A monarchical state or, in other words, a monarchy is a state in which power, in whole or in part, belongs to one person - the monarch. This could be a king, king, emperor or, for example, a sultan, but any monarch rules for life and passes on his power by inheritance.
Today there are 30 monarchical states in the world and 12 of them are monarchies in Europe. A list of monarchy countries located in Europe is given below.
List of monarchy countries in Europe
1. Norway is a kingdom, a constitutional monarchy;
2. Sweden is a kingdom, a constitutional monarchy;
3. Denmark is a kingdom, a constitutional monarchy;
4. Great Britain is a kingdom, a constitutional monarchy;
5. Belgium – kingdom, constitutional monarchy;
6. The Netherlands – kingdom, constitutional monarchy;
7. Luxembourg – duchy, constitutional monarchy;
8. Liechtenstein – principality, constitutional monarchy;
9. Spain is a kingdom, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy;
10. Andorra is a principality, a parliamentary principality with two co-rulers;
11. Monaco – principality, constitutional monarchy;
12. The Vatican is a papal state, an elective absolute theocratic monarchy.
All monarchies in Europe are countries in which the form of government is a constitutional monarchy, that is, one in which the power of the monarch is significantly limited by the elected parliament and the constitution adopted by it. The only exception is the Vatican, where absolute rule is exercised by the elected Pope.
| No. | Region | A country | Form of government |
| E V R O P A | Great Britain (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) | KM | |
| Spain (Kingdom of Spain) | KM | ||
| Belgium (Kingdom of Belgium) | KM | ||
| Netherlands (Kingdom of the Netherlands) | KM | ||
| Monaco (Principality of Monaco) | KM | ||
| Liechtenstein (Principality of Liechtenstein) | KM | ||
| Sweden (Kingdom of Sweden) | KM | ||
| Norway (Kingdom of Norway) | KM | ||
| Denmark (Kingdom of Denmark) | KM | ||
| Luxembourg (Grand Duchy of Luxembourg) | KM | ||
| Andorra (Principality of Andorra) | KM | ||
| Vatican | ATM | ||
| A Z I Z | Brunei (Brunei Darussalam) | ATM | |
| Saudi Arabia (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) | ATM | ||
| Qatar (State of Qatar) | AM | ||
| Oman (Sultanate of Oman) | AM | ||
| Kuwait (State of Kuwait) | KM | ||
| Bahrain (State of Bahrain) | KM | ||
| United United Arab Emirates(UAE) | KM | ||
| Bhutan (Kingdom of Bhutan) | KM | ||
| Cambodia (Kingdom of Cambodia) | KM | ||
| Thailand (Kingdom of Thailand) | KM | ||
| Malaysia (Federation of Malaysia) | KM | ||
| Japan | KM | ||
| Jordan (Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan) | KM | ||
| AFRICA | Morocco (Kingdom of Morocco) | KM | |
| Swaziland (Kingdom of Swaziland) | KM | ||
| Lesotho (Kingdom of Lesotho) | KM | ||
| Oceania | Tonga (Kingdom of Tonga) | KM |
Note: KM is a constitutional monarchy;
AM – absolute monarchy;
ATM is an absolute theocratic monarchy.
Republican form of government arose in ancient times, but became most widespread during the periods of modern and modern history. In 1991, there were 127 republics in the world, but after the collapse of the USSR and Yugoslavia their total number exceeded 140.
Under a republican system, legislative power usually belongs to parliament, and executive power to the government. At the same time, a distinction is made between presidential, parliamentary and mixed republics.
Presidential republic characterized by the significant role of the president in the system government agencies, the combination in his hands of the powers of the head of state and head of government. It is also called a dualistic republic, thereby emphasizing the fact that strong executive power is concentrated in the hands of the president, and legislative power in the hands of parliament.
Distinctive features this form of government:
· extra-parliamentary method of electing the president (either by the population - Brazil, France, or by the electoral college - USA),
· extra-parliamentary method of forming a government, that is, it is formed by the president. The president is both formally and legally the head of the government (there is no post of prime minister, as, for example, in the USA), or he appoints the head of government. The government is responsible only to the president, and not to parliament, since only the president can dismiss him,
· in general, with this form of government, the president has much greater powers compared to a parliamentary republic (he is the head of the executive branch, approves laws by signing, has the right to dismiss the government), but in a presidential republic the president, as a rule, is deprived of the right to dissolve parliament , and parliament is deprived of the right to express no confidence in the government, but can remove the president (impeachment procedure).
