Product Code Database
A monarchy is a hereditary form of government in which political power is legally passed on to the family members of the monarch, a head of state who rules for life. While monarchs gain their power depending on specific succession laws, they can also gain their authority via election.
Monarchies were the most common form of government until the 20th century, when republics replaced many monarchies, notably at the end of World War I. , forty-three sovereign nations in the world have a monarch, including fifteen Commonwealth realms that share Charles III as their head of state. Other than that, there is a range of sub-national monarchical entities. Most of the modern monarchies are constitutional monarchies, retaining under a constitution unique legal and ceremonial roles for monarchs exercising limited or no political power, similar to heads of state in a parliamentary republic.
From earliest records, monarchs could be directly hereditary, while others were elected from among eligible members. With the Pharaoh, Chinese, Indian, Political Violence in Ancient India, p.23, "In later Vedic texts, the frequency of the word "dharma" decreased and its connotations shrank; it came to be especially connected with kingship and with the royal consecration ritual known as the rājasūya." Lugal, Sudanic, reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion, and others, the monarch held Sacred king directly connected to sacrifice and was sometimes identified with having imperial cult, possibly establishing a notion of the divine right of kings.
Polybius identified monarchy as one of three "benign" basic forms of government (monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy), opposed to the three "malignant" basic forms of government (Tyrant, oligarchy, and Mob rule). The monarch in classical antiquity is often identified as "king" or "ruler" (translating archon, basileus, rex, Tyrant, etc.) or as "Queen regnant" ( basilinna, basilissa, basileia or basilis;Liddell & Scott regina). Polybius originally understood monarchy as a component of Republic, but since antiquity monarchy has contrasted with forms of republic, where executive power is wielded by free citizens and their assemblies. The 4th-century BCE Hindu text Arthashastra laid out the ethics of monarchism. (2012). 9781603849029, Hackett Publishing. ISBN 9781603849029 In antiquity, some monarchies were abolished in favour of such assemblies in Ancient Rome (Roman Republic, 509 BCE), and Athens (Athenian democracy, 500 BCE).
By the 17th century, monarchy was challenged by evolving parliamentarism e.g. through regional assemblies (such as the Icelandic Commonwealth, the Swiss Landsgemeinde and later Tagsatzung, and the High Medieval Medieval commune linked to the rise of medieval town privileges) and by modern anti-monarchism e.g. of the temporary overthrow of the English monarchy by the Parliament of England in 1649, the American Revolution of 1776 and the French Revolution of 1789. One of many opponents of that trend was Elizabeth Dawbarn, whose anonymous Dialogue between Clara Neville and Louisa Mills, on Loyalty (1794) features "silly Louisa, who admires liberty, Thomas Paine and the US, who lectured by Clara on God's approval of monarchy" and on the influence women can exert on men. The Feminist Companion to Literature in English, ed. Virginia Blain, Patricia Clements and Isobel Grundy, (London: Batsford, 1990), p. 272.
Since then advocacy of the abolition of a monarchy or respectively of has been called republicanism, while the advocacy of monarchies is called monarchism. As such republics have become the opposing and alternative form of government to monarchy, despite some having seen infringements through lifelong or even hereditary heads of state, such as in North Korea.
With the rise of republicanism, a diverse division between republicanism developed in the 19th-century politics (such as anti-monarchist radicalism) and Conservatism or even reactionary monarchism. In the following 20th century many countries abolished the monarchy and became republics, especially in the wake of World War I and World War II.
Today forty-three sovereign nations in the world have a monarch, including fifteen Commonwealth realms that have Charles III as the head of state. Most modern monarchs are constitutional monarchs, who retain a unique legal and ceremonial role but exercise limited or no political power under a constitution. Many are so-called , surviving particularly in small states.W. Veenendaal, "Monarchy and Democracy in Small States: An Ambiguous Symbiosis," in S. Wolf, ed., State Size Matters: Politik und Recht I'm Kontext von Kleinstaatlichkeit und Monarchie (Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 2016), pp. 183–198, , .
