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Monarchy

A monarchy, (from the Greek "monos arkhein", meaning "one ruler") is a form of government that has a monarch as Head of State. The distinguishing characteristic of monarchies is that the Head of State holds his offie for life, unlike in republics, where presidents are generally elected for a certain amount of time. The term monarchy is also used to refer to the people and institutions that make up the royal establishment, or to the realm in which the monarchy functions.

Elective monarchies, distinguished by the monarchs being appointed for life, have in most cases been succeeded by hereditary monarchies; in which the position of monarch involves inheritance according to an order of succession, usually within one royal family tracing its origin back to a historical dynasty or bloodline. In some cases the royal family may claim to hold authority by virtue of God's choosing, or other religous-based authority.

In most countries with monarchies, the monarch serves as a symbol of continuity and statehood. Many states have a strong convention against the monarch becoming involved in partisan politics. In some cases, the symbolism of monarchy alongside the symbolism of democracy can lead to division over the apparently contradictory principles.

Table of contents
1 History
2 Succession
3 Destruction of Monarchies
4 Unusual Examples
5 Current Monarchies
6 Compare
7 See also
8 External links

History

Monarchies are one of the oldest forms of government, with echoes in the leadership of tribal chiefs. Many monarchies began with the monarch as the local representative and temporary embodiment of the deity: king of Babylon. The monarch often ruled at the pleasure of the deity and was overthrown or sacrificed when it became apparent that supernatural sanction had been withdrawn: emperors of China, Mayan kings, Achaemenid kings of Persia. Other monarchs derived their power by acclamation of the ruling or of the warrior caste of a clan or group of clans: kings of the Franks, Roman emperors. Even where law is simply the monarch's will, the king must rule by custom.

Some monarchs rule absolute monarchies, where a constitution may be granted or withdrawn, in a society with technologies that allow the concentration and organization of power but not enough for education and rapid communication to flourish. The economic structure of such monarchies is that of concentrated wealth, with the majority of the population as agricultural serfs. Such monarchies may rule by divine right yet without executive power: emperor of Japan. Other monarchies, notably among the Germanic peoples, began as ad hoc coalitions between clans, forming the natural basis for elective monarchies, the elections often taking place at the Ting. In such a system territorial magnates (and free men) could have more influence.

Since 1800, many of the world's monarchies have ceased to have a monarch and become republics, or become parliamentary democracies. Democratic countries which retain monarchy have by definition limited the monarch's power, with most having become constitutional monarchies. In England, this process began with the Magna Carta of 1215, although it did not reach democratic proportions until after the English Civil War. Among the few states that have absolute monarchies are Swaziland, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. In Jordan and Morocco, the monarch retains considerable power. There are also recent (2003) developments in Liechtenstein, wherein the regnant prince was given the Constitutional power to dismiss the government at will.

In some cases, a hereditary monarchy exists, but actual power resides in the military. This has often historically been the case in Thailand and Japan. In Fascist Italy a monarchy coexisted with a fascist party for longer than such coexistences occurred in Romania, Hungary or Greece.

On several occasions throughout history, the same person has served as monarch of separate independent states, in a situation known as a personal union. An Empire was traditionally ruled by a monarchy whose leader may have been known by different titles in his different realms. Several of former colonies of the British Empire, such as Australia, Canada, Jamaica, and New Zealand, continue to recognize the British Monarch as their own, albeit under a separate title for each country. In other cases, such as England and Scotland a personal union was the precursor to a merger of the states.

Succession

The rules for selection of monarchs varies from country to country. In constitutional monarchies the rule of succession is generally embodied in a law passed by a representative body, such as a parliament. The order of succession in most European monarchical states of the 21st century is by primogeniture, meaning the eldest son of the monarch is first in line, followed by his male, then female siblings in order of age. In earlier times, the succession was often unclear and this led to a number of wars. Currently, there is some controversy over the succession laws of some EU-monarchies, that require their monarch to be of a certain faith. This has been challenged as violating EU rules that prohibit religious disqualification for positions of state authority.

Some autocratic states can appear to have introduced inheritance for the head of state without declaring themselves to be monarchies, such as Syria and North Korea.

Destruction of Monarchies

Monarchies can come to an end in several ways. There may be a revolution in which the monarchy is overthrown; or, as in Italy, there may be a referendum in which the electorate decides to form a republic. The classical Greeks called this process The Kyklos. In some cases, as with England and Spain, the monarchy has been overthrown and then restored. Countries may regard themselves as monarchies without a named monarch, as Spain did in 1947-1975.

Unusual Examples

Sometimes, component members of federal states are monarchies, even though the federal state as a whole is not; for example each of the emirates that form the United Arab Emirates has its own monarch (an emir).

Another unique situation is Malaysia, in which the national king is elected for a five year term from and by the nine sultans who are the hereditary rulers of the States of the Malay peninsula.

In addition to his spiritual role, the Pope is the monarch of the Vatican City. He is elected by (and customarily from among) the College of Cardinals. (Since the Catholic priesthood is celibate, naturally there can be no official hereditary succession to the papal throne. In Machiavelli's era, however, there were some popes that had children, assumed the papacy, and passed the papacy to his son, who would repeat the process. But that era has ended with the end of the papal states being able to invade neighboring lands.)

Andorra has two co-princes, of which one is the Bishop of Urgell in Spain, and the other is the President of France — a unique case where an independent country's head of state is democratically elected by the citizens of another country.

Current Monarchies

(see also List of countries by system of government#Democratic constitutional monarchies and List of countries by system of government#Absolute monarchies)

Monarchical states today (2003) include :

* All Commonwealth Realms under the British Monarch, though the monarch is given different titles in each.

The Tibet goverment in exile is formally a monarchy with Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama enjoying monarch-like status.

In many countries that are officially republics, there is a throne heir who is also recognized by part of the nation. A list of such countries is available in the pretender article.

Compare

theocracy, democracy, oligarchy, feudalism, empire

See also

British monarchy, Dutch monarchy, Canadian monarchy, Emperor of Japan, Abolished monarchies, Teocratikal Monarchy, Family/State paradigm

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