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Absolute monarchy

Absolute monarchy is a system of government in which a monarch exercises supreme, unrestricted authority as both head of state and head of government, unbound by constitutions, legislatures, or other institutional checks, often justified by claims of divine right or inherent sovereignty.^[1]^[2] This form contrasts sharply with constitutional monarchies, where the ruler's powers are limited by law and shared with elected bodies, rendering the monarch largely ceremonial.^[3]^[4] Historically, absolute monarchies peaked in Europe from the 16th to 18th centuries, enabling centralized administration, military reforms, and cultural patronage under figures like Louis XIV of France, who famously declared the state to embody his will, and Frederick II of Prussia, whose enlightened despotism fostered economic and legal advancements despite autocratic rule.^[5]^[6] Today, absolute monarchies endure in a handful of states, including Saudi Arabia under King Salman, Brunei under Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Oman under Sultan Haitham, Eswatini under King Mswati III, and Vatican City under the Pope, where rulers maintain direct control over policy, justice, and resources, often leveraging natural wealth for stability amid global pressures toward democratization.^[7]^[8] While enabling decisive governance and continuity, these regimes face critiques for suppressing dissent and concentrating power, though empirical outcomes vary, with some exhibiting sustained prosperity through resource management and strategic alliances rather than broad political liberalization.^[4]

Definition and Core Features

Conceptual Definition

An absolute monarchy constitutes a form of government wherein the monarch wields supreme, autocratic authority as the singular origin of political power, unconstrained by constitutions, legislatures, or other institutional checks.^[9] In this system, the ruler exercises undivided control over legislative, executive, and judicial functions, with the monarch's personal will serving as the ultimate arbiter of law and policy, unbound by any superior legal or representative body.^[10] This conceptual framework posits the sovereign as above the law, enabling direct command over taxation, military deployment, and governance without parliamentary veto or judicial review, theoretically maximizing decisional efficiency at the potential cost of arbitrary rule.^[6] Conceptually, absolute monarchy diverges from limited or constitutional variants by rejecting power-sharing mechanisms, such as elected assemblies that could curtail royal prerogatives; instead, the monarch operates as an unchecked executive, often rationalized through claims of inherent legitimacy rather than delegated consent.^[11] While historical implementations varied—sometimes tempered by advisory councils or customary restraints—the pure ideal embodies total sovereignty vested in one individual, where obedience stems from the ruler's fiat rather than contractual obligations or popular sovereignty.^[12] This structure contrasts sharply with constitutional monarchies, in which the ruler's powers are explicitly delimited by written charters and shared with representative institutions, rendering the crown largely ceremonial or advisory.^[3]

Key Characteristics

Absolute monarchy features the consolidation of all governmental authority in a single hereditary sovereign, who wields unrestricted power without subjection to constitutions, legislatures, or other institutional constraints.^[9]^[13] The ruler maintains sole discretion over legislation, appointing officials, commanding the military, levying taxes, and conducting foreign affairs, rendering advisory bodies like councils non-binding.^[11] This structure contrasts with constitutional monarchies, where sovereign powers are delimited by written laws or parliamentary oversight.^[12] Central to absolute monarchy is the absence of separation of powers, with the monarch embodying executive, legislative, and judicial functions.^[14] Laws derive directly from the sovereign's will rather than representative consent, and judicial decisions ultimately trace back to royal prerogative, even if delegated to courts.^[15] Succession typically follows hereditary lines, ensuring continuity until the ruler's death or voluntary abdication, without electoral mechanisms.^[16] Economic and administrative control further defines the system, as the monarch directs resource allocation, trade policies, and infrastructure without fiscal accountability to estates or assemblies.^[17] Loyalty is directed to the crown as the embodiment of state sovereignty, often reinforced through patronage, noble integration, or military enforcement rather than contractual obligations.^[17] While historical instances like Louis XIV's France exemplified centralized bureaucracy to bolster royal dominance, pure absolutism remains theoretical in practice due to pragmatic reliance on elites, though the sovereign retains veto authority over all decisions.^[18]^[19]

Distinction from Other Forms of Monarchy

Absolute monarchy differs fundamentally from constitutional monarchy in the scope of the sovereign's authority. In an absolute monarchy, the monarch exercises supreme, untrammelled power as the sole source of political authority, unbound by any constitution, legislature, or legally binding opposition, enabling direct control over legislative, executive, and judicial functions.^[20] This contrasts with constitutional monarchy, where the monarch's role is largely ceremonial or symbolic, with effective governance vested in an elected parliament or prime minister operating under a written or unwritten constitution that explicitly limits royal prerogatives.^[21]^[22] A further distinction arises with semi-constitutional or dual monarchies, such as historical examples in Sweden until 1809 or Liechtenstein today, where the monarch retains substantial executive or veto powers alongside a representative assembly, but without the full centralization of absolute rule.^[23] Absolute monarchy also stands apart from pre-modern feudal or traditional monarchies, prevalent in medieval Europe, in which the king functioned as a primus inter pares among powerful nobles and estates, sharing authority through customary feudal obligations rather than asserting undivided sovereignty.^[23] This centralizing tendency in absolute systems often involved subjugating feudal lords or city-states to consolidate administrative and military control under the crown. In practice, absolute monarchies lack institutionalized mechanisms for accountability, relying instead on the ruler's personal discretion, whereas other monarchical forms incorporate legal or parliamentary checks to prevent arbitrary rule, reflecting a shift toward divided powers in response to historical pressures like Enlightenment critiques or revolutionary upheavals.^[24] Such distinctions underscore absolute monarchy's emphasis on undivided sovereignty, which historically enabled rapid decision-making but risked instability from unchecked personal failings or succession disputes.^[4]

Theoretical Foundations

Divine Right and Traditional Legitimacy

The divine right of kings doctrine posits that a monarch's authority derives directly from God, rendering the ruler accountable solely to divine will rather than to earthly institutions or subjects. This theory, articulated by figures such as King James VI and I of England and Scotland, framed kings as God's lieutenants on earth, occupying a position akin to God's throne and thus unbound by human laws or parliamentary constraints.^[25] James emphasized in his 1609 speech to Parliament that the state of monarchy represented the supremest form of governance, with kings exercising power as direct extensions of divine ordinance.^[25] In France, Bishop Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet advanced this ideology in his Politics Drawn from the Very Words of Holy Scripture, tutoring the dauphin under Louis XIV and asserting that royal authority was sacred, paternal, absolute, and aligned with divine reason. Bossuet argued that kings, as God's anointed, held power without limitation, justified by biblical precedents where monarchs like David ruled as paternal figures over their people.^[26] This framework enabled absolute monarchs to centralize authority, bypassing feudal assemblies or noble vetoes, as the king's decisions were presumed to reflect God's unerring judgment. Louis XIV exemplified this by embodying the doctrine in his reign from 1643 to 1715, where personal rule supplanted advisory bodies, reinforced by rituals like the lever ceremony symbolizing divine proximity.^[27] Traditional legitimacy complemented divine right by rooting monarchical power in hereditary succession, ancient customs, and oaths of fealty, which predated absolutist centralization and provided continuity against challenges from estates or republics. In absolute systems, this legitimacy manifested through patrimonialism, where obedience stemmed from the sanctity of longstanding traditions rather than rational-legal contracts, as sociologist Max Weber described traditional authority deriving from the belief in the immemorial order of rule.^[28] Hereditary claims, often intertwined with divine sanction, ensured that power passed undivided to the eldest son, minimizing disputes and portraying the dynasty as a perpetual embodiment of societal order, as seen in European dynasties where coronation oaths invoked ancestral precedents to affirm the monarch's unchallenged sovereignty.^[29] These foundations mutually reinforced absolute monarchy by merging theological absolutism with customary inertia, deterring rebellion through the dual threat of divine retribution and disruption of time-honored hierarchies. Proponents like James I contended that rejecting the king's God-given prerogative equated to defying providence itself, while traditional elements ensured that even pragmatic rulers could invoke heritage to quell factionalism.^[30] In practice, this legitimacy sustained regimes where monarchs wielded legislative, executive, and judicial powers without constitutional limits, as long as they maintained the facade of pious governance.^[27]

