There are and were a very large number of republics in the world. A republican form of government can be combined with many different kinds of economy and democracy. Some examples for certain forms of republic are:
Antiquity
Middle Ages and Renaissance
Enlightenment and later
Republics governed by representative democracy, in which the states play a crucial role:
Confederal republics are usually governed by a combination of representative democracy and direct democracy:
Republics governed in accordance with Islamic law:
Meant to be governed by the people, this name is generally used by far-east communist states:
Socialist Republics
Soviet and related (former) Communist Republics
In the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, some associated countries, and/or their successors would use the name "republic", while not completely corresponding with a "western" view on the essential characteristics of a republic:
Arab Republics
Other
A wide array of other adjectives are used: democratic is common but in most cases meaningless and/or redundant. Other modifiers are rooted in tradition and history, equally only with a limited practical and/or political meaning:
- San Marino qualifies itself as the "Most Serene Republic"
- Uruguay is the "Eastern Republic".
- Guyana is a "Co-operative Republic"
Many republics, however, did not seek to add such qualifiers to their name:
- French Republic (1st: 1792-1799; 2nd: 1848-1852; 3rd: 1870-1940; 4th: 1945-1958 and 5th since 1958)
