World's states colored by systems ofgovernment:Parliamentary systems: Head of government is elected or nominated by and accountable to the legislature.
Presidential system: Head of government (president) is popularly elected and independent of the legislature.
Presidential republic
Hybrid systems:
Semi-presidential republic: Executive president is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature.
Assembly-independent republic: Head of government (president or directory) is elected by the legislature, but is not accountable to it.
Other systems:
Theocratic republic: Supreme Leader is both head of state and faith and holds significant executive and legislative power
Constitutional monarchy, also known aslimited monarchy,parliamentary monarchy ordemocratic monarchy, is a form ofmonarchy 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 fromabsolute 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. A constitutional monarch in a parliamentarydemocracy is a hereditary symbolic head of state (who may be an emperor, king or queen, prince or grand duke) who mainly performs representative and civic roles but does not exercise executive or policy-making power.[4]
Constitutional monarchy may refer to a system in which the monarch acts as a non-party political ceremonialhead of state under theconstitution, whether codified oruncodified.[5] While most monarchs retain formal authority and governments may legally operate in their name, in the typical European model, the monarch no longer personally sets public policy or selects political leaders. Political scientistVernon Bogdanor, paraphrasingThomas Macaulay, has defined a constitutional monarch as "A sovereign who reigns but does not rule".[6]
In addition to acting as a visible symbol ofnational unity, a constitutional monarch may hold formal powers such asdissolving parliament or givingroyal assent to legislation. However, such powers generally may only be exercised strictly in accordance with either written constitutional principles or unwritten constitutional conventions, rather than any personal political preferences of the sovereign.
InThe English Constitution, British political theoristWalter Bagehot identified three main political rights which a constitutional monarch may freely exercise: the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, and the right to warn. Many constitutional monarchies still retain significant authorities or political influence, however, such as through certainreserve powers, and may also play an important political role.
The oldest constitutional monarchy dating back to ancient times was that of theHittites. They were anancient Anatolian people that lived during theBronze Age whose king had to share his authority with an assembly, called thePanku, which was the equivalent to a modern-day deliberative assembly or a legislature. Members of thePanku came from scattered noble families who worked as representatives of their subjects in an adjutant or subaltern federal-type landscape.[10][better source needed][11]
Queen Anne was the last monarch to veto an Act of Parliament when, on 11 March 1708, she blocked theScottish Militia Bill. However Hanoverian monarchs continued to selectively dictate government policies. For instanceKing George III constantly blockedCatholic Emancipation, eventually precipitating the resignation ofWilliam Pitt the Younger as prime minister in 1801.[13] The sovereign's influence on the choice of prime minister gradually declined over this period.King William IV was the last monarch to dismiss a prime minister, when in 1834 he removedLord Melbourne as a result of Melbourne's choice ofLord John Russell as Leader of the House of Commons.[14][15]Queen Victoria was the last monarch to exercise real personal power, but this diminished over the course of her reign. In 1839, she became the last sovereign to keep a prime minister in power against the will of Parliament when theBedchamber crisis resulted in the retention of Lord Melbourne's administration.[16] By the end of her reign, however, she could do nothing to block the unacceptable (to her) premierships ofWilliam Gladstone, although she still exercised power in appointments to the Cabinet. For example, in 1886 she vetoed Gladstone's choice ofHugh Childers as War Secretary in favour ofSir Henry Campbell-Bannerman.[17]
Poland developed the first constitution for a monarchy in continental Europe, with theConstitution of 3 May 1791; it was the second single-document constitution in the world just after the first republicanConstitution of the United States. Constitutional monarchy also occurred briefly in the early years of theFrench Revolution, but much more widely afterwards.Napoleon Bonaparte is considered the first monarch proclaiming himself as an embodiment of the nation, rather than as a divinely appointed ruler; this interpretation of monarchy is germane to continental constitutional monarchies. German philosopherGeorg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, in his workElements of the Philosophy of Right (1820), gave the concept a philosophical justification that concurred with evolving contemporary political theory and theProtestant Christian view of natural law.[22] Hegel's forecast of a constitutional monarch with very limited powers whose function is to embody the national character and provide constitutional continuity in times of emergency was reflected in the development of constitutional monarchies in Europe and Japan.[22]
There exist at least two different types of constitutional monarchies in the modern world – executive and ceremonial.[23] In executive monarchies (also calledsemi-constitutional monarchies), the monarch wields significant (though notabsolute) power. The monarchy under this system of government is a powerful political (and social) institution.Semi-monarchy is a distinct regime type characterized by a collegial executive, a hereditary monarch with substantive powers who appoints the cabinet, dual cabinet accountability to both the monarch and the legislature, and the monarch's authority to dissolve the assembly.[24] By contrast, in ceremonial monarchies, the monarch holds little or no actual power or direct political influence, though they frequently still 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 arenot absolute monarchs and have very limitedde facto power compared to theIslamic monarchs, which is why their countries are generally considered to beliberal democracies and not undemocratic.[23] For instance, whenHereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein threatened to veto a possible approval of areferendum to legalize abortion in 2011, it came as a surprise because the prince had not vetoed any law for over 30 years[25] (in the end, this was moot, as the proposal was not approved).