In some nations, however, such as Morocco, Qatar, Liechtenstein, and Thailand, the hereditary monarch has more political influence than any other single source of authority in the state.
According to a 2020 study, monarchy arose as a system of governance because of an efficiency in governing large populations and expansive territories during periods when coordinating such populations was difficult. The authors argue that monarchy declined as an efficient regime type with innovations in communications and transportation technology, as the efficiency of monarchy relative to other regime types declined.
According to a 2023 study, monarchy has persisted as a regime type because it can accommodate demands for democratization better than other forms of autocratic rule: "Monarchies can democratize without destabilizing the leadership through transitioning to a democratic constitutional monarchy. The prospect of retaining the ruler appeals to opposition groups who value both democracy and stability, but it also has implications for their ability to organize and sustain mass protest."
Different systems of hereditary succession have been used, such as proximity of blood, primogeniture, and agnatic seniority (Salic law). While most monarchs in history have been male, many female monarchs also have reigned. The term "queen regnant" refers to a ruling monarch, while "queen consort" refers to the wife of a reigning king. Rule may be hereditary in practice without being considered a monarchy: there have been some family dictatorships (and also Political family) in many Democracy.
Some monarchies are not hereditary. In an elective monarchy, monarchs are Election or appointed by some body (an electoral college) for life or a defined period. Four elective monarchies exist today: Cambodia, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates are 20th-century creations, while one (the Pope) is ancient.
A self-proclaimed monarchy is established when a person claims the monarchy without any historical ties to a previous dynasty. There are examples of republican leaders who have proclaimed themselves monarchs: Napoleon declared himself Emperor of the French and ruled the First French Empire after having held the title of French Consulate of the French Republic for five years from his seizing power in the coup of 18 Brumaire. President Jean-Bédel Bokassa of the Central African Republic declared himself Emperor of the Central African Empire in 1976. Yuan Shikai, the first formal President of the Republic of China, crowned himself Emperor of the short-lived "Empire of China" a few years after the Republic of China was founded.Jonathan Spence (1999) The Search for Modern China, W.W. Norton and Company. p. 274. .
]] In a hereditary monarchy, the position of monarch is inherited according to a statutory or customary order of succession, usually within one royal family tracing its origin through a historical dynasty or bloodline. This usually means that the heir to the throne is known well in advance of becoming monarch to ensure a smooth succession.
Primogeniture, in which the eldest child of the monarch is first in line to become monarch, is the most common system in hereditary monarchy. The order of succession is usually affected by rules on gender. Historically "agnatic primogeniture" or "patrilineal primogeniture" was favoured, that is inheritance according to seniority of birth among the sons of a monarch or Pater familias, with sons and their male issue inheriting before brothers and their male issue, to the total exclusion of females and descendants through females from succession. Tronföljd, Nordisk familjebok, vol. 30 (1920) This complete exclusion of females from dynastic succession is commonly referred to as application of the Salic law. Another variation on agnatic primogeniture was the so-called semi-Salic law, or "agnatic-cognatic primogeniture", which allowed women to succeed only at the extinction of all the male descendants in the male line of the particular legislator. Tronföljd, Nordisk familjebok, vol. 30 (1920)SOU 1977:5 Kvinnlig tronföljd, p. 16.
