the misconception that the French thinker is deliberately developing a comprehensive and detailed doctrine of the best form of government, which appears to be the culmination of the book and whose basis is the separation of powers. Such a thesis lays the foundation for numerous misinterpretations and general confusion about the motives, goals, and achievements of the author of The Spirit of the Laws. In this paper we will refute the thesis that for Montesquieu the best form of government requires separation of powers. We will try to achieve this goal in three steps. First, we will present the purpose and structure of the book, as well as some of the most important ideas underlying the arguments about the separation of powers. Second, we will analyze in detail the arguments presented in chapter 6 of Book XI as well as their natural continuation, developed in chapter 27 of Book XIX. Third, we will explain why the ideas in these two chapters should not be considered to be a description of the best form of government according to Montesquieu.

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