View source for Social:Absolute monarchy

{{short description|Form of government in which the monarch has absolute power}}
{{Basic forms of government}}'''Absolute monarchy'''<ref>{{cite book |last1=Goldie |first1=Mark |last2=Wokler |first2=Robert |date=2006-08-31 |title=The Cambridge History of Eighteenth-Century Political Thought |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521374224 |page=523 |chapter=Philosophical kingship and enlightened despotism |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eFNHyh9WY3AC&pg=PA523 |access-date=13 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Leopardi |first1=Giacomo |author-link1=Giacomo Leopardi |title=Zibaldone |year=2013 |orig-year=1898 |publisher=Farrar Straus Giroux |isbn=978-0374296827 |page=1438 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xzCpxEYO6JwC&pg=PA1438}}</ref> is a form of [[Social:Monarchy|monarchy]] in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute power.<ref name="Harris 2009">{{Cite book |last=Harris |first=Nathanial |year=2009 |title=Systems of Government Monarchy |publisher=Evans Brothers |isbn=978-0-237-53932-0 |lang=en |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o5SKJanyblIC}}</ref> Often such monarchies are hereditary.

The absolutist system of government saw its high point during the late 16th and the 17th century, associated with a more autocratic form of rule under figures such as Louis XIV of France and Philip II of Spain. Attempting to establish an absolutist government along European lines, Charles I of England viewed Parliament as unnecessary, which would ultimately lead to the English Civil War (1642–51) and his execution. Absolutism declined substantially, first following the {{wipe|French Revolution}}, and later after [[Social:World War I|World War I]], both of which led to the popularization of theories of government based on the notion of popular sovereignty. It did however provide a foundation for the newer political theories and movements that emerged to oppose liberal-democracy, such as [[Social:Legitimists|Legitimism]] and Carlism in the early 19th century, or "[[Social:Integral nationalism|integral nationalism]]" in the early 20th century.

Absolute monarchies include Brunei, Eswatini,<ref name="swazi-abs">{{cite news|title=Swaziland profile|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14095303|work=BBC News|date=2018-09-03}}</ref> Oman,<ref name="oman-abs">{{cite news |title=Q&A: Elections to Oman's consultative Council |date=2011-10-13 |website=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15288960}}</ref> Saudi Arabia,<ref name="Cavendish78" /> [[Religion:Vatican City|Vatican City]],<ref name="vaticancity">{{cite web |title=Organi dello Stato |trans-title=State Departments |publisher=Vatican State |website=vaticanstate.va |url=http://www.vaticanstate.va/content/vaticanstate/en/stato-e-governo/organi-dello-stato.html |access-date=2014-01-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102165340/http://www.vaticanstate.va/content/vaticanstate/en/stato-e-governo/organi-dello-stato.html |archive-date=2013-11-02}}<br />
{{cite web |title=State Departments  |publisher=Vatican State |website=vaticanstate.va |url=https://www.vaticanstate.va/en/state-government/state-departments/state-departments-1.html |access-date=2019-09-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411154311/https://www.vaticanstate.va/en/state-government/state-departments/state-departments-1.html |archive-date=2020-04-11}}</ref> and the individual emirates composing the [[Place:United Arab Emirates|United Arab Emirates]], which itself is a [[Social:Federation|federation]] of such monarchies – a [[Social:Federal monarchy|federal monarchy]].<ref name="qat-abs">{{cite news |last1=Stephens |first1=Michael |date=2013-01-07 |title=Qatar: Regional backwater to global player |website=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20890765}}</ref><ref name=:0>{{cite news |title=Vatican to emirates, monarchs keep the reins in modern world |newspaper=The Times of India |url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-05-02/education/29495629_1_monarchy-absolute-power-head |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016094408/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-05-02/education/29495629_1_monarchy-absolute-power-head |archive-date=2013-10-16}}</ref> Though absolute monarchies are sometimes supported by legal documents, they are distinct from constitutional monarchies, in which the authority of the monarch is restricted (e.g. by legislature or unwritten customs) or balanced by that of other officials, such as a [[Social:Prime minister|prime minister]].<ref name="Harris 2009"/>

==Historical examples of absolute monarchies==
{{Multiple image
| total_width       = 300
| image1            = Salman of Saudi Arabia - 2020 (49563590728) (cropped).jpg
| image2            = Secretary Pompeo Meets with the Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq Al Said (49565463757) (cropped).jpg
| footer            = [[Biography:Salman of Saudi Arabia|Salman bin Abdulaziz]] and Haitham bin Tariq are the absolute monarchs of Saudi Arabia and Oman, respectively.
}}

