Constitutional monarchy
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Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions.[1][2][3] Constitutional monarchies differ from absolute monarchies (in which a monarch is the only decision-maker) in that they are bound to exercise powers and authorities within limits prescribed by an established legal framework.
Constitutional monarchies range from countries such as Liechtenstein, Monaco, Morocco, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain and Bhutan, where the constitution grants substantial discretionary powers to the sovereign, to countries such as the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Lesotho, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Japan, where the monarch retains significantly less, if any, personal discretion in the exercise of their authority. On the surface level, this distinction may be hard to establish, with numerous liberal democracies restraining monarchic power in practice rather than written law, e.g., the constitution of the United Kingdom, which affords the monarch substantial, if limited, legislative and executive powers.
Constitutional monarchy may refer to a system in which the monarch acts as a non-party political
In addition to acting as a visible symbol of
The Commonwealth realms share the same person as
The concept of semi-constitutional monarch identifies constitutional monarchies where the monarch retains substantial powers, on a par with a
History
The oldest constitutional monarchy dating back to ancient times was that of the
Constitutional and absolute monarchy
England, Scotland and the United Kingdom
In the
Today, the role of the British monarch is by convention effectively ceremonial.
No person may accept significant public office without swearing an
Continental Europe
Poland developed the first constitution for a monarchy in continental Europe, with the
Executive monarchy versus ceremonial monarchy
There exist at least two different types of constitutional monarchies in the modern world – executive and ceremonial. In executive monarchies, the monarch wields significant (though not absolute) power. The monarchy under this system of government is a powerful political (and social) institution. By contrast, in ceremonial monarchies, the monarch holds little or no actual power or direct political influence, though they frequently have a great deal of social and cultural influence.
Ceremonial and executive monarchy should not be confused with democratic and non-democratic monarchical systems. For example, in Liechtenstein and Monaco, the ruling monarchs wield significant executive power. However, while they are theoretically very powerful within their small states, they are not absolute monarchs and have very limited
Modern constitutional monarchy
As originally conceived, a constitutional monarch was head of the
The present-day concept of a constitutional monarchy developed in the United Kingdom, where the democratically elected parliaments, and their leader, the
Following the
Nowadays a
However, three important factors distinguish monarchies such as the United Kingdom from systems where greater power might otherwise rest with Parliament. These are:
- The royal prerogative, under which the monarch may exercise power under certain very limited circumstances
- Sovereign immunity, under which the monarch may do no wrong under the law because the responsible government is instead deemed accountable
- The immunity of the monarch from some taxation or restrictions on property use
Other privileges may be nominal or ceremonial (e.g., where the executive, judiciary, police or armed forces act on the authority of or owe allegiance to the Crown).
Today slightly more than a quarter of constitutional monarchies are
In nearly all cases, the monarch is still the nominal chief executive, but is bound by convention to act on the advice of the Cabinet. Only a few monarchies (most notably Japan and Sweden) have amended their constitutions so that the monarch is no longer even the nominal chief executive.
There are fifteen constitutional monarchies under King Charles III, which are known as Commonwealth realms.[23] Unlike some of their continental European counterparts, the Monarch and his Governors-General in the Commonwealth realms hold significant "reserve" or "prerogative" powers, to be wielded in times of extreme emergency or constitutional crises, usually to uphold parliamentary government. For example, during the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis, the Governor-General dismissed the Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. The Australian Senate had threatened to block the Government's budget by refusing to pass the necessary appropriation bills. On 11 November 1975, Whitlam intended to call a half-Senate election to try to break the deadlock. When he sought the Governor-General's approval of the election, the Governor-General instead dismissed him as Prime Minister. Shortly after that, he installed leader of the opposition Malcolm Fraser in his place. Acting quickly before all parliamentarians became aware of the government change, Fraser and his allies secured passage of the appropriation bills, and the Governor-General dissolved Parliament for a double dissolution election. Fraser and his government were returned with a massive majority. This led to much speculation among Whitlam's supporters as to whether this use of the Governor-General's reserve powers was appropriate, and whether Australia should become a republic. Among supporters of constitutional monarchy, however, the event confirmed the monarchy's value as a source of checks and balances against elected politicians who might seek powers in excess of those conferred by the constitution, and ultimately as a safeguard against dictatorship.
