Monarchy

A monarchy is a kind of government where a monarch, a kind of hereditary ruler (someone who inherits their office), is the head of state. Monarchs usually rule until they die or pass down (when a monarch resigns it is called abdication). Most monarchies are hereditary, but some are elected. The most famous elected monarch is the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Some well known titles for monarchs are King, Queen, Emperor, Empress, Czar, Kaiser, Shah, Emir, Khan and Sultan.^[1][2]

In less formal societies, the leader was often chosen by fighting. That was the way of warrior societies like the Zulu. Kings of England and Scotland were sometimes decided by battle. Warfare has been very frequent between human societies. "Wars of succession" is the general term for warfare caused by two or more individuals claiming the right of successor to a dead or deposed monarch.^[3][4]

Many people who study government think a country should not have a monarchy. They argue that rulers ought to be elected, or that monarchs are often corrupt. Aristotle’s “Politics” compares the different forms of government which a state may have. He claims monarchy to be one of the worst regimes because one leader may be easily corrupted, even if they were selected as the most wise and deserving ruler of an entire group.

Many people in countries such as the UK want to keep their royal family as they have remained a traditional icon and source of income for the country. However, in the UK their influence in the rule of the country is very small, leaving government to the governing political party elected by the people. This is because in a constitutional monarchy the monarch has only the power of head of state.

1. ↑ "monarchy | Definition, Examples, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
2. ↑ Kirsty.Oram (2016-02-29). "The role of the Monarchy". The Royal Family. Archived from the original on 2019-10-10. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
3. ↑ Holsti, Kalevi 1991. Peace and War: Armed Conflicts and International Order, 1648–1989. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 379. ISBN 9780521399296.
4. ↑ Braumoeller, Bear F. 2019. Only the Dead: the persistence of war in the modern age. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p288. ISBN 9780190849542.