The powers of the monarch have been constitutionally weak ever since the country became independent in 1966. Systems in which a prime minister is the active head of the executive branch of government. In the Netherlands, the monarch is considered to have been powerful in 1945. The following year the new king postponed the scheduled elections indefinitely and concentrated executive powers into his own hands, whereby Nepal returned to authoritarian rule. Results are presented in Table 2 and they tell us that the number of cases and countries where a monarch possesses powers is surprisingly high. Did you know that with a free Taylor & Francis Online account you can gain access to the following benefits? Table 3. This turbulent period paved the way for the military takeover in 1967. The hereditary monarch also has the power to dissolve parliament and veto powers. Theoretically, it can be traced back to Ancient Greece, but so far, very few empirical studies have been conducted where size has been given the primary focus among the explanatory variables. These are systems in which a president is the active head of the executive branch of government, and is elected and remains in office independently of the legislature. The central government may or may not be (in theory) a creation of the regional governments. Finally, three monarchies classified as democracies are not included in the V-dem dataset, namely Liechtenstein, Monaco and Tonga. Kanchoochat and Hewison (Citation2016, p. 377), for instance, maintain that the groups[making up] the network monarchy were energised by the rise of Thaksin and became united in opposition to pro-Thaksin governments. The council is elected by the parliament, but it is not subject to parliamentary confidence during its fixed term. a constitutional crisis or a political deadlock). Thresholds within the size category are, to some extent, always arbitrary. Italics indicate states with limited recognition. Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine. The only country for which this assessment has been of relevance is Tonga, which is included in the population for the years 20122017. Do you know the difference between an absolute monarchy and a semi-constitutional monarchy? The main reason for Kondylis support of the return of the monarchy was apparently strategic; his ambition was to follow the example of Benito Mussolini, and merely retain the monarchy as a means of legitimising his actions. Since the dataset does not cover the period 20162017, I have for these two years classified the countries of the world into the categories democracy or autocracy.Footnote1 Countries classified as democracies by Boix, Miller and Rosato are included in the study. It has generally been pointed out that the case of Bhutan is unique in the sense that democratic reforms were voluntarily initiated by the king and not reluctantly, as a result of popular protests or demands. Liechtenstein is bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and Austria to the east and north. Accordingly, we can expect that the time period during which a monarch is in possession of powers is limited, and that pressures for reducing the powers of the monarch will grow as democracy consolidates. Nevertheless, there are many examples of political systems, classified as democracies by most reputable categorizations or indices, where the monarch has, or has had, more or less the same position as a president in semi-presidential systems. The literature on the role of monarchs in democratic systems is scarce. For the sake of validity, I have complemented the dataset by Boix, Miller and Rosato by making use of V-dems Liberal democracy index (D) (v2x_libdem). Huntington (Citation1968, pp. Therefore, their statuses resemble more a president in parliamentary systems than a monarch in a hereditary monarchy. I then proceeded by testing the assumption that semi-constitutional monarchies would emerge primarily in countries which transit from autocratic monarchies to democracies and that small size was conducive for the survival of the regime type in question. According to Huntington, there were three options available for a monarch confronted with this dilemma: transformation, coexistence, and maintenance. In the long run, the monarch faced a zero-sum game; either try to retain his or her powers as an absolute monarch or be stripped of all powers and, at best, continue as a ceremonial head of state of a democracy. The head of a monarchy is called a monarch.It was a common form of government across the world during the ancient and medieval times.. Table 1. Since the coding is based on expert surveys among a large number of country experts it is evident that the coding criteria can vary substantially between the experts (e.g. In addition, the dataset does not account for all possible power prerogatives. classifies the country as a democracy during the whole period it is included in the dataset (i.e. In reality, however, the Norwegian monarch has not had any influence in the government formation process since 1928 (Narud & Strm, Citation2000, p. 172). In practice, Governor-Generals are chosen by the parliaments and/or prime ministers of the countries