Before primogeniture was enshrined in European law and tradition, kings would often secure the succession by having their successor (usually their eldest son) crowned during their own lifetime, so for a time there would be two kings in coregency—a senior king and a junior king. Examples were Henry the Young King of England and the early Direct Capetians in France. Sometimes, however, primogeniture can operate through the female line. In 1980, Sweden became the first monarchy to declare equal (full cognatic) primogeniture, meaning that the eldest child of the monarch, whether female or male, ascends to the throne.SOU 1977:5 Kvinnlig tronföljd, p. 16. Other kingdoms (such as the Netherlands in 1983, Norway in 1990, Belgium in 1991, Denmark in 2009, and Luxembourg "Overturning Centuries of Royal Rules" (2011-10-28). BBC.com. Retrieved 2018-11-02. in 2011) have since followed suit. The United Kingdom adopted absolute (equal) primogeniture (subject to the claims of existing heirs) on April 25, 2013, following Perth Agreement at the 22nd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
Other hereditary systems of succession included tanistry, which is semi-elective and gives weight to merit and Agnatic seniority. In some monarchies, such as Saudi Arabia, succession to the throne first passes to the monarch's next eldest brother, and only after that to the monarch's children (agnatic seniority). On June 21, 2017, King Salman of Saudi Arabi revolted against this style of monarchy and elected his son to inherit the throne.
The Pope of the Catholic Church (who rules as Sovereign of the Vatican City) is Papal conclave for life by the College of Cardinals. In the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, the Prince and Grand Master is elected for life tenure by the Council Complete of State from within its members. In Malaysia, the federal king, called the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or Paramount Ruler, is elected for a five-year term from among and by the hereditary rulers (mostly ) of nine of the federation's constitutive states, all on the Malay Peninsula. The United Arab Emirates also chooses its federal leaders from among emirs of the federated states. Furthermore, Andorra has a unique constitutional arrangement as one of its heads of state is the President of the France in the form of a Co-Prince. In New Zealand, the Maori King, head of the Kingitanga Movement, is elected by a council of Maori elders at the funeral of their predecessor, which is also where their coronation takes place. All of the Heads of the Maori King Movement have been descendants of the first Maori King, Potatau Te Wherowhero, who was elected and became King in June 1858.
This is especially employed to legitimize and settle disputed successions, changes in ways of succession, status of a monarch (e.g. as in the case of the privilegium maius deed) or new monarchies altogether (e.g. as in the case of the coronation of Napoleon I).
Andorra is unique among all existing monarchies, as it is a diarchy, with the co-princes being shared by the president of France and the bishop of Urgell.
The Pope is the absolute monarch of the Vatican City State (a separate entity from the Holy See) by virtue of his position as head of the Catholic Church and Bishop of Rome; he is an elected rather than a hereditary ruler, and does not have to be a citizen of the territory prior to his election by the cardinals.
In Samoa, the position of head of state is described in Part III of the 1960 Samoan constitution. At the time the constitution was adopted, it was anticipated that future heads of state would be chosen from among the four Tama a 'Aiga "royal" paramount chiefs. However, this is not required by the constitution, and, for this reason, Samoa can be considered a republic rather than a constitutional monarchy. However, each member of the Samoan parliament, except for the two seats reserved for non-Samoans, must be a matai, a member of the hereditary political system known as the Faʻamatai.Jean Drage (1994). 9789820201156, Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific. . ISBN 9789820201156
The ruling Kim family in North Korea (Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un) has been described as a de facto absolute monarchyYoung W. Kihl, Hong Nack Kim. North Korea: The Politics of Regime Survival. Armonk, New York, USA: M. E. Sharpe, Inc., 2006. Pp 56.Robert A. Scalapino, Chong-Sik Lee. The Society. University of California Press, 1972. Pp. 689.Bong Youn Choy. A history of the Korean reunification movement: its issues and prospects. Research Committee on Korean Reunification, Institute of International Studies, Bradley University, 1984. Pp. 117. or a "hereditary dictatorship". In 2013, Clause 2 of Article 10 of the new edited Ten Fundamental Principles of the Korean Workers' Party states that the party and revolution must be carried "eternally" by the "Paektu Mountain (Kim's) bloodline". The Twisted Logic of the N.Korean Regime, Chosun Ilbo, 2013-08-13, Accessed date: 2017-01-11 This though does not mean it is a de jure absolute monarchy, as the country's official name is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The al-Assad family, which ruled Syria from 1971 to 2024, was similarly categorised as such.
|
|
