The Monarchy is a type of government which is characterized by autocracy and aristocracy. The monarchy is one of the oldest forms of government that has existed, history has taught us various stories in which a population is governed by orders emanating from a castle, this palace houses the monarchy with each of its members, mainly a king and queen, their children the princes, and all the corresponding lineage from the genealogical tree.
Monarchies function in a hereditary manner, that is, the highest order position is for life, whoever holds it, ceases his functions when he dies, is immediately supplanted by the next in the chain.
At present, few monarchical government systems remain in place, however, those that remain, function in tandem with democratic governments and serve as a complement in the direct and important functions of the nation.
What is a Monarchy
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The definition of monarchy comes from the Latin “monarchĭa”, which means form of government. In general terms, the concept of monarchy speaks of a type of government based on a small group of people who maintain the leadership and control of an entire nation. Generally, if not all the time, this group is part of the same family and the positions are hereditary. There is no system of democracy that can replace or overthrow them, they simply promote each other with the death of the main leader, that is, the monarch, be called king or queen of the nation.
The concept of monarchy describes it as a dynasty in which a person faces an entire territory from an early age until the moment of death. Only a direct (and legitimate) heir to that monarch can take his place on the throne. The political powers of that monarch can be quite varied, starting from a symbolic act known as a parliamentary monarchy, having executive powers with restrictions such as the constitutional monarchy or simply being autocratic, such as the absolute monarchy. There is also the figure of the hybrid monarchy and all of them will be explained later.
There is also a definition of monarchy in which the term in Greek is called monos (one) and arkhein (command, rule, rule, order). Together, it means a single government, mandate or a single leader. In monarchies, the head of state can be seen in 3 different ways, the first is personal and unipersonal, however, in history there have been cases such as:
- Diarchías: With two people in command of a certain territory.
- Triunviratos: 3 allied leaders.
- Tetrarchies: 4 subjects who share the power of the same nation.
- Regencies.
The latter are the most common in case the agent or heir is under age or has a disability. The second form in which a head of state or monarch is presented is life, the one in which the position is designated in order of heirs. In this case, you can also see the figure of the magistracies with limited time, thus having functions similar to that of a lifetime monarchy. Here you can also see abdication (resignation or cessation of office) overthrow or regicide.
Finally, there is the designation, in which the monarch is chosen according to his legitimacy as heir to the throne, by co-option (filling the vacancies) or by selectivity. Monarchies are kept afloat to preserve certain traditions of monarchical nations, in addition, it is easier to make a decision or reach agreements through monarchies, than with a Republic or other types of governments that are currently in the different parts of the world.
It is not difficult to know what a monarchy is after knowing all these aspects, however, there are also other important elements in the meaning of monarchy, which must be known and studied deeply, among them, the difference between what is a republic and a monarchy.
Differences between Republic and Monarchy
Since the beginning of society and history, a diversity of governments have developed throughout the planet, with the republic and the monarchy being the two most common and lasting forms in various territories. It is also quite important to note that, although both terms have to do with governing a nation, they do not have an iota of similarity in their way of carrying out that leadership or responsibility. To begin with, the republic has its genesis in the Latin res publica, which means or refers to a thing of the people or public system.
In the republic, a group of people democratically and popularly chosen by the people, are those who govern a nation. This is done by voting, thus exercising their sovereignty. This means that power really rests with the population of the same country.
In the republics there may be the figure of the president or a parliament that leads and leads the front of his nation at the political and social level. The votes to choose the people who will be in charge of governing the country are carried out in a direct, free and secret way.
In this way, all citizens (able or capable) can participate in the vote. The presidency of the republic has a certain period of time and, once that period has expired, the pertinent elections must be called.
In addition, the Republic also has several types, existing the figure of the federal, centralized and decentralized republic. The Republic has certain characteristics that differentiate it from other forms of government, including popular sovereignty, the period of government and the separation of national public powers, that is, the executive, legislative and judicial powers.
With all this explanation, it must be fervently admitted that the Republic is very different from what is monarchy in many respects. Starting from the fact that in monarchies power rests solely with their rulers, that their cabinet is for life and that the powers are totally centralized and commanded in a single person (although there are certain conditions that apply). There is no point of comparison that can unite a Republic of monarchies.
Types of Monarchy
Absolute monarchy
In this aspect, we speak of a monarch who does not have any type of restriction in his form of government, he can even act on religious issues without anyone, not even the Vatican (the highest leader in the Christian religion) can refuse. In absolute monarchies, the head of state is the maximum representation of the nation, it is one of the characteristics of an absolute monarchy, there is no division of powers, there are no people who head the regional or state government systems, it is the monarch the only one in charge of leading the country's policies.
