Commentary
Escalating lawfare sealed the collapse of the Roman Republic after 500 years of extraordinary success. For the final century or so of its existence, the Republic saw dramatic lurches between leading parties, and as each new leader came into office, he sought to use the maximum extent of state power to exact vengeance on his political opponents. Eventually, the stakes grew so high that surrendering power to an opponent became unthinkable. Thus the Roman Empire was born.