Realist and Efficiency-Based Justifications

Thomas Hobbes, in his 1651 work Leviathan, provided a foundational realist justification for absolute monarchy by arguing that human nature predisposes individuals to conflict in the absence of coercive authority, necessitating an undivided sovereign to enforce peace and prevent reversion to a "war of all against all."^[31] He favored monarchy over other forms of sovereignty because a single ruler embodies unified will, minimizing internal divisions that plague assemblies or aristocracies, thereby ensuring decisive action in a competitive international environment where states must prioritize survival and power accumulation.^[32] This perspective aligns with causal realism, positing that fragmented governance invites exploitation by rivals, as evidenced by the English Civil War (1642–1651), which Hobbes witnessed and which underscored the perils of divided authority. Efficiency-based arguments emphasize the streamlined decision-making inherent in absolute monarchy, where a single executive avoids the delays and compromises of collective bodies, enabling rapid responses to crises such as military threats or economic disruptions.^[33] For instance, Hobbes contended that monarchical sovereignty facilitates accountability and unity of command, akin to a military hierarchy, which proves superior for maintaining order and prosecuting wars effectively compared to democracies prone to factionalism.^[31] Economist Hans-Hermann Hoppe extends these efficiency claims by analogizing the monarch to a private property owner with a long-term stake in the realm's prosperity, contrasting this with democratic rulers who, driven by electoral cycles, exhibit higher time preferences and incentivize short-term consumption over sustainable investment.^[34] In Democracy: The God That Failed (2001), Hoppe argues this structure reduces fiscal exploitation and promotes intergenerational equity, as the monarch's dynasty internalizes externalities like resource depletion, leading to policies with lower public debt and more restrained warfare—limited conflicts over dynastic interests rather than total mobilization of populaces.^[35] Empirical patterns, such as lower per capita debt in historical monarchies versus modern democracies, support this by illustrating reduced incentives for vote-buying via deficit spending.^[36] Proponents further assert that absolute monarchy fosters administrative efficiency through centralized control, bypassing bureaucratic inertia and interest-group capture that dilute policy execution in polycentric systems.^[37] This enables infrastructure and military reforms, as seen in absolutist states' historical capacity for rapid modernization, where the ruler's direct authority aligns personal incentives with national strength, enhancing overall governance efficacy without the veto points that stall democratic processes.^[33]

Opposing Philosophical Critiques

John Locke, in his Second Treatise of Government (1689), contended that absolute monarchy contradicts the foundations of civil society by denying the consent of the governed and placing the ruler beyond accountability to natural law.^[38] He argued that individuals possess inherent rights to life, liberty, and property derived from God, which cannot be surrendered to an absolute sovereign, as no person holds absolute dominion over another's life or freedom.^[39] Locke further asserted that absolutism fails to escape the state of nature, where self-interest governs without impartial judgment, because the monarch acts as judge in their own cause, rendering the system prone to arbitrary rule and justifying resistance when rights are violated.^[40] This critique undermined divine right theories, emphasizing instead limited government bound by the people's trust, revocable through rebellion if tyranny emerges.^[41] Montesquieu, in The Spirit of the Laws (1748), distinguished moderate monarchy—supported by intermediate bodies like nobility—from absolute forms that concentrate all powers in one person, inevitably devolving into despotism.^[42] He warned that unchecked executive, legislative, and judicial authority in a single ruler erodes liberty, as power naturally corrupts without institutional divisions, leading to invasions of private life and arbitrary governance.^[43] Montesquieu's analysis drew on historical examples, such as Roman and Ottoman declines, to argue that absolutism stifles virtue and commerce essential for societal health, advocating separation of powers as a structural safeguard against monarchical overreach.^[44] Voltaire echoed these concerns by decrying absolutism's potential for despotism, though he pragmatically endorsed enlightened rulers who tempered power with reason; he criticized unchecked sovereignty for fostering corruption and inefficiency, favoring constitutional limits to align rule with rational governance.^[45] Broader Enlightenment opposition, as articulated by these thinkers, rejected absolutism's premise of infallible authority, prioritizing empirical observation of power's corrupting effects and causal links to oppression over traditional legitimations like divine right.^[46] Such arguments influenced later revolutions by framing absolute monarchy as philosophically untenable, lacking mechanisms for self-correction or public input.^[47]

Historical Origins and Evolution

Ancient and Medieval Roots

In ancient Egypt, pharaohs exercised near-absolute authority, embodying both political and religious supremacy as living gods responsible for maintaining cosmic order (ma'at), with control over military, economy, and temple administration dating back to the unification under Narmer around 3100 BCE.^[48] This divine kingship model centralized power without institutional checks, as evidenced by pyramid construction projects mobilizing millions under state compulsion during the Old Kingdom (c. 2686–2181 BCE).^[49] Mesopotamian rulers in Sumer, Akkad, and later Assyria and Babylonia similarly wielded extensive personal authority, often claiming divine mandate to legitimize conquests and law codes, such as Hammurabi of Babylon's (r. 1792–1750 BCE) self-proclaimed role as shepherd appointed by gods to enforce justice through absolute decree.^[50] Assyrian kings like Ashurbanipal (r. 668–627 BCE) expanded this through bureaucratic centralization and royal cult worship, amassing tribute from vast territories without feudal intermediaries.^[51] In the Achaemenid Persian Empire (550–330 BCE), monarchs such as Darius I (r. 522–486 BCE) governed through a satrapal system that delegated administration but reserved ultimate sovereignty, taxation, and judicial power to the king, portrayed in inscriptions as divinely chosen (khshayathiya vazraka).^[52] This structure prefigured absolutist efficiency by balancing central edicts with local autonomy, enabling rule over 23 satrapies spanning three continents. Ancient China under the Shang (c. 1600–1046 BCE) and Zhou (1046–256 BCE) dynasties featured emperors as tianzi (Sons of Heaven), deriving legitimacy from heaven's mandate to rule absolutely, with oracle bone inscriptions recording royal divinations and commands over ritual, warfare, and agriculture without constitutional limits.^[53] Medieval precursors emerged in the Byzantine Empire, where emperors from Justinian I (r. 527–565 CE) onward held autocratic power as God's vicegerent on earth, codifying laws like the Corpus Juris Civilis (529–534 CE) to assert imperial sovereignty over church and state, unencumbered by elective bodies.^[54] Islamic caliphates transitioned toward absolutism post-Rashidun era; Umayyad caliphs (661–750 CE), such as Abd al-Malik (r. 685–705 CE), centralized authority through hereditary rule, Arabization of administration, and coinage reforms asserting caliphal supremacy akin to Persian kings, diminishing consultative elements of early shura.^[55] Abbasid caliphs (750–1258 CE) further entrenched dynastic absolutism, relying on viziers and mamluks while claiming religious infallibility to govern diverse populations from Baghdad. In Western Europe, medieval kings like Charlemagne (r. 768–814 CE) revived imperial ideals through Carolingian centralization, but feudal fragmentation and ecclesiastical influence—evident in the Investiture Controversy (1075–1122 CE)—prevented full absolutism, though royal claims to divine anointing persisted in coronations.^[56] These ancient and medieval models of divine or quasi-divine sovereignty laid ideological groundwork for later European absolutism by normalizing unchecked monarchical will as a stabilizing force against anarchy.