=== Outside Europe ===
In the [[Place:Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Empire]], the [[Religion:Sultan|Sultan]] wielded absolute power over the state and was considered a Padishah meaning "Great King" by his people. Many sultans wielded absolute power through heavenly mandates reflected in their title, such as "Shadow of God on Earth". In ancient Mesopotamia, many rulers of [[Place:Assyria|Assyria]], [[History:Babylonia|Babylonia]] and Sumer were absolute monarchs as well.

Throughout Imperial China, many emperors and one empress (Wu Zetian) wielded absolute power through the [[Philosophy:Mandate of Heaven|Mandate of Heaven]]. In pre-Columbian America, the Inca Empire was ruled by a Sapa Inca, who was considered the son of [[Inti]], the sun god and absolute ruler over the people and nation. Korea under the Joseon dynasty<ref>{{cite book |first=Sang-hun |last=Choi |date=27 October 2017 |title=Interior Space and Furniture of Joseon Upper-class Houses |publisher=Ewha Womans University Press |page=16 |quote=Joseon was an absolute monarchy |isbn=9788973007202 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vWNNWVwaUpMC&q=joseon+dynasty+absolute+monarchy&pg=PA16 |via=Google Books}}</ref> and short-lived empire was also an absolute monarchy.

===Europe===
{{Main|Social:Absolutism (European history)}}
Throughout much of European history, the [[Philosophy:Divine right of kings|divine right of kings]] was the theological justification for absolute monarchy. Many European monarchs claimed [[Social:Tsarist autocracy|supreme autocratic power]] by divine right, and that their subjects had no rights to limit their power.

Throughout the [[Philosophy:Age of Enlightenment|Age of Enlightenment]], the concept of the divine right to power and democratic ideals were given serious merit.

The [[Social:Revolutions of 1848|Revolutions of 1848]], known in some countries as the ''Springtime of the Peoples''<ref>{{cite book |author=Merriman, John |year=1996 |title=A History of Modern Europe: From the French Revolution to the present |page=715}}</ref> or the ''Springtime of Nations'', were a series of political upheavals throughout [[Earth:Europe|Europe]] in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in European history. By the 19th&nbsp;century, divine right was regarded as an obsolete theory in most countries in the Western world, except in Russia where it was still given credence as the official justification for the Tsar's power until February Revolution in 1917 and in the [[Religion:Vatican City|Vatican City]] where it remains today.

====Kingdoms of England and Scotland====
[[Biography:James VI and I|James VI and I]] and his son Charles&nbsp;I tried to import the principle of [[Philosophy:Divine right of kings|divine right]] into Scotland and England. Charles&nbsp;I's attempt to enforce [[Religion:Episcopal polity|episcopal polity]] on the Church of Scotland led to rebellion by the Covenanters and the Bishops' Wars, then fears that Charles&nbsp;I was attempting to establish absolutist government along European lines was a major cause of the English Civil War, despite the fact that he did rule this way for 11&nbsp;years starting in 1629, after dissolving the Parliament of England for a time.<ref>{{cite news |title=Charles I of England |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Charles_I_of_England/ |access-date=17 April 2023 |work=World History Encyclopedia}}</ref>

====Denmark–Norway====
{{Further|History:Denmark–Norway}}

Absolutism was underpinned by a written constitution for the first time in Europe in 1665 {{lang-da|Kongeloven|lit=King's Law|label=none}} of [[History:Denmark–Norway|Denmark–Norway]], which ordered that the Monarch: {{Blockquote|...shall from this day forth be revered and considered the most perfect and supreme person on the Earth by all his subjects, standing above all human laws and having no judge above his person, neither in spiritual nor temporal matters, except God alone.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kongeloven af 1665 |publisher=Danske konger |language=da |url=http://danskekonger.dk/kilder/kongeloven |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330135036/http://danskekonger.dk/kilder/kongeloven |archive-date=2012-03-30}}</ref><ref>A partial English translation of the law can be found in<br/>{{cite journal |first=Ernst |last=Ekman |year=1957 |title=The Danish Royal Law of 1665 |journal=The Journal of Modern History |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=102–107|doi=10.1086/237987 |s2cid=145652129 }}</ref>}} This law consequently authorized the king to abolish all other centers of power. Most important was the abolition of the Council of the Realm in Denmark. Absolute monarchy lasted until 1814 in Norway, and 1848 in Denmark.