The United States of America is a classic presidential republic. The US Constitution is based on the principle of separation of powers. According to this constitution, the legislative power belongs to Congress, the executive power belongs to the president, and the judicial power belongs to Supreme Court. The president, elected by an electoral college, forms a government of persons belonging to his party.
Presidential republics are common in Latin American countries. This form of government is also found in some countries in Asia and Africa. True, sometimes in these countries the power of the head of state actually goes beyond the constitutional framework, and, in particular, Latin American presidential republics were characterized by researchers as super-presidential.
Parliamentary (parliamentary) republic characterized by the proclamation of the principle of the supremacy of parliament, to which the government bears full responsibility for its activities.
In such a republic, the government is formed through parliamentary means from among the deputies of the parties that have a majority of votes in parliament. It remains in power as long as it has the support of a parliamentary majority. This form of government exists in countries with developed, largely self-regulating economies (Italy, Turkey, Germany, Greece, Israel). Elections in this system of democracy are usually held according to party lists, that is, voters vote not for a candidate, but for a party.
The main function of parliament, in addition to legislation, is control over the government. In addition, the parliament has important financial powers, since it develops and adopts the state budget, determines the paths of the country's socio-economic development, and resolves the main issues of the state's domestic, foreign and defense policy.
The head of state in such republics, as a rule, is elected by parliament or a specially formed broader board, which, along with members of parliament, includes representatives of the constituent entities of the federation or representative regional bodies of self-government. This is the main type of parliamentary control over the executive branch.
In Italy, for example, the president of the republic is elected by members of both chambers at their joint meeting, but three representatives from each region, elected by regional councils, participate in the elections. In the Federal Republic of Germany, the President is elected by the Federal Assembly, consisting of members of the Bundestag and the same number of persons elected by the Landtags of the states on the basis of proportional representation. In parliamentary republics, elections can also be general, for example, in Austria, where the president is elected by the population for a term of 6 years.
Under this form of government they talk about a “weak” president. However, the head of state has fairly broad powers. He promulgates laws, issues decrees, has the right to dissolve parliament, formally appoints the head of government (only the head of the party that won the elections), and is commander-in-chief armed forces, has the right to grant amnesty to convicted persons.
The President, being the head of state, is not the head of the executive branch, that is, the government. The prime minister is formally appointed by the president, but can only be the head of the faction with a parliamentary majority, and not necessarily the head of the winning party. It should be noted that the government is competent to govern the state only when it enjoys the confidence of parliament.
Mixed Republic(also called a semi-presidential, semi-parliamentary, presidential-parliamentary republic) is a form of government that cannot be considered a type of either a presidential or a parliamentary republic. Among the modern ones, the fifth republic in France (after 1962), Portugal, Armenia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Slovakia are mixed.
A special form of government - socialist republic (which arose in the 20th century in a number of countries as a result of the victory of socialist revolutions). Its varieties: Soviet republic and People's Democratic Republic ( former USSR, countries of Eastern Europe until 1991, as well as China, Vietnam, North Korea, Cuba, which remain socialist republics today).
The republican form of government can be considered the most progressive and democratic. It was chosen not only by economically developed states, but also by the majority of Latin American countries that freed themselves from colonial dependence in the last century, and almost all former colonies in Asia, which gained independence in the middle of this century, as well as African states, most of which achieved independence only in the 60-70s of the 20th century. and even later.
At the same time, it must be borne in mind that such a progressive form of government does not at all unify the republics. They differ quite significantly from each other in political, social and other respects.
It should be noted that there is a unique form of government - interstate associations: Commonwealth, led by Great Britain (Commonwealth) And Commonwealth of Independent States(CIS, which includes Russia).
