Traditionally, scholars have tied the emergence of legitimate opposition to the rise of political parties in the nineteenth century. Once political parties were acknowledged as essential to representative government, the mark of an illegitimate opposition became whether party members embraced unconstitutional, extreme or disloyal ideals. This essay upends the traditional understanding of legitimate opposition. Athens’ classical democracy did not feature parties, but it was shaped by political competition and a recognizable form of legitimate opposition. Focusing on the fifth century, I show that in Athens the boundaries of political contestation were not defined on the basis of a group’s ideas. Instead, the Athenians fashioned a fundamental alternative to now-dominant approaches to legitimate opposition. Athenian institutions were anti-monopolistic, blocking individuals from wielding power that was excessive and undemocratic. Recognizing Athens’ party-less model of legitimate opposition should lead us to reconsider the defining elements of the practice.