====Habsburgs====
{{See|House of Habsburg}}

====Hungary====
{{See|King of Hungary|Kingdom of Hungary}}
[[File:Louis XIV of France.jpg|thumb|Louis XIV of France|250x250px]]

====France====
Louis XIV of France (1638–1715) is often said to have proclaimed {{lang-fr|L'état, c'est moi!|lit=I am the State!|label=none}}.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.history.com/topics/france/louis-xiv|title=Louis XIV|work=HISTORY|access-date=2018-10-05|language=en}}</ref> Although often criticized for his extravagances, such as the Palace of Versailles, he reigned over France for a long period, some historians consider him an absolute monarch, while some other historians{{who|date=October 2018}} have questioned whether Louis' reign should be considered 'absolute', given the reality of the balance of power between the monarch and the nobility, as well as parliaments.<ref>Mettam, R. ''Power and Faction in Louis XIV's France'', Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1988.</ref>{{Request quotation|date=October 2018}}

The king of France concentrated legislative, executive, and judicial powers in his person. He was the supreme judicial authority. He could condemn people to death without the right of appeal. It was both his duty to punish offenses and stop them from being committed. From his judicial authority followed his power both to make laws and to annul them.<ref>Mousnier, R. ''The Institutions of France under the Absolute Monarchy, 1598-2012 V1.'' Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1979.</ref>

====Prussia====
{{Further|Place:Prussia}}
[[File:Friedrich der Große - Johann Georg Ziesenis - Google Cultural Institute (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|150 px|King [[History:Frederick the Great|Frederick II]] of Prussia, "the Great"]]
In Brandenburg-Prussia, the concept of absolute monarch took a notable turn from the above with its emphasis on the monarch as the "first servant of the state", but it also echoed many of the important characteristics of absolutism. Prussia was ruled by the House of Hohenzollern as a feudal monarchy from 1525 to 1701 and an absolute monarchy from 1701 to 1848, after which it became a [[Social:Federalism|federal]] [[Social:Constitutional monarchy|semi-constitutional]] monarchy from 1848 to 1918 until the monarchy was abolished during the German Revolution.<ref>''The Western Experience'', Seventh Edition, Boston: McGraw-Hill, 1999.</ref>

Frederick I was the first ''King in Prussia'', beginning his reign on 18 January 1701.<ref name=Beier162>{{cite book|title=Die Chronik der Deutschen|first=Brigitte|last=Beier|publisher=wissenmedia|year=2007|page=162|isbn=978-3-577-14374-5|language= German}}</ref> King [[History:Frederick the Great|Frederick the Great]] adopted the title ''King of Prussia'' in 1772, the same year he annexed most of Royal Prussia in the First Partition of Poland, and practiced [[Social:Enlightened absolutism|enlightened absolutism]] until his death in 1786. Frederick the Great was almost certainly homosexual.<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite web |last=Alings |first=Reinhard |year=2022 |title=Don't ask – don't tell' – War Friedrich schwul? |website=Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg, Neues Palais and Park Sanssouci |url=https://www.spsg.de/blog/article/2022/06/29/dont-ask-dont-tell-war-friedrich-der-grosse-schwul/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629102513/https://www.spsg.de/blog/article/2022/06/29/dont-ask-dont-tell-war-friedrich-der-grosse-schwul/ |archive-date=29 June 2022 |language=de}}
|3={{cite book |last=Blanning |first=T. C. W. |year=2016 |title=Frederick the Great: King of Prussia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hz_TCwAAQBAJ |location=New York |publisher=Random House |isbn=978-1-4000-6812-8 |oclc=994869052 |page=[{{Google books|id=Hz_TCwAAQBAJ|pg=PA193|plainurl=yes}} 193]}}
|4={{cite book |last=Johansson |first=Warren |editor-last=Dynes |editor-first=Wayne R. |year=2016 |chapter=Frederick II (The Great) of Prussia (1712–1786) |title=Encyclopedia of Homosexuality |volume=I |publisher=Taylor & Francis |location=Oxfordshire, UK |chapter-url={{Google books |id=YrXOCwAAQBAJ |page=428 |plainurl=yes}} |pages=[{{Google books |id=YrXOCwAAQBAJ |page=428 |plainurl=yes}} 428–429]}}
|5={{cite web |last=Krysmanski |first=Bernd |year=2022 |title=Does Hogarth Depict Old Fritz Truthfully with a Crooked Beak?—The Pictures Familiar to Us from Pesne to Menzel Don't Show This |website=University of Heidelberg: arthistoricum.net |pages=24–30 |url=https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/artdok/8019/1/Krysmanski_Bernd_Does_Hogarth_Depict_Old_Fritz_2022.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221209035841/https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/artdok/8019/1/Krysmanski_Bernd_Does_Hogarth_Depict_Old_Fritz_2022.pdf |archive-date=2022-12-09 |url-status=live}}
}}</ref> He introduced a general civil code, abolished torture and established the principle that the Crown would not interfere in matters of justice.<ref>David Fraser, ''Frederick the Great: King of Prussia'' (2001) [https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatki00fras/page/n5/mode/2up online]</ref> He also promoted an advanced secondary education, the forerunner of today's German gymnasium (grammar school) system, which prepares the brightest pupils for university studies. The Prussian education system was emulated in various countries, including the United States.