Legally, the British Commonwealth of Nations was formalized back in 1931. Then it included Great Britain and its dominions - Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, Newfoundland and Ireland. After World War II and the collapse of the British colonial empire The Commonwealth included the vast majority of Britain's former possessions - about 50 countries with a total territory of more than 30 million km 2 and a population of over 1.2 billion people located in all parts of the world.
Members of the Commonwealth have the unconditional right to unilaterally withdraw from it whenever they wish. It was used by Myanmar (Burma), Ireland, and Pakistan. All states included in the Commonwealth have full sovereignty in their internal and external affairs.
In Commonwealth states that have a republican form of government, the Queen of Great Britain is proclaimed "the head of the Commonwealth... symbol of the free association of its independent member states." Some members of the Commonwealth - Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia (Australia), New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, Mauritius, Jamaica and some others - are officially referred to as “states within the Commonwealth”. Supreme power in these countries formally continues to belong to the British monarch, who is represented in them by the Governor-General, appointed on the recommendation of the government of the given state. Supreme body Commonwealth conference of heads of government.
In 1991, simultaneously with the signing of the Belovezhsky Accords on the dissolution of the USSR, it was decided to create Commonwealth of Independent States(Russia, Ukraine, Belarus). Subsequently, all the former republics of the USSR, except the three Baltic states, joined the CIS. Goals: to promote the integration of CIS member countries in the economic, political and humanitarian fields, to maintain and develop contacts and cooperation between peoples, government institutions Commonwealth countries. CIS - open organization for the accession of other countries. IN different years Subregional associations arose within the CIS: the Central Asian Economic Community (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, with Russia, Georgia, Turkey and Ukraine accepted as observers) and GUUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Moldova). In 1996, the Customs Union was created, uniting the economic space of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan (later Tajikistan joined them. In October 2000, on the basis customs union The Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) was formed. Military-political associations (for example, the Collective Security Treaty) continue to form among the CIS member countries. In September 2008, after the conflict in South Ossetia Georgia has announced its desire to secede from the commonwealth.
Form government structure (administrative-territorial structure of states) – important element political map peace. It is directly related to character political system and the form of government, reflects the national-ethnic (in some cases also religious) composition of the population, historical and geographical features of the formation of the country.
There are two main forms of administrative-territorial structure - unitary and federal.
Unitary state - is a single integral state entity, consisting of administrative-territorial units that are subordinate to the central authorities and do not possess signs of state sovereignty. In a unitary state, there is usually a single legislative and executive power, a single system of government bodies, and a single constitution. There are an overwhelming majority of such states in the world.
Federation - a form of organization in which several state entities, legally possessing a certain political independence, form one union state.
Characteristic signs federations:
The territory of the federation consists of the territories of its individual subjects (for example, states - in Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, India, USA; provinces - in Argentina, Canada; cantons - in Switzerland; lands - in Germany and Austria; republics, as well as other administrative entities (autonomous okrugs, territories, regions - in Russia);
Federal subjects are usually given the right to adopt their own constitutions;
The competence between the federation and its subjects is delimited by the union constitution;
Each subject of the federation has its own legal and judicial systems;
In most federations there is a single union citizenship, as well as the citizenship of the union units;
A federation usually has unified armed forces and a federal budget.
In a number of federations, the union parliament has a chamber representing the interests of members of the federation.
However, in many modern federal states the role of general federal bodies is so great that they can essentially be considered unitary rather than federal states. Thus, the constitutions of such federations as Argentina, Canada, the USA, Germany, Switzerland do not recognize the right of members of the federation to leave it.
Federations are built on territorial (USA, Canada, Australia, etc.) and national characteristics (Russia, India, Nigeria, etc.), which largely determine the nature, content and structure of government.
Confederation - it is a temporary legal union of sovereign states created to ensure their common interests (members of the confederation retain their sovereign rights in both internal and external affairs). Confederate states are short-lived: they either disintegrate or turn into federations (examples: the Swiss Union, Austria-Hungary, as well as the USA, where a federation of states was formed from a confederation established in 1781, enshrined in the US Constitution of 1787).
Most states in the world are unitary. Today only 24 states are federations (Table 4).