In Thailand's constitutional monarchy, the monarch is recognized as the Head of State, Head of the Armed Forces, Upholder of the Buddhist Religion, and Defender of the Faith. The immediate former King,
In the United Kingdom, a frequent debate centres on when it is appropriate for a British monarch to act. When a monarch does act, political controversy can often ensue, partially because the neutrality of the crown is seen to be compromised in favour of a
List of current constitutional monarchies
This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2022) |
There are currently 43 monarchies worldwide.
Ceremonial constitutional monarchies
|
Executive constitutional monarchies
- Bahrain
- Bhutan
- Jordan
- Kuwait
- Liechtenstein
- Monaco
- Morocco
- Qatar
- Tonga
- United Arab Emirates[a]
- ^ In the case of the United Arab Emirates, the president functions as the head of state of a federation of seven absolute monarchies, and is de jure elected by the Supreme Council; the prime minister is de jure appointed and is the head of government. The president and prime minister are de facto the rulers of the absolute monarchies of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, respectively.
Former constitutional monarchies
- The Kingdom of Afghanistan was a constitutional monarchy under Mohammad Zahir Shah from 1964 to 1973.
- King Zog I.
- The Revolutionary France and sought military protection from Great Britain. Corsica became an independent kingdom under George IIIof the United Kingdom, but with its own elected parliament and a written constitution guaranteeing local autonomy and democratic rights.
- Barbados from gaining its independence in 1966 until 2021, was a constitutional monarchy in the Commonwealth of Nations with a Governor-General representing the Monarchy of Barbados. After an extensive history of republican movements, a republic was declared on 30 November 2021.
- Brazil from 1822, with the proclamation of independence and rise of the Empire of Brazil by Pedro I of Brazil to 1889, when Pedro II was deposed by a military coup.
- Kingdom of Bulgaria until 1946 when Tsar Simeon was deposed by the communist assembly.
- Many republics in the Commonwealth of Nations were constitutional monarchies for some period after their independence, including South Africa (1910–1961), Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) (1948–1972), Fiji (1970–1987), Gambia (1965–1970), Ghana (1957–1960), Guyana (1966–1970), Trinidad and Tobago (1962–1976), and Barbados (1966–2021).
- Egypt was a constitutional monarchy starting from the later part of the Khedivate, with parliamentary structures and a responsible khedival ministry developing in the 1860s and 1870s. The constitutional system continued through the Khedivate period and developed during the Sultanate and then Kingdom of Egypt, which established an essentially democratic liberal constitutional regime under the Egyptian Constitution of 1923. This system persisted until the declaration of a republic after the Free Officers Movement coup in 1952. For most of this period, however, Egypt was occupied by the United Kingdom, and overall political control was in the hands of British colonial officials nominally accredited as diplomats to the Egyptian royal court but actually able to overrule any decision of the monarch or elected government.
- The Grand Principality of Finland was a constitutional monarchy though its ruler, Alexander I, was simultaneously an autocrat and absolute rulerin Russia.
- Louis-Philippe), and the Second Empire (under Napoleon III) were also constitutional monarchies, although the power of the monarch varied considerably between them and sometimes within them.
- The German Empire from 1871 to 1918, (as well as earlier confederations, and the monarchies it consisted of) was also a constitutional monarchy—see Constitution of the German Empire.
- plebiscite8 December 1974.
- coup.
- The Kingdom of Hungary. In 1848–1849 and 1867–1918 as part of Austria-Hungary. In the interwar period (1920–1944) Hungary remained a constitutional monarchy without a reigning monarch.
- sovereign kingdomunited with Denmark under a common king. Iceland abolished the monarchy and became a republic on 17 June 1944 after the Icelandic constitutional referendum, 24 May 1944.