and often the persons chosen to this position are local politicians or dignitaries. Permission is granted subject to the terms of the License under which the work was published. (Citation2017) have noted, the heart of the matter is that the king simultaneously devolved authority and cemented the monarchys place in Bhutanese socio-political life [whereby] he ensured a peaceful transition to democracy and sidestepped Huntingtons Kings Dilemma, at least for a time (Corbett et al., Citation2017) see also Sinpeng (Citation2007, p. 39). The second category consists of similar cases in which democracy did not consolidate, and the country returned to autocracy. However, already in 1936, Greece returned to authoritarian rule under Ioannix Metaxas and the country remained autocratically ruled until 1946, when parliamentary elections were held and the semi-constitutional monarchic system was effectively restored. However, semi-constitutional monarchies do not always exist as a transitional phase during which democracy is introduced and subsequently consolidated. DOnario Citation2014; Grinda, Citation2007; Veenendaal, Citation2013; Beattie, Citation2004; Chagnollaud de Sabouret, Citation2015; Quintino, Citation2014; Matangi Tonga (https://matangitonga.to/). In these systems, the head of government is usually called the prime minister, chancellor or premier. Several states that are constitutional republics are in practice ruled as authoritarian states. The third and fourth category refer to situations where the semi-constitutional monarchic form of government has emerged from an autocratic regime without a monarch as head of state, whereas the fifth and sixth categories describe situations where the semi-constitutional monarchic system has developed from another democratic form of government, and subsequently either democratised (the second last column) or not (the last column). h HOS veto power in practice (C) (v2exdfvths, *_osp, *_ord) (yes = responses 2, 3, 4). In Nepal, the democratic constitution of 1990 was adopted reluctantly by King Birendra, after it had become apparent that he would otherwise have faced a rebellion (Nepal et al., Citation2011, p. 887). Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda is a single Caribbean nation. In Thailand, the semi-constitutional monarchic form of government has been interrupted on four occasions since 1975, but essentially, the position of the monarch has not been very much affected. Although Governor-Generals are formally appointed by the British monarch, their connection to the British Crown is often very vague. The head of state is ordinarily called a president and (in full parliamentary republics) is separate from the head of government, serving a largely apolitical, ceremonial role. [online] Retrieved March 9, 2019, from, A new political system model: Semi-presidential government, Freedom House. Yet, the results of the present study show, that monarchs have possessed significant powers in a substantial part of the democratic countries with a monarch as head of state. 334335). It has elements of intergovernmentalism, with the European Council acting as its collective "president", and also elements of supranationalism, with the European Commission acting as its executive and bureaucracy. Liechtenstein, a microstate landlocked between Austria and Switzerland, is a semi-constitutional monarchy, with a hereditary prince as its head of state. In these cases, the V-dem database considers the Governor-General as the head of state. Unlike in Sweden and Spain, where the monarch retained some powers during a transitional phase as democracy consolidated, the Yugoslavian monarch gradually increased his powers, and in 1929, he abolished the constitution and concentrated powers into his own hands, thus returning Yugoslavia to the category of autocratic systems. However, the monarch continued to be an influential (although not dominant) actor in Laotian politics until the end of the monarchy in 1975, when the communists came to power. Thus, much in line with Corbett et al. However, based on our theoretical proposition we would expect that the crucial differences are the ones that exist between very small entities and larger ones. Britain became a constitutional monarchy under the Whigs. In Liechtenstein the Prince Regnant appoints the government, which must enjoy the confidence of both the legislature and the Prince Regnant. Neto & Lobo, Citation2009; Shugart, Citation2005, pp. Although the constitution was parliamentary and the prime minister was the dominant political actor, the king continued to exercise significant influence in the executive field. The constitution adopted the same year gave King Alexander I extensive powers. ( 2017 ), we reach the conclusion that small size appears to be very important I also include a question measuring the influence of the monarch over domestic policy. A crowned republic, also known as a monarchial republic, is an informal term that has been used to refer to a system of monarchy where the monarch's role may be seen as almost entirely ceremonial and where nearly all of the royal prerogatives are exercised in such a way that the monarch personally has little power