Absolute monarchy is a form of government in which all executive, legislative, judicial and military power is concentrated in the hands of the monarch. In this case, the presence of parliament is possible, as well as holding elections to parliament by the residents of the country, but it is only an advisory body to the monarch and cannot go against him in any way.
In the world, in a strict sense, there are only six countries with absolute monarchy. If we consider it more openly, then a dualistic monarchy can also be equated to an absolute one, and these are six more countries. Thus, there are twelve countries in the world in which power is somehow concentrated in one hand.
Surprisingly, in Europe (so loving to protect human rights and irritated by any dictators) there are already two such countries! But at the same time, it is necessary to distinguish between an absolute and a constitutional monarchy, since there are a lot of kingdoms and principalities in Europe, but most of them are a constitutional monarchy, in which the head of state is the chairman of parliament.
And so, here are these twelve countries with an absolute monarchy:
1. . Small State in the Middle East on the shores of the Persian Gulf. Dualistic monarchy, King Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa since 2002.
2. (or Brunei for short). State in South-East Asia on the island of Kalimantan. Absolute monarchy, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah since 1967.
3. . The city-state is located entirely in Rome. A theocratic monarchy, the country has been ruled by Pope Francis since 2013.
4. (full name: Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan). Located in the Middle East. A dualist monarchy, the country has been ruled by King Abdullah II bin Hussein al-Hashimi since 1999.
5., a state in the Middle East, an absolute monarchy, the country has been ruled by Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani since 2013.
6. . State in the Middle East. A dualist monarchy, the country has been ruled by Emir Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah since 2006.
7. (full name: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg). The state is located in the center of Europe. Luxembourg is a dual monarchy and has been ruled by Grand Duke HRH Henri (Henry) since 2000.
8. (full name: Kingdom of Morocco) is a state located in the northwestern part of Africa. A dualist monarchy, the country has been ruled by King Mohammed VI bin al Hassan since 1999.
9. . A state in the Middle East, on the shores of the Persian Gulf. An absolute monarchy, the country has been ruled by President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan since 2004.
10. (full name: Sultanate of Oman). State on the Arabian Peninsula. An absolute monarchy, the country has been ruled by Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said since 1970.
eleven. . State in the Middle East. An absolute theocratic monarchy, the country has been ruled by King Salman bin Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman al Saud since 2015.
12. . The state is located in southern Africa. A dual monarchy, the country has been ruled by King Mswati III since 1986.
What is a monarchy? Most often, this word evokes in people associations with something magnificent, majestic and absolute. In this article we will look not only general concept, but also types of monarchy, its purpose and goals, both centuries-old history humanity, and at the present moment. If we briefly outline the topic of the article, it can be formulated as follows: “Monarchy: concept, characteristics, types.”
What type of government is called a monarchy?
Monarchy is one of the types of government that involves the sole leadership of the country. In other words, this is a political system where all power is in the hands of one person. Such a ruler is called a monarch, but different countries you can hear other titles, namely: emperor, shah, king or queen - they are all monarchs, regardless of what they are called in their homeland. Another important feature of monarchical power is that it is inherited without any votes or elections. Naturally, if there are no direct heirs, then the laws that control succession to the throne in monarchical countries come into force. Thus, power most often passes to the closest relative, but world history knows many other options.
In general, the form of government in a state determines the structure of the highest power in the country, as well as the distribution of functions, responsibilities and duties of the highest legislative bodies. As for the monarchy, as already mentioned, all power belongs to a single ruler. The monarch receives it for life, and, moreover, does not bear any legal responsibility for his decisions, although it is he who determines how the state should act in a given situation.
How to distinguish a monarchical form of government?
No matter what different types monarchies have their differences, there are also basic features common to all. Such characteristics help to quickly and accurately determine that we are really dealing with monarchical power. So, the main characteristics include the following:
- There is a single ruler who is the head of state.
- The monarch exercises his power from the moment he takes office until his death.
- The transfer of power occurs through kinship, which is called inheritance.
- The monarch has every right to govern the state at his own discretion; his decisions are not discussed or questioned.
- The monarch is not subject to legal liability for his actions or decisions.
About the types of monarchy
Like other types of government, monarchy is a fairly broad concept, so its subtypes with individual characteristics are also defined. Almost all types and forms of monarchy can be grouped into the following list:
- Despotism.