- India was a constitutional monarchy, with George VI as head of state and the Earl Mountbatten as governor-general, for a brief period between gaining its independence from the British on 15 August 1947 and becoming a republic when it adopted its constitution on 26 January 1950, henceforth celebrated as Republic Day.
- Pahlavi Iran under Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi was a constitutional monarchy, which had been originally established during the Persian Constitutional Revolution in 1906.
- Italy until 2 June 1946, when a referendum proclaimed the end of the Kingdom and the beginning of the Republic.
- The Sisavang Vatthana was forced to abdicate by the communist Pathet Lao.
- Malta was a constitutional monarchy with Elizabeth II as Queen of Malta, represented by a Governor-General appointed by her, for the first ten years of independence from 21 September 1964 to the declaration of the Republic of Malta on 13 December 1974.
- Maximilian of Austria as Emperor of Mexico. This constitutional monarchy lasted three years, from 1864 to 1867.
- Montenegro until 1918 when it merged with Serbia and other areas to form Yugoslavia.
- King Gyanendrawas deposed, and the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal was declared.
- Ottoman Empire from 1876 until 1878 and again from 1908 until the dissolution of the empire in 1922.
- Republic Day (or Pakistan Day) is celebrated every year on 23 March to commemorate the adoption of its Constitution and the transition of the Dominion of Pakistan to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
- The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formed after the Union of Lublin in 1569 and lasting until the final partition of the state in 1795, operated much like many modern European constitutional monarchies (into which it was officially changed by the establishment of the Constitution of 3 May 1791, which historian Norman Davies calls "the first constitution of its kind in Europe").[25] The legislators of the unified state truly did not see it as a monarchy at all, but as a republic under the presidency of the King . Poland–Lithuania also followed the principle of Rex regnat et non gubernat, had a bicameral parliament, and a collection of entrenched legal documents amounting to a constitution along the lines of the modern United Kingdom. The King was elected and had the duty of maintaining the people's rights.
- Portugal was a monarchy since 1139 and a constitutional monarchy from 1822 to 1828, and again from 1834 until 1910, when Manuel II was overthrown by a military coup. From 1815 to 1825 it was part of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves which was a constitutional monarchy for the years 1820–23.
- Kingdom of Romania from its establishment in 1881 until 1947 when Michael I was forced to abdicate by the communists.
- Karadjordjevicdynasty.
- Governor-Generalappointed by her, for the first fourteen years of independence from 31 August 1962 to the declaration of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on 1 August 1976. Republic Day is celebrated every year on 24 September.
- Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes) until 1929 and from 1931 (as Kingdom of Yugoslavia) until 1944 when under pressure from the Allies Peter IIrecognized the communist government.
Unusual constitutional monarchies
- bishop of Urgell and the president of France.
- Andorra, Monaco and Liechtenstein are the only countries with reigning princes.
- Belgium is the only remaining explicit popular monarchy: the formal title of its king is King of the Belgians rather than King of Belgium. Historically, several defunct constitutional monarchies followed this model; the Belgian formulation is recognized to have been modelled on the title "King of the French" granted by the Charter of 1830 to monarch of the July Monarchy.
- Japan is the only country remaining with an emperor.[26]
- Luxembourg is the only country remaining with a grand duke.
- Yang di-Pertuan Agong is selected from among nine staterulers who are also constitutional monarchs themselves.
- Papua New Guinea. Unlike in most other Commonwealth realms, sovereignty is constitutionally vested in the citizenry of Papua New Guinea and the preamble to the constitution states "that all power belongs to the people—acting through their duly elected representatives". The monarch has been, according to section 82 of the constitution, "requested by the people of Papua New Guinea, through their Constituent Assembly, to become [monarch] and Head of State of Papua New Guinea" and thus acts in that capacity.
- Spanish people".[27]
- United Arab Emirates is a federal country with an elective monarchy, the President or Ra'is, being selected from among the rulers of the seven emirates, each of whom is a hereditary absolute monarch in their own emirate.
See also
- Australian Monarchist League
- Criticism of monarchy
- Monarchism
- Figurehead
- Parliamentary republic
- Reserve power
References
Citations
- ^ Blum, Cameron & Barnes 1970, pp. 2Nnk67–268.
