Concept in Definition ABC

It is one of the ways to government oldest that exist. Its fundamental characteristic is that a king is the one who concentrates all the power of a nation. The position of king is for life and is hereditary. However, there is no single model of monarchy. In this sense, there are two possible approaches: absolute monarchy or authoritarian or parliamentary.

Parliamentary or constitutional monarchy

In this model the powers of the king are limited, since the parliament of a nation is the one who represents popular sovereignty. The law that limits the monarch's powers is the Constitution, the document that makes explicit the functions of the monarch. In nations where there is a parliamentary monarchy there is a division of powers (the executive power, the executive and the judicial) and the monarch performs representative functions and, at the same time, becomes a symbol of the unity of the nation.

At present, some of the nations with this system of government are the United Kingdom, Holland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden or Spain. If we take as a reference the role of the monarch in Spain, his powers are included in article 56 of the Constitution.

Absolute monarchy

As its name indicates, it is a government system in which the monarch concentrates all power and, therefore, there is no division of powers.

This implies that the decisions of a nation are made by an individual, the king. His maxim authority it is not limited by any other body, since it is considered that the will of the king cannot be subject to the laws.

This form of government is the one that characterized the European nations until the eighteenth century. In countries like Spain, France and England the kings ruled without restrictions, to the point that Louis XlV was attributes the famous phrase "the state is me", a statement that synthesizes the approach of any monarchy absolute.

When in 1789 the French Revolution and the monarchy was abolished, a process of transformation began in most nations and monarchies ceased to be absolute to gradually adapt to the parliamentary system. However, today there are still some countries where the absolute monarchy is in force, such as Qatar, Brunei, Swaziland, Oman or Saudi Arabia.

Photos: Fotolia - JackF / andrii kobryn