- Absolute monarchy.
- Constitutional monarchy (dualistic and parliamentary).
- Estate-representative monarchy.
For all of these forms of government, the basic features of a monarchy remain, but they have their own unique nuances that create differences between them. Next, it is worth discussing in more detail what types of monarchy there are and their characteristics.
About despotism
Despotism is a variant of monarchy, where the power of the ruler is not limited by anything at all. In this case, the monarch is called a despot. As a rule, his power comes from the military-bureaucratic apparatus. In other words, he controls his subordinates through force, which is mainly expressed in the support of troops or other security forces.
Since absolutely all power is in the hands of the despot, the law that he establishes does not limit his rights or opportunities in any way. Thus, the monarch and his entourage can do whatever they see fit with impunity, and this will not have any consequences for them. negative consequences in a legal context.
Interesting fact: the great ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle mentioned despotism in one of his works. He noted that this form of government is very similar to the situation with the master and his power over the slaves, where the master is an analogue of a despot monarch, and slaves are the ruler’s subjects.
About absolute monarchy
Types of monarchy include the concept of absolutism. Here main feature- this is the ownership of all power exclusively by one person. Such a structure of power in the case of an absolute monarchy is dictated by law. It is also worth noting that absolutism and dictatorship are very similar types of power.
An absolute monarchy indicates that in a state all spheres of life are individually controlled by the ruler. That is, he controls the legislative, executive, judicial and military industries. Often even religious or spiritual power is entirely in his hands.
Looking at this issue in more detail, we can say that there is a rather ambiguous opinion about this type of government as an absolute monarchy. The concept and types of state leadership are quite broad, but with regard to despotism and absolutism, it is worth noting that the best option is still the second one. If in a totalitarian country under the leadership of a despot literally everything is controlled, freedom of thought is destroyed and many civil rights are abolished, then an absolute monarchy can be very favorable for the people. An example can be provided by prosperous Luxembourg, where the standard of living of the people is the highest in Europe. In addition, at the moment we can see types of absolute monarchy in countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar.
About the constitutional monarchy
The difference between this type of government is the limited power of the monarch, established by the constitution, traditions, or sometimes even unwritten law. Here the monarch does not have priority in the sphere of state power. It is also important that the restrictions are not just written into the law, but are actually enforced.
Types of constitutional monarchies:
- Dualistic monarchy. Here the power of the monarch is limited as follows: all decisions made by the monarch must be confirmed by a specially appointed minister. Without his resolution, not a single decision of the ruler will come into effect. Another difference between a dualistic monarchy is that all executive power remains with the monarch.
- Parliamentary monarchy. It also limits the power of the monarch, to such an extent that, in fact, he performs only a ceremonial or representative role. Real power the ruler in a parliamentary monarchy has practically nothing left. Here, all executive power belongs to the government, which, in turn, is responsible to parliament.
About the estate-representative monarchy
This form of monarchy involves class representatives who are directly involved in drawing up laws and governing the state in general. Here the power of the monarch is also limited, and this happens mainly due to the development of monetary and commodity relations. This put an end to the stability of the subsistence economy, which was then closed. Thus, the concept of centralization of power in a political context arose.
This type of monarchy was typical for European countries in the period from the 12th to the 14th centuries. Examples include the Parliament in England, the Cortes and Spain, and the Estates General in France. In Russia it was Zemsky Sobors in the period from the 16th to the 17th centuries.
Examples of monarchical rule in the modern world
In addition to these countries, absolute monarchy is established in Brunei and the Vatican. It is worth noting that the United Arab Emirates is essentially a federal state, but each of the seven emirates in this association is part of an absolute monarchy.
The most striking example of a parliamentary monarchy is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Holland is also sometimes included here.
Many countries belong to the constitutional monarchy, among which we highlight the following: Spain, Belgium, Monaco, Japan, Andorra, Cambodia, Thailand, Morocco and many others.
Regarding dual monarchy, there are three main examples worth mentioning: Jordan, Morocco and Kuwait. It is worth noting that the latter is sometimes referred to as an absolute monarchy.
