Monarchy Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

For much of human history, monarchy in one for m or another was the primary system of government. A monarchy is a type of tyrannical regime in which all or most political power is concentrated in the hands of a single ruler, the sovereign. The monarch is generally the head of state and the chief executive. Historically, the sovereign and the state were seen as an indivisible entity. However, modern constitutional monarchies bifurcate power: The monarch remains head of state with a separate, usually elected, chief executive. This system has facilitated the survival of the monarchy in a largely ceremonial role, with a clear division between the state and the monarchy. In monarchial systems, power is typically hereditary, although some states elected sovereigns for life. Monarchies concentrate wealth, power, and privilege among a small, hereditary aristocracy whose members are bound to the sovereign by personal loyalty. Monarchies facilitated the rise of the strong central state in the countries of western Europe and Japan, but they also prompted democratic movements that either constrained their power or implemented alternative systems of government.

Monarchy In History

Throughout history, groups of humans were governed by the person who was the greatest warrior or especially skillful at politics. From early chiefs and tribal leaders, monarchial systems emerged as a means for a sovereign to transfer power to members of his or her family upon the monarch’s death. Although elected monarchies were common at the dawn of the Middle Ages in Europe, they were gradually replaced by hereditary systems, with the notable exception of some of the German states, the early Holy Roman Empire, and the Vatican. By designating an official successor, groups or states could eliminate or minimize power struggles after the ruler’s death. States subsequently developed complex rules of succession. In most areas, primogeniture, the transfer of power to the oldest male relative, became the norm.

Monarchs based their legitimacy and authority on a combination of military power and the personal loyalty of leading figures within the regime. This system of loyalty became increasingly codified through various versions of feudalism. However, the often-overlapping bonds that characterized the feudal system, by which an aristocrat’s loyalty could be divided among multiple monarchs, also undermined the state. In response, sovereigns in kingdoms such as France and England increasingly sought to consolidate power through the Renaissance and Reformation periods. The growing authority of the central state necessitated an increase in resources, whether in the form of taxes or loans, in order to support larger militaries and growing overseas empires. The rise of colonialism reflected the emergence of mercantilism as an economic system driven by imperial rivalries between kingdoms such as France, Spain, and England. Meanwhile, the rising merchant class increasingly sought to limit expenditures by the monarch in order to concurrently constrain taxes. The Treaty of Westphalia (1648) marked not only the rise of the contemporary nation-state, but also the beginnings of the end of the monarchial system. The growing merchant class increasingly sought greater access to political power and a legal framework that limited aristocratic privilege. In addition, as monarchs sought to limit the power of the Church, they also undermined the basis for their legitimacy.

Types Of Monarchies

Absolute monarchies grant the sovereign almost total control over the state and the populace. There are few legal or constitutional limitations on royal prerogative. Rulers justified such power by appealing to the divine right of kings and arguing that their authority came directly from God. Within absolute monarchies, there is no distinction between the ruler and the state; therefore, the resources of the nation are viewed as the personal property of the sovereign. One result was that colonies were often considered royal property and not components of the state. For instance, the Belgian Congo colony was the personal domain of King Leopold II (1835–1909) from 1865 to 1908, when he was forced to turn the area over to the national government. Proponents of absolute monarchy often refuted charges of tyranny by invoking the notion of enlightened despotism and the reign of philosopher kings as developed by Plato. Louis XIV of France (1638–1715) typified the ideal of the absolute monarch, while writers such as Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) contended that absolute monarchy was necessary to forestall anarchy. By the mid-1800s, absolute monarchy was on the wane in most of the European states, except for some empires such as Germany and Russia.

Most monarchial systems were limited in scope by powerful aristocracies or rival claimants for the throne. For instance, following the Battle of Runnymede (1215), English barons forced King John to sign the Magna Carta (Great Charter), which limited royal powers. This was followed in 1265 with the first meeting of the English Parliament. From these beginnings, the system of constitutional monarchy developed, in which royal power was constrained by legal, constitutional, and political factors. The English Civil Wars (1642–1651) marked the last significant effort to reimplement absolutism in Great Britain, and the country instead transitioned to a constitutional monarchy. John Locke (1632–1704) strongly argued against the divine right of kings, while later philosophers such as JeanJacques Rousseau (1712–1778) asserted that governments should be based on a social contract, and the Baron de Montesquieu (1689–1755) wrote in favor of divided government, with separate executive and administrative branches. Gradually, the notion that governments should operate for the common good and be based on popular sovereignty became increasingly accepted. These ideas propelled the rise of democratic government and the demise of monarchies through rebellions, such as the French and Russian revolutions, or system wide conflict, such as the world wars.

Contemporary Monarchies

The percentage of people living under monarchial systems has declined from 55.8 percent in 1900 (with an additional 30.8 percent in colonial territories) to approximately 5 percent in 2000. There are thirty-two monarchies in the world today. Most rulers in these states are either constitutional monarchs or ceremonial rulers. For instance, European states such as Denmark, Norway, and Spain, as well as Japan, have monarchs who serve as ceremonial heads of state. The United Kingdom exemplifies the contemporary system of constitutional monarchy: The sovereign presides over ceremonies and state occasions. The king or queen has a consultative role with the prime minister, the nation’s chief executive, and serves as the titular head of the military. However, the monarch has little real influence on legislation or the day-to-day operations of the government. Instead, the British monarch and its counterparts generally serve as a source of stability within the political system. Monarchs in Portugal, Spain, and Thailand were important in transitions to democratic rule, and the British monarch serves as a link between the United Kingdom and the sixteen Commonwealth Realms, including Australia and Canada. There are seven formal absolute monarchies left in the world—Bhutan, Brunei, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Swaziland, and Vatican City. Furthermore, monarchs in countries such as Kuwait, Swaziland, and Tonga continue to possess considerable political power and influence.

Bibliography:

Friedeberg, Robert von, ed. Murder and Monarchy: Regicide in European History, 1300–1800. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.
Fujitani,T. Splendid Monarchy: Power and Pageantry in Modern Japan. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1966.
Kenshaw, Roger. Monarchy in South-East Asia: The Faces of Tradition in Transition. New York: Routledge, 2001.
Stacey, Peter. Roman Monarchy and the Renaissance Prince. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Zmora, Hillay. Monarchy, Aristocracy, and the State in Europe, 1300–1800. New York: Routledge, 2001.

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