====Russia====
{{Further|Place:Russian Empire}}
[[File: Zar Alexander II.jpg (cropped).jpg|Photograph of Tsar Alexander II, 1878–81|thumb|right|150 px]]
Until 1905, the Tsars and Emperors of {{wipe|Russia}} governed as absolute monarchs. Ivan the Terrible was known for his reign of terror through oprichnina. Peter I the Great reduced the power of the Russian nobility and strengthened the central power of the monarch, establishing a bureaucracy. This tradition of absolutism, known as [[Social:Tsarist autocracy|Tsarist autocracy]], was expanded by Catherine II the Great and her descendants. Although Alexander II made some reforms and established an independent judicial system, Russia did not have a representative assembly or a constitution until the 1905 Revolution. However, the concept of absolutism was so ingrained in Russia that the Russian Constitution of 1906 still described the monarch as an autocrat. 

Russia became the last [[Earth:Europe|Europe]]an country (excluding [[Religion:Vatican City|Vatican City]]) to abolish absolutism, and it was the only one to do so as late as the 20th century (the [[Place:Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Empire]] drafted its first constitution in 1876). Russia was one of the four continental empires which collapsed after World War I, along with [[Place:German Empire|Germany]], Austria–Hungary, and the [[Place:Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Empire]]. In 1918, the Bolsheviks executed the Romanov family, ending three centuries of Romanov rule.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Decades of Reconstruction |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2017 |isbn=9781107165748 |pages=331 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vZokDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA331 |editor-last=Planert |editor-first=Ute |editor-last2=Retallack |editor-first2=James |access-date=5 January 2023 |archive-date=11 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230211110511/https://books.google.com/books?id=vZokDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA331 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Sweden====
The form of government instituted in Sweden under King Charles XI and passed on to his son, Charles XII is commonly referred to as absolute monarchy; however, the Swedish monarch was never absolute in the sense that he wielded arbitrary power. The monarch still ruled under the law and could only legislate in agreement with the Riksdag of the Estates; rather, the absolutism introduced was the monarch's ability to run the government unfettered by the privy council, contrary to earlier practice. The absolute rule of Charles XI was instituted by the crown and the Riksdag in order to carry out the Great Reduction which would have been made impossible by the privy council which comprised the high nobility.

After the death of Charles XII in 1718, the system of absolute rule was largely blamed for the ruination of the realm in the Great Northern War, and the reaction tipped the balance of power to the other extreme end of the spectrum, ushering in the Age of Liberty. After half a century of largely unrestricted parliamentary rule proved just as ruinous, King Gustav III seized back royal power in the coup d'état of 1772, and later once again abolished the privy council under the Union and Security Act in 1789, which, in turn, was rendered void in 1809 when Gustav IV Adolf was deposed in a coup and the constitution of 1809 was put in its place. The years between 1789 and 1809, then, are also referred to as a period of absolute monarchy.