As originally conceived, a constitutional monarch was head of theexecutive branch and quite a powerful figure even though their power was limited by the constitution and the elected parliament. Some of the framers of the U.S. Constitution may have envisioned the president as an elected constitutional monarch, as the term was then understood, followingMontesquieu's account of the separation of powers.[26]
The present-day concept of a constitutional monarchy developed in the United Kingdom, where a democratically elected parliament and its leader, theprime minister, exercise true power while a monarch remains as a titular position. To reflect a more egalitarian social order, a constitutional monarch may be given a title such as "servant of the people." In the course ofFrance'sJuly Monarchy,Louis-Philippe I was styled "King of the French" rather than "King of France".
Following theunification of Germany,Otto von Bismarck rejected the British model. In the constitutional monarchy established under theConstitution of the German Empire which Bismarck inspired, theKaiser retained considerable actual executive power, while theImperial Chancellor needed no parliamentary vote of confidence and ruled solely by the imperial mandate. However, this model of constitutional monarchy was discredited and abolished following Germany's defeat in theFirst World War. Later,Fascist Italy could also be considered a constitutional monarchy, in that there was aking as the titular head of state while actual power was held byBenito Mussolini under a constitution. This eventually discredited the Italian monarchy and led to its abolition in 1946. After theSecond World War, surviving European monarchies almost invariably adopted some variant of the constitutional monarchy model originally developed in Britain.
Aparliamentary democracy may be a constitutional monarchy or arepublic, differing only in terms of titles and rules of succession rather than in substantial exercise of power. In both cases, the titular head of state – monarch or president – serves the traditional role of embodying and representing the nation, while the government is carried on by a cabinet composed predominantly of electedMembers of Parliament.
However, three important factors distinguish monarchies such as theUnited Kingdom from systems where greater power might otherwise rest withParliament. These are:
Theroyal prerogative, under which the monarch may exercise power under certain very limited circumstances
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 oweallegiance to the Crown).
Today slightly more than a quarter of constitutional monarchies areWestern European countries, including theUnited Kingdom,Spain, theNetherlands,Belgium,Norway,Denmark,Luxembourg,Monaco,Liechtenstein andSweden. However, the two most populous constitutional monarchies in the world are in Asia:Japan andThailand. In these countries, theprime minister holds the day-to-day powers of governance, while the monarch retains residual (but not always insignificant) powers. The powers of the monarch differ between countries. In Denmark and in Belgium, for example, the monarch formally appoints a representative to preside over the creation of acoalition government following a parliamentary election, while in Norway the King chairs special meetings of thecabinet.
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. However, a few monarchies (most notablyJapan andSweden) have amended their constitutions so that the monarch is no longer the nominal chief executive.
There are fifteen constitutional monarchies under KingCharles III, which are known asCommonwealth realms.[27] 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 the1975 Australian constitutional crisis, the Governor-General dismissed the Australian Prime MinisterGough Whitlam. TheAustralian Senate had threatened to block the Government'sbudget 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 oppositionMalcolm 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 adouble 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 whetherAustralia 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,Bhumibol Adulyadej, was among the longest-reigning monarch in the world and the longest in all of Thailand's history, before dying on 13 October 2016.[28] Bhumibol reigned through several political changes in the Thai government. He played an influential role in each incident, often acting as mediator between disputing political opponents. (See Bhumibol's role inThai Politics.) Among the powers retained by the Thai monarch under the constitution,lèse majesté protects the image of the monarch and enables him to play a role in politics. It carries strict criminal penalties for violators. Generally, the Thai people were reverent of Bhumibol. Much of his social influence arose from this reverence and from the socioeconomic improvement efforts undertaken by the royal family.
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 apartisan goal, while somepolitical scientists champion the idea of an "interventionist monarch" as a check against possible illegal action by politicians. For instance, the monarch of the United Kingdom can theoretically exercise an absolute veto over legislation by withholding royal assent. However, no monarch has done so since 1708, and it is widely believed that this and many of the monarch's other political powers arelapsed powers.
TheAnglo-Corsican Kingdom was a brief period in thehistory of Corsica (1794–1796) when the island broke withRevolutionary France and sought military protection fromGreat Britain. Corsica became an independent kingdom underGeorge III of the United Kingdom, but with its own elected parliament and a written constitution guaranteeing local autonomy and democratic rights.
Egypt was a constitutional monarchy starting from the later part of theKhedivate, 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 theSultanate and thenKingdom of Egypt, which established an essentially democratic liberal constitutional regime under theEgyptian Constitution of 1923. This system persisted until the declaration ofa republic after theFree Officers Movement coup in 1952. For most of this period, however, Egypt wasoccupied by the United Kingdom, and overall political control was in the hands of British colonial officialsnominally accredited as diplomats to the Egyptian royal court but actually able to overrule any decision of the monarch or elected government.