Rise in the Early Modern Period

The rise of absolute monarchy in Europe during the early modern period, spanning the 16th to 18th centuries, stemmed from monarchs' efforts to centralize authority amid religious conflicts, the decline of feudalism, and the demands of emerging nation-states. The Protestant Reformation, beginning in 1517, triggered wars of religion across the continent, such as the French Wars of Religion (1562–1598) and the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), which fragmented societies and empowered rulers to impose uniformity and suppress divisions through unchecked power. These crises eroded the decentralized feudal system, where local lords held significant autonomy, allowing kings to build bureaucracies staffed by loyal commoners rather than nobles, thus bypassing traditional intermediaries.^[5] Economic pressures further propelled this consolidation. Severe inflation in the 16th century, driven by New World silver inflows that raised prices by up to 400% in some regions, strained fragmented fiscal systems, prompting monarchs to centralize taxation and mercantilist policies to harness national resources for state-building. The shift from agrarian feudal economies to commerce-oriented ones fostered alliances between crowns and merchant classes, providing revenue for standing armies independent of noble levies—such as Prussia's force, which by 1740 under Frederick William I numbered 80,000 men, or about 4% of the population.^[11] This military innovation, enabled by gunpowder weaponry and professionalization, shifted loyalty from feudal vassals to the sovereign, enabling enforcement of absolutist claims. France under Louis XIV (r. 1643–1715) epitomized this evolution. Surviving the Fronde uprisings (1648–1653), which challenged regency rule, Louis XIV dismantled noble and parlements' resistances, revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685 to enforce Catholic uniformity, and relocated the court to Versailles from 1669 onward to surveil and co-opt the aristocracy.^[57] His intendants—royal agents overseeing provinces—streamlined administration, while Colbert's mercantilist reforms, including state monopolies and tariffs, generated funds for wars and grandeur, sustaining a regime where the king claimed divine-right sovereignty unconstrained by estates or assemblies.^[58] Parallel developments marked other realms. In Spain, Philip II (r. 1556–1598) centralized Habsburg domains through councils and inquisitorial oversight, though overextension led to decline. Austrian Habsburgs, facing Ottoman threats, fortified absolutism via military reforms post-1683 Vienna relief. In Russia, Peter the Great (r. 1682–1725) imported Western bureaucracy and navy, subjugating boyars and imposing taxes that funded St. Petersburg's construction from 1703. These cases illustrate how absolutism arose not as ideology alone but as pragmatic response to existential threats, enabling rulers to forge cohesive states from medieval mosaics.^[59]

Major Historical Examples

European Cases

Absolute monarchy in Europe reached its zenith during the 17th and 18th centuries, particularly in France, Prussia, and Russia, where rulers centralized authority by subordinating nobility, clergy, and estates to royal will, often justified by divine right or pragmatic efficiency. These regimes featured direct control over taxation, military, and lawmaking, bypassing representative bodies. In France, Louis XIV exemplified this model, reigning from 1643 to 1715—the longest tenure of any European monarch—and assuming personal rule in 1661 following Cardinal Mazarin's death.^[60]^[61] He centralized administration through intendants, revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685 to enforce religious uniformity, and relocated the court to Versailles in 1682 to monitor and domesticate the aristocracy, declaring "L'état, c'est moi" to embody undivided sovereignty.^[57]^[58] His policies expanded the army to over 400,000 men by the 1690s, funding wars like the Nine Years' War (1688–1697) through absolute fiscal control, though at the cost of economic strain.^[62] In Russia, Peter the Great (r. 1682–1725) imposed absolutism to modernize a backward autocracy, using autocratic decrees and force to override boyar privileges and traditional customs. He founded St. Petersburg in 1703 as a "window to Europe," conscripted nobles into state service via the Table of Ranks in 1722, and reformed the military into a standing force of 200,000 by 1725, victorious in the Great Northern War (1700–1721) against Sweden.^[63] Peter's enforcement relied on terror, executing or exiling resistors, and centralizing taxation that tripled state revenue, transforming Russia into an empire by 1721 while binding society to the tsar's will.^[64] Prussia under Frederick the Great (r. 1740–1786) represented "enlightened absolutism," where the king wielded unchecked power but applied rational reforms for state strength. Frederick modernized the bureaucracy, codified laws in the Allgemeines Landrecht of 1794 (initiated under him), and cultivated agriculture on royal domains, boosting output by 50% through drainage and crop rotation.^[65] His army grew to 200,000 men, comprising 4% of the population, enabling conquests like Silesia in the War of Austrian Succession (1740–1748), sustained by direct royal oversight of Junkers and corvée labor.^[66] Though Frederick corresponded with Voltaire and tolerated religious diversity, power remained personal, with no estates or parliaments limiting the crown.^[67] Other instances included Spain under Philip II (r. 1556–1598), who suppressed cortes and centralized via councils, though fiscal overreach from empire maintenance eroded absolutism by the 17th century. In Austria, Habsburg rulers like Leopold I (r. 1658–1705) asserted dominance over diets post-Thirty Years' War, but multi-ethnic domains prevented full uniformity. Sweden under Charles XI (r. 1672–1697) briefly achieved absolutism via the Reduction of 1680, reclaiming noble lands and funding a professional army, yet it waned after 1718. These cases illustrate absolutism's adaptation to local contexts, often yielding military prowess but vulnerability to overextension.^[68]

Asian and African Cases

The Mughal Empire (1526–1857) in South Asia operated as a centralized absolute monarchy, where emperors wielded unitary authority over governance, taxation, and military affairs, supported by a federal structure of appointed nobles and provincial administrators.^[69] Emperors such as Akbar (r. 1556–1605) consolidated power by integrating diverse religious and ethnic groups under imperial decree, amassing vast revenues—estimated at over 100 million rupees annually by the 17th century—while maintaining personal control without binding constitutional limits.^[70] This system enabled territorial expansion to cover nearly the entire Indian subcontinent, peaking under Aurangzeb (r. 1658–1707), though it relied on sophisticated bureaucratic mechanisms to enforce the monarch's will rather than feudal decentralization.^[70] In Southeast Asia, the Khmer Empire (802–1431) featured absolute monarchical rule, with kings holding supreme, unrestricted authority as divine figures (devaraja), directing temple construction, irrigation networks, and military campaigns that expanded influence across modern Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam.^[71] Rulers like Jayavarman VII (r. 1181–1218) mobilized corvée labor for megaprojects, including the Angkor Wat complex completed around 1150, underscoring the monarch's unchallenged command over resources and subjects in a theocratic framework.^[72] Similarly, the Ottoman Empire (c. 1299–1922), centered in Anatolia, functioned as an absolute monarchy for much of its duration, with sultans exercising direct control over law, army, and diplomacy through the devshirme system and janissary corps.^[73] Sultans like Suleiman I (r. 1520–1566) codified the kanun legal code alongside sharia, ruling over 15–20 million subjects at its 16th-century zenith without parliamentary or clerical vetoes, though later reforms introduced advisory councils.^[73] In Africa, Shaka Zulu (r. 1816–1828) forged the Zulu Kingdom through absolute personal rule, centralizing authority via innovative military tactics like the iklwa short spear and "bull horn" formations, which enabled conquests absorbing over 250,000 people into a unified state from fragmented chiefdoms.^[74] His regime enforced loyalty through cattle redistribution and ritual executions, amassing herds numbering in the tens of thousands as symbols of unchecked sovereignty, though this intensity contributed to his assassination by kin amid succession disputes.^[75] The Ethiopian Empire under the Solomonic dynasty (1270–1974) maintained absolute monarchical governance until the 1931 constitution, with emperors deriving legitimacy from biblical descent claims and wielding executive, judicial, and legislative powers to repel invasions, such as Menelik II's (r. 1889–1913) victory at Adwa in 1896 using 100,000 troops against Italian forces.^[76] This structure preserved independence amid colonial pressures, governing diverse highlands through appointed ras governors while the negus nagast held final decree.^[76]