over . The issue of executive power sharing in democratic countries with a monarch as head of state has received little scholarly attention. Muck like Italy and Yugoslavia, neither Laos nor Nepal conforms to a model where executive power is gradually transferred from the monarch to a government responsible to parliament, after which democracy becomes consolidated. In almost all cases where a monarch has held powers in a democracy, the powers of the monarch are directly inherited' from or related to the pre-democratic era. Like Sweden, Spain fits into the category where a monarch holds powers for a short transitional phase as a country democratises. In those rare cases, where semi-constitutional monarchic regimes become long-lived, the size of the political units plays an important role, suggesting that small size appears to be crucial for the legitimacy of strong monarchs in democratic settings. Bhutan 201417, Greece 18641914, 5566, Liechtenstein 19212017, Luxembourg 190039, Monaco 19622017, Spain 1977, Thailand 1975, 8390, 922005, 201113. Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab. The concept of semi-constitutional monarch identifies constitutional monarchies where the monarch retains substantial powers, on a par with a president in a presidential or semi-presidential system. Based on the V-dem dataset I identified seventeen countries that qualified as semi-constitutional monarchies during the last two centuries. Subnational monarchies or traditional monarchy . The V-dem country experts also regard the Belgian king to have been influential in the executive sphere in the year 1959, most probably a reflection of King Baudouins active role in the independence process of Belgian Congo. On a general level, there is very strong support for the assumptions laid out in the theoretical part of the study. when countries move from autocracy to democracy for the first time), the regimes can eventually be substituted with authoritarian or democratic forms of government. Other constitutional monarchies include Belgium, Cambodia, Jordan, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and Thailand. This is notably the case regarding the power to appoint the prime minister. When identifying semi-constitutional monarchic systems the task of separating democracies from autocracies is therefore crucial. If we disregard the exceptional cases of Belgium and the Netherlands dealt with above, Greece is the only country where the powers of the monarch have not been directly inherited from the pre-democratic period. in 2015, would fall below the threshold of democracy in 2015: Albania, East Timor, El Salvador, Guyana, India, Mexico, Moldova, Nepal, and Solomon Islands. However, since this designation shall be in accordance with the customary law of Lesotho (art. In recent years, it has become much easier to make cross-country comparisons on the basis of political practice. In the data set by Boix et al. Monarchies that meet the criteria of democracy are generally considered constitutional monarchies. Yet, Boix et al. One natural dividing line emerges impromptu, as there is a cluster consisting of the five miniature states Bhutan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, and Tonga. A monarchy is a kind of government where the leader of a group, usually a family, inherits leadership by birth and rules a state or a polity for the entirety of his/her life or until abdication. In semi-presidential systems, there is always both a president and a head of government, commonly but not exclusively styled as a prime minister. There is no prime minister. Quite to the contrary, there are many indications that the new king is eager to increase his powers (Mrieau, Citation2017). The death of King Bhumibol in 2016 has brought the question of monarchic powers to the fore in Thailand. On the other hand, a semi-constitutional monarchy lets the monarch or ruling royal family retain substantial political powers, as is the case in Jordan and Morocco. There is generally no prime minister, although if one exists, in most cases they serve purely at the discretion of the president. Collective presidency consisting of three members; one for each major ethnic group. The other plausible explanation for powerful monarchs in democracies is size. Absolute monarchies are systems where the monarch, the hereditary ruler, possesses powers to such an extent that the countries in question do not qualify as democracies. To begin with, I exclude the power to appoint the prime minister from further analysis for the reason outlined above. Semi-constitutionalism - where monarchs and elected representatives share powers - ranges from countries which let monarchs retain some powers next to an elected parliament to so-called . In Monaco, the powers of the Prince are even greater. In practice, the difference between the categories largely follows the dividing line between democracies and autocracies. On the other hand, there are many systems classified as democracies by most reputable categorizations or indices where the monarch has, or has had, more or less the same position as a president in a semi-presidential system.
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