The monarchy Is a form of government in which sovereignty and political power fall into one person: the monarch, also called King or Emperor.
Power in this form of government is transferred in a hereditary way, which is why political power resides in family groups over several generations. These families are called"dynasties".
On the other hand, the territory ruled by the monarchs are called"kingdom"or"empire."
The word"monarchy"is made up of the Greek words Monkeys , Which means"one,"and Arkhein , Which means"to govern, to command, to guide", by which its meaning is interpreted like"government of one".
In the classical typologies of forms of government, such as that carried out by Aristotle In which the criterion of distinction is the number of persons exercising power, Monarchy is the ideal form of unitary government - of one alone. Their degeneracy or corrupt form is tyranny.
Highlights of the Monarchy
1. Monarchical power is personal and lifelong
The monarch's position is unipersonal and lifelong, which means that it is exercised by only one person until the day of his death, or until his abdication, resignation or de facto overthrow.
2. The monarchical title is transferred hereditarily
Similarly, the title of Rey is usually transferred in a hereditary way between two relatives of the same royal family.
This type of monarchy is given the name of hereditary monarchy, and is historically the most common type.
Within the line of succession to the throne, men have priority over women, and children over any other kind of kinship.
In the event that a King dies and there are no children, the crown may pass to the brothers, nephews or cousins. This depends on the established according to the laws by which each monarchy is governed.
3. There are several types of monarchy
Absolutist Monarchy: This is the kind of monarchy in which the monarch exercises power without any kind of political restraint.
In this model there is no division of powers, but the sovereign - the King - governs only according to his will. However, these monarchies used to be subject to certain Laws of the Kingdom.
Constitutional monarchy: In constitutional monarchies, the monarch exercises his power subject to the framework of a set of laws established by citizens in a Constitution.
In this Constitution delimits the distribution of the political powers of the nation, as well as the functions of each of the elements that will constitute the government, the monarch being one of them.
In this form, many European monarchies were able to keep standing after the fall of the Old Regime, which led to the birth of the new Republics.
Parliamentary monarchy: In parliamentary monarchies it is constitutionally established that the King must be accountable to the parliament.
In them, the parliament has a superior power to the King, to the point that it could have the power to decree a decision that is binding for him, and that he must abide.
In parliamentary monarchies, the power of the King is more limited than in constitutional monarchies. At present, within these governments the title of the King is that of Head of State, submitted to Parliament and to the Head of Government (Prime Minister or President).
In both the parliamentary and constitutional monarchs, the monarch, representing traditional political power, assumes a commitment to respect the power of the representatives of the people based on consensus.
Hereditary Monarchy: Are those monarchies in which the title of the King is transmitted based on the family bond, mainly in order of generational succession.
This system mainly considers the firstborn of the King as the following in the line of successors to the throne.
Elective Monarchy: The elective monarchy is that system in which the reigning monarch is chosen by a group of people and under conditions that vary within each case.
However, some of the groups that have historically been the electors of monarchs have been the military, assemblies, members of the same royal family, councils of nobles, councils of sages, among others.
4. The monarch embodies the identity of his Nation
Formerly, the Monarchy was a symbol of identity of the kingdoms, since it was considered that it was the unit thanks to which a territory was identified like one alone, with own characteristics and shared by all its inhabitants.
Today, modern monarchies are still considered an important part of the common identity of the nation.
This is thanks to the continuity that they contribute to the government in spite of the periodical changes in the Executive and Legislative powers.
In the same way, the monarch is considered as a symbol of national identity because of its mediating role between the different public powers, a function established even at the constitutional level, with a view to this figure to watch over the defense of national interests beyond any conjuncture .
5. The figure of the monarch is linked to the divinity
The monarchical government has been legitimized, throughout history, based on religion, claiming that the right to rule and the sovereignty of the King come from the will of God.
Thanks to this, different monarchs have performed their functions as"Defenders of the Faith"or"Embodiments of God on Earth".
The doctrine of the divine legitimacy of the King, who was also the sole sovereign, allowed them not to account for their decisions to their people or to the members of the nobility. The only one to be held accountable was God.
6. At present, it has the form of Parliamentary Monarchy
After the liberal and democratic revolutions experienced between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries, the monarchies that remain until today - especially the European ones - took the form of parliamentary monarchies or constitutional monarchies.
This means that they have restricted their powers to the parameters established in the constitutional texts, according to which they have also delegated many of their functions to the nascent institutions.
In this way they have been able to maintain their power, succeeding in overcoming the civilist approaches contrary to monarchical power, and coexisting with republican and democratic institutions, such as direct, secret and universal elections and the division of public powers into Legislative, Executive and Judicial.
7. If at the time of obtaining the title the King is a child, he is assigned a Regent
In the event that the succession of the throne takes place to a new King, and to whom it is proper to assume it by law is a child or a minor, a person is named under Regent.
The function of the Regent is to assume the administration of the kingdom or of the affairs that correspond to the monarch until this one fulfills all the necessary requirements for the exercise of its functions.
The figure of the regent is also used in cases of absence or incapacity of the King.
8. A monarch can rule in several kingdoms simultaneously
A monarch can be the Head of State of different countries, that is to say, of different States constituted with sovereignties, territories, nationalities and different laws.
This is the case, for example, of the members of the Commonwealth of Nations (Commonwealth of Nations).
At the moment the monarch of the Commonwealth of Nations is Queen Elizabeth II of England, reason why is the Head of State of the 52 kingdoms that conform it at the moment.
These nations are independent of each other in their internal affairs and in the management of their external relations, but they are united in community by means of the crown.
9. It is one of the oldest forms of government
The monarchy is one of the forms of government of greater antiquity, since its existence goes back to, at least, three thousand years before Christ with the first emperors of Ancient Egypt.
Similarly, until the nineteenth century was the most implemented form of government in the world.
10. It can be self-proclaimed
Historically, a monarchy could also be established through the self-proclamation of a person who had no connection with any royal family.
Generally this was achieved through the taking of political power through force or violence.
This was the case, for example, of Napoleon Bonaparte, who proclaimed himself as"Napoleon I of France".
Sources
- BBC (s.f.). Divine Rights of Kings [online]. Accessed July 19, 2017 on the World Wide Web: bbc.co.uk
- BBC World (2012). Sixty years of monarchy in a changing world [online]. Consulted on July 19, 2017 on the World Wide Web: bbc.com
- BOBBIO, N. (1980). State, Government and Society [online]. Accessed July 19, 2017 on the World Wide Web: academia.edu
- LARIO, A. (2005). History and Monarchy. Current Historiographic Situation. [online]. Accessed July 19, 2017 on the World Wide Web: redalyc.org
- Digital Freedom (2007). The Crown, symbol of unity and permanence [online]. Consulted on July 19, 2017 on the World Wide Web: libertaddigital.com
- The Commonwealth (s.f.). About us [online]. Accessed July 19, 2017 on the World Wide Web: thecommonwealth.org
- Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia . Consulted the 19 of July of 2017 in the World Wide Web: wikipedia.org.