Other Global Instances

In the Americas, pre-Columbian empires exemplified absolute monarchical rule. The Inca Empire, spanning from approximately 1438 to 1533, was led by the Sapa Inca, regarded as the divine son of the sun god Inti and vested with unchallenged authority over military conquests, resource allocation, labor systems like mit'a, and religious practices.^[77] This ruler's decisions shaped territorial expansion and internal governance without institutional constraints, as evidenced by the reigns of Pachacuti (1438–1471), who reorganized the empire into a centralized bureaucracy, and his successors who extended control over diverse Andean regions.^[78] Similarly, the Aztec Empire (1428–1521), centered in Tenochtitlan, operated under a tlatoani (speaker or ruler) who functioned as an absolute sovereign, holding ultimate ownership of all land, directing noble councils, and enforcing tribute from subject city-states through military dominance.^[79] The tlatoani's power, inherited within the ruling family and ratified by a council of electors, enabled expansive campaigns, such as those under Moctezuma II (1502–1520), who oversaw an empire demanding annual tributes equivalent to thousands of tons of goods from over 400 tributary polities.^[80] In Oceania, the Kingdom of Hawaii represented a transition from fragmented chiefdoms to unified absolute monarchy. Following Kamehameha I's conquest and unification of the islands by 1810, the moi (king) embodied absolute rule, merging personal authority with state functions in a system where the monarch controlled land distribution, warfare, and kapu (taboo) laws without codified limits until the 1840 Constitution.^[81] This era persisted through Kamehameha II (1819–1824) and Kamehameha III (1825–1854), who centralized power amid external pressures, issuing edicts on religion and governance that reflected the king's singular sovereignty over a population of about 130,000.^[82] Such structures emphasized hereditary divine kingship, akin to Polynesian traditions, but adapted to consolidate rival ali'i (chiefs) under one ruler's unyielding command.

Mechanisms of Decline

Fiscal and Military Pressures

The intensification of warfare during the early modern period, driven by the adoption of gunpowder technologies and the establishment of permanent standing armies, imposed unprecedented fiscal demands on absolute monarchies across Europe. These military innovations, part of what historians term the "military revolution," required sustained funding for professional forces, fortifications, and logistics, escalating state expenditures far beyond medieval levels. Monarchs, claiming divine-right authority to rule without consent, initially attempted to meet these costs through arbitrary taxation, monopolies, and sales of offices, but such measures often provoked elite resistance and economic inefficiency.^[83]^[84] In France, Louis XIV's ambitious military campaigns exemplified these pressures. From 1667 to 1713, wars such as the War of Devolution, the Dutch War, the War of the League of Augsburg, and the War of the Spanish Succession consumed vast resources, with annual military spending reaching up to 200 million livres by the 1690s, far exceeding peacetime revenues derived primarily from taille and indirect taxes. The king's reliance on intendants for tax collection and loans from financiers like the brothers Pâris ballooned the national debt to over 2 billion livres by 1715, while debasements and billets de monnaie experiments failed to stabilize finances, sowing seeds of fiscal crisis that persisted into the 18th century and contributed to the monarchy's vulnerability during the revolutionary era.^[85]^[86] England's experience under the Stuarts highlighted how fiscal-military strains eroded absolutist pretensions. Charles I's efforts to fund the Bishops' Wars against Scotland in 1639-1640 without parliamentary approval, through mechanisms like ship money and coat and conduct money, alienated traditional revenue granters and provoked the Short Parliament's召集, escalating into the English Civil War. Subsequent defeats and the Interregnum underscored the limits of unilateral fiscal authority, culminating in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, where William III's acceptance of parliamentary control over taxation and military funding formalized the shift away from absolutism.^[87] Across continental Europe, similar dynamics unfolded. In the Habsburg domains, the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) devastated economies and depleted treasuries, forcing reliance on provincial diets for subsidies that empowered local estates and hindered centralized absolutism. Prussia under Frederick William I achieved partial success through rigorous tax farming and military entrepreneurship, but even there, the fiscal burdens of the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) necessitated noble Junkers' involvement in governance, blending absolutism with consultative elements. These pressures revealed the causal tension: while warfare spurred state-building, the revenue shortfalls in absolute systems—lacking broad consent-based taxation—often compelled monarchs to devolve power, accelerating the transition to constitutional or parliamentary frameworks by the late 18th century.^[88]

Ideological Shifts and Revolutions

The Enlightenment, spanning the late 17th to 18th centuries, marked a pivotal ideological challenge to absolute monarchy by promoting reason, individual rights, and secular governance over divine right and unchecked royal authority. Thinkers like John Locke argued in his Two Treatises of Government (1689) that legitimate political power derives from the consent of the governed via social contract, not hereditary divine mandate, positing that rulers who violate natural rights—life, liberty, and property—forfeit authority and justify resistance.^[89] Montesquieu's The Spirit of the Laws (1748) further critiqued absolutism by advocating separation of powers into legislative, executive, and judicial branches to prevent tyranny, drawing from empirical observations of mixed governments like England's post-1688 system.^[90] These ideas eroded the theological justification for absolute rule, which had claimed kings as God's direct agents immune to earthly judgment, by emphasizing rational critique and human agency.^[91] Such philosophical critiques fueled revolutionary upheavals that directly dismantled absolute monarchies. The American Revolution (1775–1783), inspired by Lockean principles, culminated in the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, which rejected King George III's perceived absolutist overreach and established a republic grounded in popular sovereignty and enumerated rights.^[11] In France, Enlightenment influences from Voltaire's attacks on royal privilege and Rousseau's concept of the general will galvanized opposition to Louis XVI's regime; the Estates-General convened on May 5, 1789, escalated into the National Assembly's Tennis Court Oath on June 20, 1789, and the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789, leading to the monarchy's abolition in 1792 and Louis XVI's execution by guillotine on January 21, 1793. These events demonstrated how ideological dissemination—via printed pamphlets and salons—empowered emerging bourgeois classes to demand accountability, causal factors including fiscal crises amplifying the push against absolutist extraction without representation.^[89] The 19th century saw further ideological momentum through liberal nationalism and socialism, triggering the Revolutions of 1848 across Europe, which targeted absolutist holdouts. In Denmark, these uprisings prompted King Frederick VII to grant a constitution on June 5, 1849, ending absolute rule in favor of parliamentary oversight; similar pressures in Austria and Prussia forced concessions, though restorations occurred, the net effect advanced constitutional limits on monarchs.^[92] While some rulers like Frederick the Great of Prussia (r. 1740–1786) adopted "enlightened absolutism" by selectively implementing reforms to bolster state efficiency without ceding power, radical interpretations of Enlightenment thought proved incompatible with sustained absolutism, as they legitimized mass mobilization against unyielding hereditary rule.^[93] This cascade shifted global governance toward systems prioritizing consent and checks, rendering pure absolute monarchy untenable in most contexts by the mid-19th century.^[94]

