Hereditary monarchy

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A hereditary monarchy is a form of government and succession of power in which the throne passes from one member of a ruling family to another member of the same family. A series of rulers from the same family would constitute a dynasty. It is historically the most common type of monarchy and remains the dominant form in extant monarchies. It has the advantages of continuity of the concentration of power and wealth and predictability of who one can expect to control the means of governance and patronage. Provided that a monarch is competent, not oppressive, and maintains an appropriate dignity, it might also offer the stabilizing factors of popular affection for and loyalty to a ruling family.[1] The adjudication of what constitutes oppressive, dignified and popular tends to remain in the purview of the monarch.[1] A major disadvantage of hereditary monarchy arises when the heir apparent may be physically or temperamentally unfit to rule.[2] Other disadvantages include the inability of a people to choose their head of state, the ossified distribution of wealth and power across a broad spectrum of society, and the continuation of outmoded religious and social-economic structures mainly for the benefit of monarchs, their families, and supporters.[3]

In most extant hereditary monarchies, the typical order of succession uses some form of primogeniture, but there exist other methods such as seniority and tanistry (in which an heir-apparent is nominated from among qualified candidates). Research shows that hereditary regimes, in particular primogeniture, are more stable than forms of authoritarian rule with alternative succession arrangements.[4][5][6][7][8][9]

  1. ^ a b Sharma, Urmila Sharma & S. K. (2000). Principles and Theory of Political Science. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. p. 412. ISBN 9788171569380. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  2. ^ Flesch, Carl F. (2006). Who's Not Who and Other Matters. Pegasus Elliot Mackenzie Pu. p. 69. ISBN 9781843862444.
  3. ^ Robertson, Geoffrey (25 September 2008). "A hereditary head of state and a system based on sexism and religious discrimination have no place in the 21st century". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  4. ^ Kurrild-Klitgaard, Peter (2000). "The constitutional economics of autocratic succession". Public Choice. 103 (1/2): 63–84. doi:10.1023/A:1005078532251. ISSN 0048-5829. S2CID 154097838.
  5. ^ Kurrild-Klitgaard, Peter (2004). "Autocratic Succession". The Encyclopedia of Public Choice. Vol. 103. pp. 358–362. doi:10.1007/978-0-306-47828-4_39. ISBN 978-0-306-47828-4.
  6. ^ Kokkonen, Andrej; Sundell, Anders (May 2014). "Delivering Stability—Primogeniture and Autocratic Survival in European Monarchies 1000–1800". American Political Science Review. 108 (2): 438–453. doi:10.1017/S000305541400015X. hdl:2077/38982. ISSN 0003-0554. S2CID 53132563.
  7. ^ Acharya, Avidit; Lee, Alexander (2019-11-01). "Path Dependence in European Development: Medieval Politics, Conflict, and State Building". Comparative Political Studies. 52 (13–14): 2171–2206. doi:10.1177/0010414019830716. ISSN 0010-4140. S2CID 29515121.
  8. ^ Kokkonen, Andrej; Sundell, Anders (2019-06-11). "Leader Succession and Civil War". Comparative Political Studies. 53 (3–4): 434–468. doi:10.1177/0010414019852712. ISSN 0010-4140. S2CID 197804359.
  9. ^ "Tracking the "Arab Spring": Why the Modest Harvest?". Journal of Democracy. Retrieved 2019-10-27.