==Contemporary trends==
Many nations formerly with absolute monarchies, such as Jordan, Kuwait, and Morocco, have moved towards [[Social:Constitutional monarchy|constitutional monarchy]]. However, in these cases the monarch still retains tremendous power, even to the extent that by some measures, parliament's influence on political life is viewed as negligible.{{efn|"By 1985 the legislature appeared to have become more firmly established and recognized as a body in which notables representing authentic forces in the political spectrum could address national issues and problems. But it had not gained real autonomy or a direct role in the shaping of government policies." [...] "In spite of its formally defined role in the lawmaking and budgetary processes, the parliament had not established itself as an independent branch of government, owing to the restrictions on its constitutional authority and the dominating influence of the king. The fact that the king has been able to govern for long periods by ''zahir'' after dissolving the legislative body has further underscored the marginality of the chamber." — J.R. Tartter (1986)<ref>{{cite book |last=Tartter |first=Jean R. |date=1986 |chapter=Government and politics |editor1-last=Nelson |editor1-first=Harold D. |title=Morocco, a country study |publisher=Foreign Area Studies: The American University |pages=246–247 |url=https://www.loc.gov/collections/country-studies/ |series=Area Handbook |oclc=12749718|via=}}</ref>}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tusalem |first1=Rollin F. |date=16 September 2021 |title=Bringing the legislature back in: Examining the structural effects of national legislatures on effective democratic governance |journal=Government and Opposition |volume=58 |issue=2 |pages=291–315 |doi=10.1017/gov.2021.32 |s2cid=240505261 |url=https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2021.32 |language=en |issn=0017-257X}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Rafayah |first1=Shakir |date=29 January 2022 |title=What role for political parties in Jordan? |magazine=Arab Weekly |lang=en |url=https://thearabweekly.com/what-role-political-parties-jordan |access-date=25 March 2022}}</ref>

In Bhutan, the government moved from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy following planned parliamentary elections to the Tshogdu in 2003, and the election of a National Assembly in 2008.

Nepal had several swings between constitutional rule and direct rule related to the Nepalese Civil War, the Maoist insurgency, and the 2001 [[Unsolved:Nepalese royal massacre|Nepalese royal massacre]], with the [[History:Kingdom of Nepal|Nepalese monarchy]] being abolished on 28&nbsp;May 2008.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sharma |first=Gopal |date=2008-05-29 |title=Nepal abolishes centuries-old Hindu monarchy |lang=en |work={{wipe|Reuters}} |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nepal-king-idUSISL5996320080529 |access-date=2020-12-01}}</ref>

In Tonga, the king had majority control of the Legislative Assembly until 2010.<ref>[http://parliament.gov.to/constitution1.htm Constitution of Tonga] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081119232721/http://parliament.gov.to/constitution1.htm|date=2008-11-19}}, s. 61</ref>

[[Finance:Liechtenstein|Liechtenstein]] has moved towards expanding the power of the monarch: the Prince of Liechtenstein was given expanded powers after a referendum amending the Constitution of Liechtenstein in 2003, which led the BBC to describe the prince as an "absolute monarch again".<ref name="Liechtenstein">{{cite news |title=Liechtenstein prince wins powers |date=2003-03-16 |website=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2853991.stm |access-date=2015-10-26}}</ref>

=== Vatican City ===
{{Main|Religion:Vatican City}}
Vatican City continues to be an absolute monarchy, but is ''sui generis'' because it is also a microstate, ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and [[Social:Elective monarchy|elective monarchy]]. As of 2023, Vatican City has a population of 764 residents (regardless of citizenship). It is the smallest state in the world both by area and [[Earth:List of countries and dependencies by population|by population]]. The [[Religion:Pope|Pope]] is the absolute monarch of Vatican City, and is elected by a [[Religion:Papal conclave|papal conclave]] with a two-thirds supermajority.<ref name="BXVI-MP">Benedict XVI (11 June 2007). [https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/motu_proprio/documents/hf_ben-xvi_motu-proprio_20070611_de-electione_lt.html De aliquibus mutationibus in normis de electione Romani Pontificis] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222062902/http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/la/motu_proprio/documents/hf_ben-xvi_motu-proprio_20070611_de-electione.html |date=22 December 2017 }} (in Latin). ''Motu proprio''. Vatican City: Vatican Publishing House.</ref><ref name="BBC-BXVI">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6242466.stm "Pope alters voting for successor"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070914235308/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6242466.stm |date=14 September 2007 }}. ''BBC News''. 26 June 2007.</ref>