Contemporary Absolute Monarchies

Middle Eastern Examples

Saudi Arabia exemplifies a contemporary absolute monarchy in the Middle East, where the King holds supreme authority derived from Islamic principles and tribal alliances. The House of Saud has governed since 1932, with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ascending the throne on January 23, 2015, following the death of his half-brother King Abdullah. As head of state, government, and the armed forces, the King appoints the Council of Ministers, which he chairs, and issues royal decrees that serve as the basis for law, supplemented by Sharia. No national elections occur for executive or legislative positions; the Consultative Assembly (Majlis al-Shura) offers non-binding advice but lacks veto power over royal decisions. This structure ensures centralized control, with the royal family dominating key ministries and economic levers tied to oil revenues exceeding $300 billion annually in recent fiscal years. Oman represents another instance of absolute monarchy, ruled by the Al Busaid dynasty since 1744. Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said assumed power on January 11, 2020, after Sultan Qaboos bin Said's death, selecting his successor per the late sultan's letter of designation. The Sultan wields executive, legislative, and judicial authority, promulgating laws via royal decrees without parliamentary approval; the bicameral Majlis Oman has advisory roles only, with members partially elected but unable to override the throne. Reforms under Haitham, including a 2021 decree establishing a crown prince position and expanding citizenship rights, maintain the absolute framework while addressing succession stability. Oman's governance emphasizes tribal consensus and Islamic law, sustaining rule amid a population of approximately 4.6 million and oil-dependent economy. Other Gulf states exhibit absolute monarchical elements, though federated structures complicate pure classification. In Qatar, the Emir exercises near-total power despite a consultative Shura Council introduced in 2021 with partial elections, retaining decree authority over policy and foreign affairs. The United Arab Emirates operates as a federation where individual emirates like Dubai and Abu Dhabi are ruled absolutely by hereditary emirs, who dominate the federal Supreme Council selecting the president—typically Abu Dhabi's ruler—ensuring dynastic control over vast hydrocarbon wealth. These systems prioritize familial loyalty and resource distribution for stability, contrasting with democratic pressures elsewhere.

African and Other Cases

Eswatini is Africa's sole remaining absolute monarchy, governed by King Mswati III, who ascended to the throne on April 25, 1986, following the death of his father, King Sobhuza II.^[95] The king exercises supreme authority over all branches of government, including the power to appoint the prime minister, cabinet members, and judges, while political parties remain banned under the 1973 Tinkhundla system, which structures governance around traditional assemblies rather than electoral competition.^[96] In 2018, Mswati III renamed the country from Swaziland to Eswatini to align with the indigenous SiSwati name, reinforcing national identity under monarchical rule. The monarch's decrees override parliamentary decisions, as evidenced by the 2021 suppression of pro-democracy protests demanding constitutional reforms, where security forces dispersed demonstrators, resulting in at least 30 deaths according to human rights monitors.^[97] Beyond Africa, Brunei maintains an absolute monarchy under Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, who has ruled since October 5, 1967, and serves as both head of state and government.^[98] The sultan wields unchecked executive power, controls the legislature through appointed councils, and enforces a legal system blending English common law with Sharia principles, including hudud punishments introduced in phases from 2014 onward.^[99] Brunei's 1959 constitution was suspended in 1962, granting the sultan emergency powers that persist, with no national elections for representatives; instead, a Legislative Council of 36 members, mostly appointed, convenes irregularly.^[100] Oil and gas revenues fund extensive welfare provisions, sustaining loyalty amid limited political freedoms, though public dissent is curtailed under sedition laws.^[101] Vatican City operates as an absolute elective monarchy, with the pope holding sovereign authority as both spiritual leader and temporal ruler since the state's establishment via the 1929 Lateran Treaty.^[102] The current pontiff, Pope Francis, elected on March 13, 2013, exercises legislative, executive, and judicial powers through papal decrees and the Roman Curia, without a hereditary line—instead, cardinals elect a successor for life upon vacancy.^[103] Governance emphasizes ecclesiastical law over secular elections, with a population of approximately 800 residents and no voting rights for citizens; reforms under Francis, such as the 2020 motu proprio Authenticum obsequium, have delegated some administrative functions but preserved papal supremacy.^[102] This structure, unique among modern states, prioritizes the Catholic Church's universal mission over democratic mechanisms.^[103]

Achievements and Positive Outcomes

Stability and Continuity

Absolute monarchies promote political stability by vesting supreme authority in a hereditary ruler, minimizing factional disputes and enabling decisive governance free from the disruptions of competitive elections or parliamentary gridlock. Hereditary succession provides a clear mechanism for power transfer, preserving institutional continuity and allowing rulers to pursue multi-decade strategies aligned with national interests rather than transient political expediency.^[104]^[105] In Brunei, the absolute sultanate under Hassanal Bolkiah, who has reigned since October 5, 1967, exemplifies this continuity, delivering over 57 years of stable rule amid regional volatility in Southeast Asia. The sultanate's political framework, rooted in the unbroken Bolkiah dynasty since the 14th century, has sustained internal peace and policy consistency, supported by a welfare-oriented governance model that mitigates dissent. Brunei's political stability index reflects this resilience, with no recorded coups or regime overthrows since independence in 1984.^[106]^[107]^[108] Saudi Arabia's Al Saud dynasty further illustrates longevity, having unified the kingdom on September 23, 1932, and endured oil crises, regional wars, and internal assassinations—such as King Faisal's on March 25, 1975—without foundational disruption to monarchical authority. The regime's adaptability, including economic diversification under Vision 2030 initiated in 2016, underscores how absolute control facilitates long-term planning, contributing to improved political stability metrics from -0.36 in 2022 to -0.21 in 2023.^[109]^[110] Historically, France under Louis XIV (reigned May 14, 1643, to September 1, 1715) achieved domestic stability after the Fronde civil wars (1648–1653) through centralized absolutism, enabling 72 years of unbroken rule that unified disparate provinces under royal decree and fostered cultural and administrative continuity. Such extended tenures in absolute systems contrast with the frequent leadership turnover in republics, where term limits or elections often interrupt strategic initiatives.^[18]

Economic and Infrastructural Successes

In historical absolute monarchies, rulers exercised centralized authority to drive economic modernization and infrastructure. Frederick II of Prussia (r. 1740–1786) transformed the kingdom's economy through administrative reforms, agricultural improvements, and industrial promotion, including the establishment of sugar refineries, metal forges, and armaments production, which bolstered state revenues and self-sufficiency.^[111] His acquisition of Silesia added economically advanced territories, enhancing Prussia's overall productivity and fiscal base.^[67] Contemporary absolute monarchies in the Gulf region have leveraged hydrocarbon wealth under monarchical direction to achieve high economic output and extensive infrastructure. Brunei's GDP per capita reached approximately $60,100 in 2023, among the world's highest, sustained by petroleum and natural gas exports managed since Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah's accession in 1967, enabling free healthcare and education for citizens.^[112] Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, initiated in 2016 under King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has funded giga-projects like King Salman Energy Park and Qiddiya entertainment city to diversify beyond oil, contributing to GCC-wide GDP growth to $1.6 trillion by 2021, an eightfold increase since formation.^[113]^[114] In the UAE, particularly Dubai under Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum since 2006, over AED 175 billion has been invested in road infrastructure over two decades, supporting urban expansion and logistics hubs like the completed Etihad Rail network linking emirates.^[115]^[116] These initiatives, directed by absolute monarchical authority, have facilitated rapid economic diversification into tourism, real estate, and trade, with Dubai's D33 Agenda targeting economy doubling by 2033 through innovation and sustainability projects.^[117] Such centralized decision-making has enabled long-term investments unconstrained by short-term political pressures, yielding measurable infrastructural advancements like integrated rail and urban networks.^[118]