Weaknesses of the monarchy
Monarchy, the concept and types of which were discussed above, is a political structure that, naturally, has certain disadvantages.
The main problem is that the ruler and the people are too far from each other due to a peculiar layer, which is where weakness monarchy as a form of government. All types of monarchies, without exception, are distinguished by this disadvantage. The ruler is almost completely isolated from his people, which negatively affects both relationships and the monarch’s understanding of the real situation, and, accordingly, his acceptance important decisions. This is a small fraction of the unpleasant moments that are provoked by this state of affairs.
It is also obvious that when a country is governed in accordance with the preferences and moral principles of only one person, this introduces a certain subjectivity. The monarch is only a man and, like ordinary citizens, is subject to attacks of pride and self-confidence that stem from the intoxication of unlimited power. If we add to this the impunity of the ruler, then a rather characteristic picture is observed.
Another not entirely successful aspect of the monarchical system is the transfer of title by inheritance. Even if we consider the types of limited monarchy, this aspect is still present. The trouble is that the next legal heirs do not always turn out to be worthy people. This concerns both the general and organizational characteristics of the future monarch (for example, not everyone is decisive or wise enough to rule the country) and his health (most often mental). Thus, power can pass into the hands of a mentally unbalanced and stupid older brother, although the reigning family has a wiser and fully adequate younger heir.
Types of monarchy: pros and cons
History shows that most often in a monarchical form of government the people did not like the aristocracy. The problem was that people belonging to the upper strata of society were financially and intellectually different from the majority, accordingly, this sowed natural enmity and gave rise to mutual hostility. But it is worth noting that if at the court of the monarch a policy was introduced that weakened the position of the aristocracy, then its place was firmly occupied by the bureaucracy. Naturally, this state of affairs was even worse.
As for the lifetime power of the monarch, this is an ambiguous aspect. On the one hand, having the opportunity to make decisions long term, the monarch could work for the future. That is, counting on the fact that he would rule for several decades, the ruler gradually and consistently implemented his policies. This is not bad for the country, if the vector of development of the state is chosen correctly and for the benefit of the people. On the other hand, holding the post of monarch for more than one decade, bearing the burden of government concerns on one’s shoulders, is quite tiring, which can subsequently affect the efficiency of work.
To summarize, we can say that the monarchy is good for the following:
- A clearly established succession to the throne helps keep the country in a relatively stable state.
- A monarch who rules for life is able to do more than a time-limited ruler.
- All aspects of the country's life are controlled by one person, so he can see the whole picture very clearly.
Among the disadvantages it is worth emphasizing the following:
- Hereditary power could doom the country to life under the control of a person who is simply not capable of being a ruler for one reason or another.
- The distance between the common people and the monarchs is incommensurable. The existence of the aristocracy very sharply divides the people into social strata.
Disadvantages for the good
Quite often, the virtues of the monarchy turned out to be a problem in one situation or another. But sometimes everything happened the other way around: the seemingly unacceptable shortcoming of the monarchy unexpectedly helped and acted for the benefit of the people.
In this section we will touch on the topic of injustice of the monarchy. Undoubtedly, many politicians who want to come to power are not satisfied with the fact that the title of the ruler of the country is inherited. The people, in turn, are often dissatisfied with the clear and inexorable stratification of society along class lines. But on the other hand, the hereditary power of the monarch stabilizes many political, social and economic processes in the state. The inevitable inheritance of power prevents unconstructive competition between the huge number of candidates vying for the post of ruler. Competition between contenders for the right to govern the country can lead to instability in the state and even military resolution of conflicts. And since everything is predetermined, peace and prosperity in the region are achieved.
Republic
There is another one important point Something worth discussing is the types of monarchies and republics. Since a lot has been said about the monarchy, let’s turn to an alternative type of governing the country. A republic is a form of government where all government bodies are formed through elections and exist in this composition for a limited period. It is important to understand this in order to see the fundamental difference between these types of leadership: monarchical power, where the people are not given a choice, and a republic, the leading representatives of which are elected by the people themselves for a certain term. The elected candidates make up the parliament that actually governs the country. In other words, the head of the republican state becomes the candidates elected by the citizens, and not the heirs of the monarchical dynasty.