France, several times from 1789 through the 19th century. The transformation of theEstates General of 1789 into theNational Assembly initiated an ad-hoc transition from the absolute monarchy of theAncien Régime to a new constitutional system. France formally became an executive constitutional monarchy with the promulgation of theFrench Constitution of 1791, which took effect on 1 October of that year. This first French constitutional monarchy was short-lived, ending with the overthrow of the monarchy and establishment of theFrench First Republic after theInsurrection of 10 August 1792. Several years later, in 1804,Napoleon Bonaparte proclaimed himself Emperor of the French in what was ostensibly a constitutional monarchy, though modern historians often call his reign as an absolute monarchy.[citation needed] TheBourbon Restoration (underLouis XVIII andCharles X), theJuly Monarchy (underLouis-Philippe), and theSecond Empire (underNapoleon III) were also constitutional monarchies, although the power of the monarch varied considerably between them and sometimes within them.
Hawaii, which was an absolute monarchy from its founding in 1810, transitioned to a constitutional monarchy in 1840 whenKing Kamehameha III promulgated the kingdom'sfirst constitution. This constitutional form of government continued until the monarchy was overthrown in an 1893coup.
TheKingdom of Hungary. In 1848–1849 and 1867–1918 as part ofAustria-Hungary. In the interwar period (1920–1944)Hungary remained a constitutional monarchy without a reigning monarch.
Iceland. The Act of Union, a 1 December 1918 agreement with Denmark, established Iceland as asovereign kingdom united 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.
Malta was a constitutional monarchy withElizabeth 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.
Nepal until 28 May 2008, whenKing Gyanendra was deposed, and the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal was declared.
Nigeria was a constitutional monarchy from its independence in 1960 till it became a Republic in 1963. It's only monarch was Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Nigeria.
Ottoman Empire from 1876 until 1878 and again from 1908 until the dissolution of the empire in 1922.
ThePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formed after theUnion 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 theConstitution of 3 May 1791, which historianNorman Davies calls "the first constitution of its kind in Europe").[30] The legislators of the unified state truly did not see it as a monarchy at all, but asa republic under the presidency of the King . Poland–Lithuania also followed the principle ofRex regnat et non gubernat, had a bicameral parliament, and a collection of entrenched legal documents amounting to a constitution along the lines of the modernUnited 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, whenManuel II was overthrown by a military coup. From 1815 to 1825 it was part of theUnited 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 whenMichael I was forced to abdicate by the communists.
Kingdom of Serbia from 1882 until 1918, when it merged with the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs into the unitary Yugoslav Kingdom, that was led by the SerbianKaradjordjevic dynasty.
Trinidad and Tobago was a constitutional monarchy withElizabeth II asQueen of Trinidad and Tobago, represented by aGovernor-General appointed 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.
Vietnam was a semi-constitutional monarchy from 1949 to 1955,Bảo Đại was its emperor but he was called the Head of State (Quốc trưởng), political power was also in the hands of the government and the National Advisory Council. Vietnam under Bảo Đại planned to organize parliamentary elections and promulgate a constitution, but not in time due to the progress of thewar.
Belgium is the only remaining explicitpopular monarchy: the formal title of itsking isKing of the Belgians rather thanKing 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 theCharter of 1830 to monarch of theJuly Monarchy.
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.
^abGinsburg, Tom and Rodriguez, Daniel B. and Weingast, Barry R., The Functions of Constitutional Monarchy: Why Kings and Queens Survive in a World of Republics (21 May 2023). Northwestern Public Law Research Paper No. 23-29, U of Chicago, Public Law Working Paper No. 831, Available at SSRN:https://ssrn.com/abstract=4454620 orhttp://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4454620
^Metin, Abdullah; Ünal, Serkan (2022). "Classifying forms of government on a global scale".Asian Journal of Comparative Politics.8 (2):487–515.doi:10.1177/20578911221127176.
Hegel, G. W. F. (1991) [1820], Wood, Allen W. (ed.),Elements of the Philosophy of Right, translated by Nisbet, H. B.,Cambridge University Press,ISBN0-521-34438-7 – originally published as Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Hegel,Philosophie des Rechts.
McCannon, John (2006),Barron's how to Prepare for the AP World History Examination (2nd, illustrated ed.), Barron's Educational Serie, pp. 177–178,ISBN978-0764132711 – 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,ISBN978-0719057694
"Crown Prerogative",Official website of the British Parliament, 21 April 2010, retrieved13 September 2011
Schmitt, Carl (2008) [1928], Seitzer, Jeffrey (ed.),Constitutional Theory, translated by Seitzer, Jeffrey (illustrated ed.), Duke University Press, pp. 313–314,ISBN978-0822340119
Locke, John (2003) [1690], Shapiro, Ian (ed.),Two Treatises of Government and A Letter Concerning Toleration (with essays by John Dunn, Ruth W. Grant and Ian Shapiro ed.), New Haven:Yale University Press,ISBN0-300-10017-5
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