Criticisms and Challenges

Governance and Rights Concerns

In absolute monarchies, governance is characterized by the monarch's unchecked authority over legislative, executive, and judicial functions, which critics contend enables arbitrary decision-making and undermines institutional accountability. This concentration of power can lead to patronage-based administration, where loyalty to the ruler supersedes merit or public interest, potentially exacerbating corruption and policy inefficiencies without electoral or parliamentary oversight.^[119] Human rights concerns are prominent, including systemic restrictions on political freedoms and civil liberties. Freedom House assesses Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy under King Salman, as "Not Free" with a 2025 score reflecting near-total denial of political rights, as no national officials are elected and dissent is criminalized under laws against terrorism and cybercrime.^[120] The U.S. Department of State's 2023 report documented credible cases of arbitrary or unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, torture, and severe limitations on freedoms of expression and assembly in Saudi Arabia.^[121] In Eswatini, absolute rule by King Mswati III since 1986 has involved violent suppression of demands for democratic reform, including the 2023 killing of human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko and lethal force against 2021-2023 protests, resulting in dozens of deaths as reported by security forces and independent commissions.^[122]^[123] Amnesty International noted ongoing arrests of activists and restrictions on assembly, with the government acknowledging unrest but attributing abuses to security responses rather than structural governance flaws.^[124] Brunei, under Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, enforces strict Sharia-based penal codes since 2019, prescribing punishments such as stoning for adultery and amputation for theft, which have drawn international criticism for violating prohibitions on cruel and inhuman treatment, though enforcement has been selective and no amputations were reported by 2023.^[99] Freedom House rates Brunei "Not Free," citing bans on political parties, independent media, and public criticism of the sultanate.^[99] These examples illustrate how absolute monarchical governance often prioritizes regime stability over expansive individual rights, with limited avenues for redress absent independent judiciary or opposition.^[119]

Succession and Internal Dynamics

In absolute monarchies, succession relies heavily on hereditary principles or the reigning monarch's designation, lacking institutional mechanisms like parliamentary approval or broad consultation found in constitutional systems, which can foster uncertainty and intra-family rivalries.^[109] This personalistic approach heightens the risk of power vacuums or contests upon a ruler's death, as seen historically in various dynasties where ambiguous lines precipitated conflicts.^[125] Saudi Arabia exemplifies these challenges under its absolute monarchy, where agnatic seniority—passing the throne among brothers and nephews—has produced a succession of elderly kings, raising concerns about leadership capacity and stability.^[126] The system's flexibility allows the king to nominate successors subject to approval by the Allegiance Council, composed of senior royals, but this has not eliminated underlying contentions within the House of Saud, with over 15,000 princes potentially vying for influence.^[127] Episodes of royal illness, such as King Abdullah's in 2015, have triggered speculation of crises, underscoring the fragility despite outwardly smooth transitions.^[128]^[129] Internal dynamics in such regimes often involve opaque power struggles among kin, courtiers, and factions, as the absence of checks concentrates authority and incentivizes intrigue over merit-based governance.^[119] In Saudi Arabia, this manifests in purges and consolidations, such as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's 2017 anti-corruption campaign, which detained rivals and centralized control but highlighted familial tensions.^[127] Similarly, historical absolute monarchs maintained large courts to monitor nobles, yet these environments bred corruption and favoritism, undermining administrative efficiency.^[5] Without codified limits, incapacitated or erratic rulers can precipitate regency battles or coups, as internal power depends on personal loyalty rather than institutional norms.^[130]

Comparative Perspectives

Against Democratic Republics

Proponents of absolute monarchy argue that it provides superior incentives for governance compared to democratic republics, where rulers act as short-term stewards of public resources rather than long-term owners. Economist Hans-Hermann Hoppe contends that a monarch, viewing the realm as patrimonial property, exhibits lower time preference—favoring sustainable policies over immediate exploitation—while democratic politicians, facing electoral pressures and term limits, prioritize redistributive spending and populist measures to secure votes, leading to fiscal irresponsibility and moral decay.^[131]^[132] This perspective aligns with first-principles reasoning on property rights: private stewardship incentivizes preservation, whereas collective democratic control diffuses responsibility and amplifies rent-seeking.^[133] Empirical comparisons reveal that monarchies, including absolute variants, outperform republics in economic metrics. Management scholar Mauro Guillen analyzed global data and found that individuals in monarchies achieve higher standards of living and GDP per capita—up to $1,500 more annually—than in republics, attributing this to political continuity that enables consistent long-term investments over the gridlock and policy reversals common in democracies.^[134]^[135] In absolute monarchies like those in the Gulf states, this manifests in rapid infrastructural development; for instance, the United Arab Emirates transformed from a GDP per capita of $320 in 1971 to over $43,000 by 2023 through decisive, centralized planning under monarchical rule, contrasting with the economic volatility in democratic republics like Iraq, where post-2003 electoral systems have yielded persistent instability and lower growth rates averaging under 2% annually since.^[136]^[137] Stability in absolute monarchies further underscores their edge over democratic republics, which often suffer from frequent leadership turnover and factional strife. Historical data indicate monarchies experience fewer regime changes and civil conflicts, fostering environments conducive to capital accumulation; Saudi Arabia, under absolute rule since 1932, maintained uninterrupted governance amid regional upheavals, channeling oil revenues into diversification that boosted non-oil GDP growth to 4.4% in 2022, while neighboring democratic experiments, such as Libya's post-2011 republic, devolved into chaos with GDP contracting by over 60% from pre-conflict levels.^[138]^[139] Critics of democracy, drawing on such cases, highlight how electoral competition incentivizes divisive rhetoric and short horizons, eroding institutional trust—evident in the U.S. national debt surpassing $35 trillion by 2025 under perpetual partisan cycles—versus the dynastic accountability in monarchies that prioritizes intergenerational legacy.^[140]^[141] While oil wealth bolsters Gulf absolute monarchies, their success stems from causal factors like unified decision-making absent in republics, where veto points and interest-group capture delay reforms. Brunei's absolute sultanate, for example, sustains a GDP per capita exceeding $30,000 through prudent resource management since 1984 independence, avoiding the boom-bust cycles plaguing democratic resource-dependent states like Venezuela, whose republican system saw GDP plummet 75% from 2013 to 2021 amid hyperinflation and policy flip-flops.^[142] This pattern suggests absolute monarchy's hierarchical structure mitigates the principal-agent problems inherent in democratic delegation, where voters' diffused sovereignty enables elite capture without direct recourse.^[143]

Against Constitutional Systems

Advocates of absolute monarchy maintain that it outperforms constitutional systems by vesting undivided authority in the sovereign, thereby enabling rapid decision-making free from legislative vetoes or protracted negotiations. This centralized command structure allows rulers to address emergencies and pursue strategic initiatives without the delays inherent in divided powers. For instance, absolute monarchs can enact policies in secrecy or haste when necessary, such as declaring war or reallocating resources, unhindered by representative assemblies.^[9]^[144] Historical precedents underscore this efficiency: Louis XIV of France (r. 1643–1715) leveraged absolute control to overhaul the tax system and bureaucracy, channeling revenues into military expansion and grand projects like Versailles, which fortified the state's power amid threats from rival powers. Similarly, Frederick II of Prussia (r. 1740–1786) directed swift administrative and military reforms, transforming a fragmented electorate into a disciplined powerhouse capable of withstanding prolonged conflicts like the Seven Years' War (1756–1763). In constitutional frameworks, analogous efforts often falter due to parliamentary gridlock, where factional interests prolong debates and dilute resolve, as critiqued in analyses of power diffusion leading to suboptimal outcomes.^[23]^[145] Modern cases reinforce these dynamics. Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, launched in 2016 by King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman under absolute prerogatives, has accelerated economic diversification, boosting non-oil sector contributions and attracting foreign investment through decisive deregulations and megaprojects like NEOM, unencumbered by electoral mandates or coalition compromises. Constitutional systems, reliant on periodic legislative consent, risk policy inconsistency from shifting majorities, fostering short-termism over sustained vision. Absolute rule thus promotes continuity, as succession maintains institutional memory without the disruptions of elections, potentially yielding greater long-term stability in resource-dependent or geopolitically volatile contexts.^[146]^[147]

