consultri

Consultri is a term used in speculative political theory and fiction to describe a form of executive government in which authority is vested in a council of consuls rather than a single head of state. The name suggests a plural or council-based adaptation of the Roman office of consul, often treated as a triadic or polyarchic arrangement in world-building texts.

Typically, a consultri consists of three or more consuls who hold overlapping terms and share executive duties. Decision-making is usually constrained by requirements of consensus, supermajority, or rotating presiding authority, with explicit checks to prevent dominance by any single member. Foreign policy, military command, and high-level appointments are commonly divided tasks, with additional bodies providing oversight, such as a senate, council of elders, or popular assembly in some variants.

In fiction and speculative theory, consultri serves as a mechanism to explore balance of power, accountability, and stability in writing about republics and confederations. Selection methods vary: consulates may be elected by the citizenry, appointed by a higher assembly, or drawn from a fixed elite group; terms are often staggered to ensure continuity.

Historically, there is no evidence of any real-world polity widely recognized as consultri. The term appears predominantly in fictional settings, world-building guides, and theoretical discussions as a neutral label for a plural executive model. Variants differ in how much authority each consul holds, how disagreements are resolved, and how the council interacts with legislative and judicial institutions.