A republic is the most popular form of government in world practice, which has repeatedly proven its effectiveness. Interesting fact: most states in the modern world are officially republics. If we talk about numbers, then as of 2006 there were 190 states, of which 140 were republics.
Types of republics and their main characteristics
Not only the monarchy, the concepts and types of which we examined, is divided into structural parts. For example, the main classification of such a form of government as a republic consists of four types:
- Parliamentary republic. Based on the name, you can understand that here most of the power is in the hands of parliament. It is this legislative body that is the government of the country with this form of government.
- Presidential republic. Here the main levers of power are concentrated in the hands of the president. Its task is also to coordinate actions and relations between all governing branches of government.
- Mixed republic. It is also called semi-presidential. The main characteristic of this form of government is the dual responsibility of the government, which is subordinate to both parliament and the president.
- Theocratic republic. In such a formation, power largely or even entirely belongs to the church hierarchy.
Conclusion
Knowledge of what types of monarchy can be found in modern world, help to more deeply understand the features of government. Studying history, we can observe the triumph or collapse of countries ruled by monarchs. This type of government was one of the steps towards the forms of government that prevail in our time. Therefore, knowing what a monarchy is, the concept and types of which we have discussed in detail, is very important for people interested in political processes happening on the world stage.
They differ in many ways from their historical predecessors. They take up little space on the planet, but have a significant impact on the state of affairs in the world. There are only six countries in which power entirely belongs to the monarch: one (Vatican) in Europe, another in South Africa (Swaziland) and four in Asia (Brunei, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar). States with an absolute monarchy located in Asia represent an interesting phenomenon - the existence of a monarchical form of government in its absolute version in modern realities. Each absolute monarchy has its own characteristics, unique to it, determined mainly by the place that the monarch occupies in the system of governing bodies of his state.
Brunei
A small but oil and gas-rich state on the northwestern coast of Borneo is ruled by a sultan, whose power is inherited. Hassanal Bolkiah is the head of state, minister of defense and finance, prime minister and religious leader of Muslims. The monarch appoints and controls ministers, members of the Privy and Religious Councils, as well as the Council of Succession. The Sultan does not have legislative power, but he appoints members of the Legislative Council. As a rule, countries with absolute monarchies located in Asia are rich. In terms of the standard of living of the population, Brunei occupies one of the first places in the Asian region.
Oman
Another example of an Asian country with a monarchy is Oman, whose Sultan has been Qaboos bin Said since 1970. Under this ruler, who came to power after overthrowing his father from the throne, the sultanate from a country firmly rooted in the Middle Ages (the whole country had one small hospital, 3 schools for boys and 10 km of roads) turned into a prosperous modern state. Like other countries with an absolute monarchy, Oman is distinguished by the rigidity of the regime. His Majesty Qaboos bin Said holds the portfolios of Minister of Defence, Finance, Foreign Affairs and Head of Government. He was the first of the Arabian sultans to introduce a Constitution in the country. The governance system includes the State Council, whose members are appointed by the Sultan, and an elected body - the Shura Council, the head of which is also appointed by Qaboos bin Said. The "poorest" of Asia's absolute monarchs is worth more than $9 billion.
Saudi Arabia
The largest state on the Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia, which has enormous oil reserves, is ruled by King Abdullah. The ruler of this country with an absolute monarchy is the oldest current monarch planet and will celebrate his 89th birthday on August 1. According to the Basic Law of the Kingdom, the head of state, whose power is limited only by Sharia law, is subject to all branches of government. The country has a kind of parliament - the Constitutional Assembly, whose members are appointed by the king. Political parties, rallies, any discussions of the political system, alcohol and drugs are strictly prohibited here. The punishment for murder, "witchcraft" and blasphemy is the death penalty. King Abdullah is the richest absolute monarch in the world. His fortune (about 63 billion dollars) is second only to that of the Queen of England.
Southern neighbor Saudi Arabia, the state of Qatar, a major exporter of gas, oil and petroleum products, is ruled by Emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani. His power is limited solely by Sharia law. There are no political parties in the country, and the right of appointment to key positions in public administration belongs only to the emir.