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Inca Emperors: Meet the Rulers Who Shaped an Empire
Absolute ruler of the empire: The Inca made decisions on territorial expansion, resource management, the work system (such as mit'a) and internal order.
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https://www.kre-dit.hu/uncategorized/balint-kulifay-the-government-of-the-aztec-empire/
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the aztec empire - ayisha scott - Prezi
The Aztecs had an absolute monarchy.When an Aztec king died, a Supreme Council of nobles chose a member of the ruling family as the new king.Sometimes kingship ...
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Hawaii History Timeline: Building The Hawaiian Kingdom
Throughout Hawaiian history, the Mo'i or King of an island was the absolute ruler. The man and the government were one and the same.
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Political History - Hawaiian Kingdom
The monarchical government of the Hawaiian Islands was established in 1810 by His Majesty King Kamehameha I (pictured right).
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Military Spending Patterns in History – EH.net
Determining adequate levels of military spending and sustaining the burden of conflicts have been among key fiscal problems in history.
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[PDF] Warfare, Fiscal Gridlock, and State Formation during Europe's ...
Aug 22, 2022 · Abstract. We put forth a political scope condition for the classic argument that war motivates expansions in state fiscal capacity.
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France's Fiscal Woes | History of Western Civilization II
Under Louis XIV, France witnessed successful reforms and growth as a global power, but financial strain imposed by multiple wars left the state bankrupt.Missing: absolutism | Show results with:absolutism
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paper money and the financing of warfare under Louis XIV
Apr 10, 2018 · This article revisits the rationale behind the first experiment with paper money undertaken by finance minister Michel Chamillart, comparing it to other ...Missing: strain | Show results with:strain<|control11|><|separator|>
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THE AMBIVALENCE OF ABSOLUTISM - jstor
To offset their fiscal dilemma, James I and his son, Charles I, devised a series of fiscal expedients that would provide the twin imperatives of absolutist rule ...
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10.11: The Overall Effects of Absolutism - Humanities LibreTexts
Aug 26, 2022 · Absolutism led to larger royal governments, armies, and a concept of royal authority. Peasants lost freedoms, and military costs were high, ...
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What Is the Enlightenment and How Did It Transform Politics?
Sep 1, 2025 · Opposition to Absolute Monarchy: Intellectuals such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau and John Locke introduced the idea that no ruler should have ...
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A History of the 'Divine Right of Kings' Doctrine - Brewminate
Oct 4, 2020 · It asserts that a monarch is subject to no earthly authority, deriving his right to rule directly from the will of God.
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The Divine Right of Kings in Europe for AP World History
Jan 2, 2024 · Enlightenment thinkers, including John Locke, challenged the idea, asserting that political authority should derive from the consent of the ...
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Absolutism and Enlightenment | CK-12 Foundation
An 18th century European movement in which thinkers challenged the practices of hereditary privilege and absolutism and attempted to apply the principles of ...<|control11|><|separator|>
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The Ultimate Guide to Enlightened Absolutists for AP® Euro History
Mar 1, 2022 · Enlightened Absolutism is basically the belief in Enlightenment-era rationality and the concern for social problems, but intermixed with the belief in an ...Frederick The Great Of... · Catherine The Great Of... · Napoleon Bonaparte
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The Enlightenments Supremacy Over the Divine Right of Kings ...
Dec 24, 2018 · They obstructed the ideas of monarchy and its fallacious intent for legitimacy through divine right doctrine, and they paved the way through a ...
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Eswatini country profile - BBC News
Apr 12, 2023 · The kingdom of Eswatini is one of the world's last remaining absolute monarchies. The king rules by decree over his million subjects.
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Eswatini: Freedom in the World 2024 Country Report
Eswatini is a monarchy currently ruled by King Mswati III. The king exercises ultimate authority over all branches of the national government.Missing: details | Show results with:details
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Africa's Eswatini, one of the last absolute monarchies, holds an ...
Sep 29, 2023 · King Mswati III, 55, has been the monarch since 1986, when he became ruler days after his 18th birthday. His father was king for 82 years before ...Missing: details | Show results with:details
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Brunei country profile - BBC News
Feb 24, 2023 · The Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, is one of the world's longest-reigning and few remaining absolute monarchs. He was crowned in August ...
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Brunei: Country Profile | Freedom House
Brunei is an absolute monarchy in which the sultan exercises executive power. There are no elected representatives at the national level.
[100]
2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Brunei
Brunei Darussalam is a monarchy governed since 1967 by Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah. Emergency powers in place since 1962 allow the sultan to govern with few ...Missing: absolute | Show results with:absolute
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Brunei Faces Generational Change | Current History
Sep 1, 2025 · Brunei Darussalam is an absolute monarchy that has resisted decades of international advocacy for democracy and civic rights ... Ruled since 1967 ...
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What Is the Political Structure of the Vatican? - TheCollector
Apr 13, 2024 · The pope is the absolute monarch of the Vatican and serves as its religious leader as well. However, several executive powers are delegated as ...
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Vatican City: the world's smallest state and monarchy - Royal Central
Sep 9, 2020 · Pope Francis is the only leader in Europe that is an absolute monarch. Article 1 of the Fundamental Law of Vatican City State codifies the ...
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Pros And Disadvantages Of Hereditary Monarchy - IPL.org
It has the advantages like continuity of the concentration of power and wealth and predictions of who controls the means of governance and preferential ...
[105]
The role of monarchy in modern democracy
Sep 30, 2020 · What modern monarchies offer is non-partisan state headship set apart from the daily political struggle of executive government; the continuity ...
[106]
Business in Brunei QUICK FACTS ON BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
• Political stability. Brunei's outstanding record of political stability has been led by a benevolent monarchy that can be traced back, in an unbroken line ...
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Brunei Economy, Politics and GDP Growth Summary
In brief. The political environment will remain stable in 2024-25, owing to the well-entrenched autocratic rule of the sultan, Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin.
[108]
2024 Investment Climate Statement for Brunei - State Department
Brunei has a stable political climate and is generally sheltered from natural disasters. Its central location in Southeast Asia, with good telecommunications ...
[109]
What explains the durability of Arab monarchies?
Nov 1, 2021 · In Saudi Arabia and most other Arab monarchies, the kingship is not passed by strict primogeniture. The King may name any successor of his ...
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Saudi Arabia Political stability - data, chart | TheGlobalEconomy.com
Saudi Arabia: Political stability index (-2.5 weak; 2.5 strong): The latest value from 2023 is -0.21 points, an increase from -0.36 points in 2022.
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How Did Frederick the Great Transform Prussia? - TheCollector
Aug 29, 2023 · Sugar refining, metal forging, and armaments all became important industries under the guiding hand of Frederick II. Two surprising industries ...<|control11|><|separator|>
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Brunei - The World Factbook - CIA
Dec 6, 2023 · In 2017, Brunei celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Sultan Hassanal BOLKIAH's accession to the throne. ... Real GDP per capita. $60,100 ...<|separator|>
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Projects
Sep 18, 2025 · Key Projects · Qiddiya · ROSHN · Riyadh Art · Sports Boulevard · Mohammed Bin Salman Nonprofit City · Saudi Downtown Company · Saudi Genome Program.King Salman Park · King Salman Energy Park · Saudi Made · Saudi Green Initiative