As governed by the Holy See, Vatican City State is an [[Earth:Sacerdotal state|sacerdotal]]-[[Social:Monarchy|monarchical]] state ruled by the Pope, who is the [[Religion:Bishop of Rome|bishop of Rome]] and head of the [[Organization:Catholic Church|Catholic Church]].<ref name="factbook">{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/holy-see-vatican-city/ |title=Holy See (Vatican City) |work=CIA—The World Factbook |date=22 September 2021 |access-date=25 January 2021 |archive-date=26 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126204237/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/holy-see-vatican-city/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Unlike [[Social:Citizenship|citizenship]] of other states, which is based either on ''[[Philosophy:Jus sanguinis|jus sanguinis]]'' or ''[[Philosophy:Jus soli|jus soli]]'', citizenship of Vatican City is granted on ''jus officii'', namely on the grounds of appointment to work in a certain capacity in the service of the Holy See. It usually ceases upon cessation of the appointment. Citizenship is also extended to the spouse and children of a citizen, provided they are living together in the city.<ref name=citizenship>{{cite web |url=https://www.vaticanstate.va/phocadownload/leggi-decreti/Leggesullacittadinanzalaresidenzaelaccesso.pdf |title=Law on citizenship, residence and access |publisher=Vatican City State |date=22 February 2011 |access-date=31 July 2022 |language=it}}</ref>

