Monarchy
Technically speaking a Monarchy is a system of government in which someone holds the formal title of Head of State until their death or abdication as a Monarch. Typically the title of Monarch is passed down in a family from parent to child, though there are exceptions. Related to Monarchy is Monarchism, the belief that Monarchy is the best form of government. Unlike other political ideologies (Capitalism, Communism, Democracy, the various flavors of Fascism, etc) Monarchism typically arises to justify an existing structure rather than propose a new one.
Monarchy has been a common form of government for much of human history since the Bronze Age at least, though it has not been the case for all of human history. Going by our studies of hunter-gatherer peoples the way things were handled in Stone Age bands rules, matters of policy and other such collective action would be dealt with by having a meeting, talking it out and coming to a consensus. In larger tribes you'd have "Big Men" who'd win influence and some ceremonial roles through strength, charisma and generosity. But once tribes began to grow beyond a certain point and you don't know everyone, these informal set ups don't really work. Monarchy was common as it was an easy system to put up. You just need an opportunist who has the right connections and assembles a team of prominent allies to establish themselves and maintain a position of power. Once the Leader dies, the coalition of backers puts the Leader's kid on the throne so the the good times continue to role setting a precedent.
Monarchy has been in general been on the decline since the Age of Enlightenment and especially after The Great War. In short, from Napoleon onward there's been push against Kings and Queens towards Federations, Republics, Corrupt Republics and various flavors of Dictatorship in which our Glorious Leader does not bother with a crown or leaving things to his son. There are some some exceptions of course with hereditary dictatorships like Syria and North Korea.
Types of Monarchy
Please note that there are crossovers.
- Divine Monarchy: The Monarch is seen as being a God, at least a little bit. Usually the mythology includes the ruling dynasty being of divine descent. IRL examples: Ancient Egypt and the Inca Empire.
- Theocratic Monarchy: Related to Divine Monarchy, the Monarch is the Highest Priest in the nation's official Religious organization. Though they don't claim to be divine themselves, the system and their position in it is justified by established religious power and authority. IRL examples: pre-modern India, the Vatican.
- Feudal Monarchy: Monarchy, pyramid scheme style. Generally works as a function of increasing scales to manage land. In Europe the lowest landholding class were knights, who typically held 1-2 thousand acres (~3-4 square miles) of land, which might be worked by several dozen families' worth of peasants who paid rent or labor service in exchange for being allowed to cultivate and live on said land. Above them were Barons/Lords, who might keep several to a dozen knights and hold control over a few dozen square miles of land, a Barony being roughly analogous to an American township. Above them were Counts/Earls, from which comes the modern word of County (a count's land); it was at this level that the Normans instituted Shire Reeves (Sheriffs) loyal to the Crown to enforce taxation and law independent of the meddling of lower aristocracy. Above this level (Dukes, etc.) you're really dealing with true nobility, the extended family of the monarch or rival families with competing claims, and their focus is more on politicking for control rather than administration. IRL examples: basically every monarchy in the Middle Ages through the Renaissance.
- Elected Monarchy: There are a bunch of Aristocrats which vote one of themselves to sit on the throne. Tends to be unstable and mired in the red tape of inter-dynastic bickering. IRL examples: The Holy Roman Empire, Poland before Austria, Russia and Prussia carved it up. Tended to work a lot better at the city-state scale (Venice).
- Absolute Monarchy: "I Am The State." The Monarch has no formal limits on their power. Naturally they tend to be very centralized. IRL Examples: The Russian Empire before First Russian Revolution (excluding Finland), Pre-Revolutionary France (except for a short 1789-1792 period).
- Parliamentary Monarchy: A Monarch's powers are outlined in a formal Constitution and much of the functioning of state is handled by representative democracy; in practice, the monarch ends up being little more than a figurehead. IRL Examples: Modern Britain, Nordic states.
- Semi-Constitutional Monarchy: A Monarch and democratically elected government share power, kinda like semi-presidential republics. IRL Examples: German Empire (parliament is democratically elected, but Chancellor is appointed by Kaiser), Russian Empire in 1905-1917 (while the elections were not the shining example of democracy, the existance of European-style parliament is enough to get it there).
Monarchy in Fiction
Monarchy tends to be represented a lot in speculative fiction. Largely because it's an easier thing to write about. People can more easily relate to a King or Queen or whatever who tries to grapple with issues than with a Parliament with hundreds of members each with their own constituents, party alignments, agendas, various degrees of hardness and softness on certain issues and the internal Horse Trading as they work out a version of a bill which at least half of them can give at least begrudging approval to.
Monarchy in Fantasy
Monarchy is the norm in Fantasy. So much so that people have argued that a lot of Fantasy can come off as Monarchist Propaganda. The truth is probably closer to the fact that most fantasy writers have no idea about medieval republics like Italian states, German free cities or Novgorod. Still, some fantasy series were indeed written by monarchists (like Tolkien or C. S. Lewis). There is also the fact that the old legends and stories that fantasy draws upon often has a monarchist bent, see the whole Arthurian mythos.
Monarchy in Science Fiction
While not as prominent as it is in fantasy, Monarchy shows up in Science Fiction quite a bit. From alien Princesses to a future in which Crowned Leaders have come back into fashion for humanity, like in Dune and Battletech.
See Also
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