- .
- S2CID 154555066.
- ^ Kurian 2011, p. [page needed].
- ^ Bogdanor 1996, pp. 407–422.
- ^ Anckar, Carsten; Akademi, Åbo (2016). "Semi presidential systems and semi constitutional monarchies: A historical assessment of executive power-sharing". European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR). Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- . Retrieved 17 August 2019.
- ^ "64. The British Empire in 1914. Wells, H.G. 1922. A Short History of the World". bartleby.com. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
- OCLC 635291529.
- ^ "The Hittites", smie.co, 12 September 2008, archived from the original on 20 October 2017, retrieved 21 November 2015
- ^ Akurgal 2001, p. 118.
- ISBN 0007147198.
- ISBN 978-0297848448.
- ISBN 0198205929.
- ISBN 0198205929.
- ISBN 009458950X.
- ^ "Parliament and Crown". UK Parliament. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
- ^ Dunt 2015.
- ^ Parliamentary staff 2010.
- ^ Sear 2001, p. 3.
- ^ a b Hegel 1991, p. [page needed].
- ^ Montesquieu 1924, p. [page needed].
- ^ Royal Household staff 2015b.
- ^ Dewan, Angela (13 October 2016). "Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej dies at 88". CNN Regions+. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
- ^ Davies 1996, p. 699.
- ^ "The Imperial Institution – The Imperial Household Agency". kunaicho.go.jp.
- ^ Index. Constitution of Spain, Congress of Deputies
Sources
- Akurgal, Ekrem (2001), The Hattian and Hittite civilizations, Ankara: Turkish Ministry of Culture, p. 118, ISBN 975-17-2756-1
- Blum, Jerome; Cameron, Rondo; Barnes, Thomas G. (1970), The European World, vol. 1, Boston: Little, Brown, pp. 267–268, OCLC 76819
- doi:10.1093/pa/49.3.407, archived from the original on 20 October 2017 – excerpted from Bogdanor, Vernon (1995), The Monarchy and the Constitution, Oxford University Press
- Boyce, Peter (2008), The Queen's Other Realms, Annandale: Federation Press, p. 1, ISBN 978-1-86287-700-9
- Davies, Norman (1996), Europe: A History, Oxford University Press, p. 699, ISBN 0-19-820171-0
- Dunt, Ian, ed. (2015), "Monarchy – Background", politics.co.uk, retrieved 13 September 2011
- ISBN 0-521-34438-7– originally published as Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Hegel, Philosophie des Rechts.
- Kurian, George Thomas (2011), "Constitutional Monarchy", The Encyclopedia of Political Science, CQ Press, ]
- McCannon, John (2006), Barron's how to Prepare for the AP World History Examination (2nd, illustrated ed.), Barron's Educational Serie, pp. 177–178, ISBN 978-0764132711– England and the Netherlands in the 17th and 18th centuries were parliamentary democracies.
- )
- Orr, Campbell, ed. (2002), Queenship in Britain, 1660–1837: Royal Patronage, Court Culture, and Dynastic Politics (illustrated ed.), Manchester University Press, p. 3, ISBN 978-0719057694
- "Crown Prerogative", Official website of the British Parliament, 21 April 2010, retrieved 13 September 2011
- Patmore, Glenn (2009), Choosing the Republic, UNSW Press, p. 105, ISBN 978-1-74223-015-3
- "What is constitutional monarchy?", Official website of the British Monarchy, 12 December 2015
- "What is a Commonwealth realm?", Official website of the British Monarchy, 12 December 2015, archived from the original on 2 December 2010
- Schmitt, Carl (2008) [1928], Seitzer, Jeffrey (ed.), Constitutional Theory, translated by Seitzer, Jeffrey (illustrated ed.), Duke University Press, pp. 313–314, ISBN 978-0822340119
- Sear, Chris (2001), "Research Paper 01/116" (PDF), Official website of the British Parliament
Further reading
- ISBN 0-300-10017-5