Constitutional monarchy
It has nothing to do with the absolute monarchy, since in this there is a separation of powers established and respected by the entire nation. The monarch carries out the functions of the executive power fully, but the legislative power is exercised by a parliament or national assembly previously chosen (or elected) by the citizens of the nation. If there is something that should be highlighted about this type of monarchy, it is that here, the monarch exercises, possesses and maintains the executive functions of the country that he governs, no one else can hold the position or intervene in the decisions that he externalizes.
Parliamentary monarchy
Of all the types of monarchy that have been explained in this post, this is the most complex. This is because, to quote the phrase of Adolphe Thiers, the king reigns, but does not rule. In these monarchies the monarch exercises executive power following the rules (and orders) of the executive power.
It is the parliamentarians who are in control of the nation, they are the ones who make the political decisions of the country and execute them through the monarch. All the norms that they themselves have established will regulate the actions of civilians throughout the national territory and, consequently, of the king.
Hybrid Monarchy
In history there have been infinities of monarchies, some were absolute, others constitutional and still others that had shared characteristics. Currently, there are two hybrid monarchies that maintain power with total success, these occur in Liechtenstein and Monaco. In both territories the constitutional and parliamentary monarchies reign without problems, in fact, in Liechtenstein, the king has even more powers than the parliament and has the ability to dissolve it at any time.
In the case of Monaco, the person who holds the power of the nation is Prince Albert II of Monaco, who succeeded his father after his death in 2005.
The most important monarchies of today
Monarchies are more than a king or queen who rule a nation, flaunt riches and wear crowns or tiaras. Each of them has had to carry out special activities to stay in a society where democracy abounds and maintain what monarchy means from its roots, that is why, in this post, all of them will be explained.
English monarchy
This is an institution that represents one of the oldest constitutional monarchies in history. The president of England is not only king of the British territory, but also of the United Kingdom and the British territories that are overseas, as well as 15 other countries that were once part of the British Empire and are now known as the Kingdoms of the British Commonwealth of Nations. Currently, the monarch of the British crown is Isabell II, who took the power of the nations in 1952.
Being a shared monarchy, in cases of succession there are no fixed rules and in the event that one or more parameters of succession are to be changed, it must be under parliamentary consent, otherwise, the commonwealth is dissolved and that would lead to different problems in each of the nations allied to the crown. The sequence is based on the first - born children should preferably be gender male, however, the absence of a son, a woman can hold the post of Queen of the nation without any problems.
There is also a restriction for adopted children, that is, if a king or queen has adopted children, they cannot come to the throne as rulers. Another restriction that should be mentioned is religious. Only those who are Protestant Christians can take the British throne or crown. People who have belonged to the Catholic religion or who have married another of the same religion, are totally unable to take control of the nation, thus remaining, for legal purposes, as naturally dead.
Spanish monarchy
It is a parliamentary-type government figure as old as the British crown. This type of government was consolidated thanks to the sentimental union (marriage) of Queen Isabel I of Castile with Fernando II of Aragon. The religion that is practiced throughout the Spanish territory is Catholic.
There were certain interruptions in the Spanish monarchy, the first took place in 1873 and ended in 1874, at which time the First Republic was established. Then, in 1931 to 1939, when the Second Republic took place and, finally, in the year 1939 to 1975, during the Franco regime. Currently, King Felipe VI of Spain is the person who holds the head of state of Spain, as well as the supreme and total command of the Spanish armed forces.
The Vatican Monarchy
No one else has the power to vote or elect the next Vatican monarch, furthermore, it is not a lifetime or hereditary reign. Another important aspect of the monarch of the Vatican is that his nationality does not matter, in fact, Pope Francis is of Argentine nationality and his secretary of state (Pietro Parolin) is Italian. In the case of resignation of the position as Supreme Pontiff of the Vatican or, failing that, his death, power rests with the College of Cardinals, who must vote, later, for the election of a new Pope.
The monarch of the Vatican is the one who dictates the laws, exercises the executive and judicial power, so everyone must obey him (nationally and internationally). But, the so-called Pope can delegate his powers to the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State, which has a president (currently it is the Italian Giuseppe Bertello). The Vatican City has an accounting department, general services, security and civil protection, health and hygiene, technical services, museums, telecommunications, pontifical towns and economic services.
An important characteristic of this type of government is that the Vatican does not pay taxes, in fact, its economy is fully financed by Catholics residing throughout the world and who have their faith in the Catholic Church. Regarding international relations, the Holy See has more than 180 allied nations, is a permanent observer at the UN, UNESCO, FAO and the World Tourism Organization.
The Brunei Empire
It was an empire belonging to South Asia, it was founded at the beginning of the 7th century, considered a small, maritime and commercial kingdom whose king could be pagan, Hindu or native. Later, in the 15th century, the kings of Brunei made the faithful and unequivocal decision to join Islam and comply with the rules and mandates that characterize it. Currently, Brunei is an absolute monarchy, with somewhat archaic laws considering that we are living in the 21st century, but this is motivated by the religion they chose to live and their customs.