==Current absolute monarchies==
{{legend|#E6E6AA|Denotes subnational monarchy}}
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|-
! Realm !! Image !!  Monarch
! Born !! Age !! Reign Since !! Reign Length !! Succession !! class=unsortable| Ref(s)
<!--Do not add Afghanistan. "Emir" simply means "leader" in Arabic and does not necessarily refer to a monarch. Per WP:NOR, countries can only be added with a reliable source plainly stating the country is a monarchy.-->
|-
|{{flag|Brunei|name=Nation of Brunei, Abode of Peace}}
|[[File:Hassanal Bolkiah, October 2021.jpg|100px]]||{{sort|Hassanal Bolkiah|Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah}}
|{{age in years and days|1946|7|15|age=no}}
|{{dts|4 October 1967}}||{{ayd|1967|10|04}}|| Hereditary||<ref name="brunei">{{Cite web
 |author=Government of Brunei
 |title=Prime Minister
 |work=The Royal Ark
 |publisher=Office of the Prime Minister
 |url=http://www.pmo.gov.bn/pmo1/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=82
 |access-date=12 November 2011
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007033949/http://www.pmo.gov.bn/pmo1/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=82
 |archive-date=7 October 2011
}}</ref>
|-style="background:#e6e6aa;"
|{{flag|Sharjah|name=Emirate of Sharjah}}
|[[File:London Book Fair Simon Master Chairman's Award - son Altesse Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, winner 2017 - London Book Fair 2017 (cropped).jpg|100px]]||{{sort|Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi|Ruler Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi}}
|{{age in years and days|1939|7|2|age=no}}
|{{dts|25 January 1972}}||{{ayd|1972|01|25}}||Hereditary||<ref name="UAE monarchs" />
|-style="background:#e6e6aa;"
|{{flag|Fujairah|name=Emirate of Fujairah}}
|[[File:حمد_بن_محمد_الشرقي.jpg|100px|link=|alt=]]||{{sort|Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi|Ruler Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi}}
|{{age in years and days|1949|2|22|age=no}}
|18 September 1974||{{ayd|1974|9|18}}||Hereditary||<ref name="UAE monarchs" />
|-style="background:#e6e6aa;"
|{{flag|Ajman|name=Emirate of Ajman}}
|[[File:Bassma al Jandaly and Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi III.jpg|100px]] ||{{sort|Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi III|Ruler Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi III}}
|{{Birth year|1931}}
|{{age in years|1931}} years
|{{dts|6 September 1981}}||{{ayd|1981|9|6}}||Hereditary||<ref name="UAE monarchs" />
|-
|{{flag|Eswatini|name=Kingdom of Eswatini}}
|[[File:King Mswati III 2014.jpg|100px]]||{{sort|Mswati III|Ngwenyama Mswati III}}
|{{age in years and days|1968|4|19|age=no}}
|{{dts|25 April 1986}}||{{ayd|1986|04|25}}||Hereditary and elective||<ref>{{Citation
  | last = Simelane
  | first = H.S.
  | contribution = Swaziland: Mswati III, Reign of
  | year = 2005
  | title = Encyclopedia of African history
  | editor-last = Shillington
  | editor-first = Kevin
  | volume = 3
  | pages = 1528–30
  | publisher = Fitzroy Dearborn
  | id = 9781579584559}}</ref>
|-style="background:#e6e6aa;"
|{{flag|Dubai|name=Emirate of Dubai}}
|[[File:Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (15-02-2021).jpg|100px]]||{{sort|Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum|Ruler Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum}}
|{{age in years and days|1949|7|15|age=no}}
|{{dts|4 January 2006}}||{{ayd|2006|01|04}}||Hereditary||<ref name="UAE monarchs" />
|-style="background:#e6e6aa;"
|{{flag|Umm al-Quwain|name=Emirate of Umm al-Quwain}}
|[[File:No image.svg|100px|link=|alt=]]||{{sort|Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla|Ruler Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla}}
|{{age in years and days|1952|10|1|age=no}}
|{{dts|2 January 2009}}||{{ayd|2009|1|2}}||Hereditary||<ref name="UAE monarchs" />
|-style="background:#e6e6aa;"
|{{flag|Ras al-Khaimah|name=Emirate of Ras al-Khaimah}}
|[[File:Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr al Qasimi.jpg|100px]]||{{sort|Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi|Ruler Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi}}
|{{age in years and days|1956|2|10|age=no}}
|{{dts|27 October 2010}}||{{ayd|2010|10|27}}||Hereditary||<ref name="UAE monarchs" />
|-
|{{flag|Vatican City|name=Vatican City State}}
|[[File:Pope Francis Korea Haemi Castle 19.jpg|100px]]||{{sort|Francis|[[Religion:List of popes|Supreme Pontiff]] Francis}}
|{{age in years and days|1936|12|17|age=no}}
|{{dts|13 March 2013}}||{{ayd|2013|03|13}}||[[Religion:Papal conclave|Elective]]|| <ref>{{cite news |title=Argentina's Jorge Mario Bergoglio elected Pope |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-21777494 |work=BBC News |access-date=13 March 2013}}</ref>
|-
|{{flag|Kingdom of Saudi Arabia}}
|[[File:Salman of Saudi Arabia - 2020 (49563590728) (cropped).jpg|100px]]||{{sort|Salman bin Abdul‘aziz|King [[Biography:Salman of Saudi Arabia|Salman bin Abdul‘aziz]]}}
|{{age in years and days|1935|12|31|age=no}}
|{{dts|23 January 2015}}||{{ayd|2015|01|23}}|| Hereditary and elective||<ref>{{cite news |title=Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah dies |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30945324 |work=BBC News |date=23 January 2015 |access-date=23 January 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{flag|Oman|name=Sultanate of Oman}}
|[[File:Haitham bin Tariq Al Said.jpg|100px]]||Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said
|{{age in years and days|1954|10|11|age=no}}
|{{dts|11 January 2020}}
|{{ayd|2020|01|11}}
|Hereditary||<ref>{{Cite web
 |author=Sultan Qaboos Centre for Islamic Culture
 |title=About H.M the Sultan
 |publisher=Government of Oman, Diwan of the Royal Court
 |url=http://sqcic.gov.om/HM.html
 |access-date=12 November 2011
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118223700/http://sqcic.gov.om/HM.html
 |archive-date=18 January 2012
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book
  | author = Nyrop, Richard F
  | title = Area Handbook for the Persian Gulf States
  | publisher = Wildside Press LLC
  | year = 2008
  | page = 341
  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=BPX0h_wbFtEC
  | isbn = 978-1-4344-6210-7}}</ref>
|-style="background:#e6e6aa;"
|{{flag|Abu Dhabi|name=Emirate of Abu Dhabi}}
|[[File:Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan 2022.jpg|100px]]||{{sort|Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan|Ruler Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan}}
|{{age in years and days|1961|3|11|age=no}}
|{{dts|13 May 2022}}||{{ayd|2022|05|13}}||Hereditary||<ref name="UAE monarchs">{{cite journal |last1=Walters |first1=Timothy |last2=Barwind |first2=Jack A. |title=Media and Modernity in the United Arab Emirates: Searching for the Beat of a Different Drummer |journal=Free Speech Yearbook |date=January 2004 |volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=151–163 |doi=10.1080/08997225.2004.10556311 |s2cid=108530356 |quote=Seven absolute monarchs exercise political power over a federation established in 1971.}}</ref>
|}