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GCC's 40 years of remarkable economic achievement - Arab News
Jun 3, 2021 · Today, combined GCC GDP is about $1.6 trillion – representing eightfold growth.” GCC statistics put the balance of foreign direct investment ( ...
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His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and ...
The ambitious development project is one of the largest infrastructure projects in the region and aims to link the seven emirates with a main railway network.
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Dubai Economic Agenda D33 | Visionary Plan for Sustainable Growth
The D33 Agenda shapes Dubai's vision to double its economy by 2033 through 100+ projects focusing on innovation, infrastructure, and sustainable growth.
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https://www.gulftoday.ae/news/2025/10/20/dubai-spends-dhs175-billion-on-development-of-its-roads-in-two-decades-says-sheikh-mohammed-bin-rashid
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Disadvantages of an Absolute Monarchy: Why It's a Risky System of ...
An absolute monarchy concentrates power in one ruler, leading to corruption, poor decision-making, and human rights abuses. Without checks and balances, ...
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Saudi Arabia: Freedom in the World 2025 Country Report
Saudi Arabia's absolute monarchy restricts almost all political rights and civil liberties. No officials at the national level are elected.
[121]
2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Saudi Arabia
Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: arbitrary or unlawful killings, including extrajudicial killings; enforced disappearance; torture.Section 2. Respect for Civil... · Section 3. Freedom to... · Section 5. Governmental...
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World Report 2024: Eswatini | Human Rights Watch
In Eswatini, an absolute monarchy ruled by King Mswati III since 1986, the year 2023 started with the brutal killing of Thulani Maseko, a prominent human ...Missing: Brunei | Show results with:Brunei
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2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Eswatini
The commission stated it found human rights abuses were perpetrated during the unrest and concluded that, in responding to unrest, security forces used lethal ...
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Human rights in Eswatini - Amnesty International
Social unrest increased and there were ongoing demands for democratic reforms under the absolute monarchy of King Mswati III. The government acknowledged ...
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Historically, do monarchies from different countries follow the same ...
Nov 11, 2018 · Are there any examples of absolute monarchies ... One famous example of a succession crises was the Competition for the Crown of Scotland.What are some historical examples where monarchs successfully ...What were the causes and effects of absolute monarchies? - QuoraMore results from www.quora.com
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From Generation to Generation: The Succession Problem in Saudi ...
Oct 1, 2009 · The question of succession is the core issue of contention among the members of the Saudi royal family. Ever since its advent in the second half of the 18th ...<|separator|>
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The True Nature of the Saudi Succession "Crisis" - CSIS
Jan 9, 2015 · Every time a Saudi king gets seriously ill or dies, this triggers yet another media frenzy over a Saudi succession crisis.
[128]
Saudi Arabia's Ailing King in U.S. for Medical Treatment, Succession ...
As Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah undergoes critical medical treatment in the United States, the country is also beginning a complex and uncertain royal ...
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Saudi Arabia's Smooth Succession: The King is Dead, Long Live the ...
Jan 23, 2015 · Once again, Saudi Arabia has managed its succession without problems, delay, or any signs of serious divisions within the royal family. One of ...
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What does an absolute monarchy or dictatorship do when the king ...
May 28, 2017 · When Lenin died, there was an internal struggle for power, which turned out quite bloody. ... What is the biggest monarchy where the monarch has ...
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From Aristocracy to Monarchy to Democracy: A Tale of Moral and ...
In stockHoppe shows the evolution of government away from aristocracy, through monarchy, and toward the corruption and irresponsibility of democracy.
[132]
[PDF] From Aristocracy to Monarchy to Democracy - Hoppe - Mises Institute
The democratic State's frenzied finance cannot continue indefinitely; and he finds grounds for hope in a movement toward smaller, decentralized governments.Missing: efficiency | Show results with:efficiency
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From Aristocracy to Monarchy to Democracy: A Tale of Moral and ...
While the state is an evil in all its forms, monarchy is, in many ways, far less pernicious than democracy. Hoppe shows the evolution of government away from ...
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The Monarchy and the Economy - Cato Unbound
Jun 16, 2021 · ... democratic-constitutional monarchies, people do better economically under monarchies than under republics, whether they are democratic or not.
[135]
Why Monarchies Rule When It Comes to Standard of Living
May 18, 2018 · The long-term effects of monarchies are good for the economy and the standard of living, according to a new study by Wharton management professor Mauro Guillen.
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[PDF] Comparative Analysis of Economic Policy Stability between ...
Aug 15, 2024 · Among these benefits: the monarchy guarantees stability for the state and its people, as political or economic upheavals are rarely seen in ...
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Republics and Monarchies: A Differential Analysis of Economic ...
Dec 31, 2019 · Albeit lack of significance, the 'mean GDP' is slightly higher for monarchy countries than in republic countries. Similarly, the variance ...
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Monarchy vs. Democracy: A Comparative - Analysis of Governance ...
Rating 4.0 (8) Jan 22, 2024 · Stability: Monarchies, particularly constitutional ones, can provide stability and continuity in leadership, as the succession is often ...
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Understanding the Gulf States - Democracy Journal
The Gulf monarchies are also important to the world economy. They produce a little over 20 percent of the world's oil and possess about 30 percent of its oil ...
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[PDF] Advantages And Disadvantages Of A Monarchy - Tangent Blog
Monarchies often provide greater political stability due to the continuity of leadership and established traditions, reducing the frequency of power struggles ...<|separator|>
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The following data is why I think a monarchy is better than a republic
Sep 29, 2024 · 45% of Full democracies in the Democracy Index are monarchies, and 38% of United Nations members in high-income economies are monarchies.Great essay by Otto von Habsburg: Monarchy vs Republic. Important ...Monarchies are more economically successful and provide a better ...More results from www.reddit.com
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Beyond The Hill - LinkedIn
Feb 13, 2025 · Gulf Monarchies vs. Western Democracies. Governance Effectiveness and ... Gulf monarchies have generally excelled in providing economic stability.
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[PDF] Symbolic_Unity_Monarchies_Re...
We defined non-democratic and absolute monarchies as those in which the sovereign reigns and rules, as well as those which are officially con- stitutional in ...
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What are the advantages and disadvantages of an absolute ... - Quora
Dec 23, 2023 · One advantage of a monarchy over a democracy or republic is that the monarch has incentive to leave the nation is as good of a condition as ...What are the advantages and disadvantages of absolute monarchy ...What are the advantages of monarchy over democracy? Why do ...More results from www.quora.com
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Advantages and Disadvantages - Absolute Monarchy - IPL.org
Absolute monarchies have historically presented several advantages. Centralized power allowed for swift decision-making, the continuity of leadership provided ...
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Vision 2030 in the Home Stretch: Clear Achievements yet Limited ...
Mar 10, 2025 · Vision 2030 has made undeniable progress in building a Saudi economy that can “live without oil”—but with five years to go, the program is in ...<|separator|>
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Doing business in Saudi Arabia: new opportunities surge under ...
Mar 12, 2025 · However, since the launch of Vision 2030 in 2016, KSA has undergone a remarkable transformation, leveraging its cultural heritage and strategic ...