=== Saudi Arabia ===

==Scholarship==
There is a considerable variety of opinion by historians on the extent of absolutism among European monarchs. Some, such as [[Biography:Perry Anderson|Perry Anderson]], argue that quite a few monarchs achieved levels of absolutist control over their states, while historians such as Roger Mettam dispute the very concept of absolutism.<ref>Mettam, Roger.  ''Power and Faction in Louis XIV's France'', 1991.</ref>  In general, historians who disagree with the appellation of ''absolutism'' argue that most monarchs labeled as ''absolutist'' exerted no greater power over their subjects than any other ''non-absolutist'' rulers, and these historians tend to emphasize the differences between the absolutist [[Philosophy:Rhetoric|rhetoric]] of monarchs and the realities of the effective use of power by these absolute monarchs.  Renaissance historian William Bouwsma summed up this contradiction:
{{blockquote|Nothing so clearly indicates the limits of royal power as the fact that governments were perennially in financial trouble, unable to tap the wealth of those ablest to pay, and likely to stir up a costly revolt whenever they attempted to develop an adequate income.<ref>Bouwsma, William J., in Kimmel, Michael S. ''Absolutism and Its Discontents: State and Society in Seventeenth-Century France and England''.  New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books, 1988, 15</ref>|William Bouwsma}}

[[Social:Anthropology|Anthropology]], sociology, and [[Biology:Ethology|ethology]] as well as various other disciplines such as political science attempt to explain the rise of absolute monarchy ranging from extrapolation generally, to certain Marxist explanations in terms of the class struggle as the underlying dynamic of human historical development generally and absolute monarchy in particular.

In the 17th century, French legal theorist Jean Domat defended the concept of absolute monarchy in works such as ''"On Social Order and Absolute Monarchy"'', citing absolute monarchy as preserving natural order as [[Religion:God|God]] intended.<ref>{{cite web |author=Domat, Jean |date=18 April 2009 |title=On Defense of Absolute Monarchy |series=Cornell College Student Symposium |place=Mount Vernon, IA |publisher=[[Organization:Cornell College|Cornell College]] |url=http://symposium.cornellcollege.edu/2009/04/18/jean-domat-on-defense-of-absolute-monarchy/}}</ref> Other intellectual figures who supported absolute monarchy include [[Biography:Thomas Hobbes|Thomas Hobbes]] and Charles Maurras.

==See also==
{{div col begin|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Social:Autocracy|Autocracy]]
* [[Social:Authoritarianism|Authoritarianism]]
* [[Social:Constitutional monarchy|Constitutional monarchy]]
* Criticism of monarchy
* [[Social:Democracy|Democracy]]
* [[Social:Despotism|Despotism]]
* [[Social:Dictatorship|Dictatorship]]
* [[Social:Enlightened absolutism|Enlightened absolutism]]
* Jacques Bossuet
* [[Philosophy:Monarchomachs|Monarchomachs]]
* [[Social:Presidential system|Presidential system]]
* [[Religion:Theonomy|Theonomy]]
* [[Biography:Thomas Hobbes|Thomas Hobbes]]
* [[Philosophy:Totalitarianism|Totalitarianism]]
* Tyranny
{{div col end}}

==Footnotes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|25em}}

==Further reading==
* [[Biography:Perry Anderson|Anderson, Perry]]. (1961, 1974). ''Lineages of the Absolutist State''. London: Verso.
* Beloff, Max. ''The Age of Absolutism 1660–1815''.
* Blum, Jerome, et al. (1970). ''The European World'', vol 1, pp 267–466.
* Blum, Jerome, et al. (1951). ''Lord and Peasant in Russia from the Ninth to the Nineteenth Century''. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
* Kimmel, Michael S. (1988). ''Absolutism and Its Discontents: State and society in seventeenth-century France and England''.  New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books.
* Méttam, Roger. (1988). ''Power and Faction in Louis XIV's France''. New York: Blackwell Publishers.
* Miller, John (ed.) (1990). ''Absolutism in Seventeenth-Century Europe''.  New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
* Wilson, Peter H. (2000). ''Absolutism in Central Europe''. New York: Routledge.
* Zmohra, Hillay. (2001). ''Monarchy, Aristocracy, and the State in Europe – 1300–1800''.  New York: Routledge.

{{Authoritarian types of rule}}
{{Political ideologies |state=expanded}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Absolute Monarchy}}
[[Category:Political theories]]
[[Category:Authoritarianism]]

{{Sourceattribution|Absolute monarchy}}