Inter-Research And Studies (IRAS)

Even when the divine right of the kings or sultans were an acceptable formula for legitimating royal authority, it was nevertheless true that the monarch depended on the support of a loyal cadre of advisers and bureaucrats to carry out his policies. It was the gradual evolution and institutionalization of the roles of advisers and civil servants that, in France and elsewhere, led to the establishment of the parliament (advisers) and the state's administrative apparatus (civil servants). An awareness of these historical trends, along with the conviction that democratic institutions are an illusion that conceals the political domination of a minority, has convinced some 20th century political scientists that government everywhere and always has been the affair of a few - neither one nor the many. In this context, aristocracy means government by an elite of the society that has high social status, wealth, fame and political power. These advantages are passed down from one generation o...

A large part of the answer to this question, though not all of it, has to do with the ability or willingness of the particular monarch and their successors to accept a progressive reduction in their political power. The classic example is that of England, following the establishment of William and Mary on the throne in 1689. Their coronation was contingent on their acceptance of parliamentary supremacy over the monarchy in the critical areas of public policy which includes taxation, finances, the military and its command, and the religion adopted by the monarch (This agreement between the English parliament and the monarch may be thought of as a social contract, although it was a social contract that excluded the participation of the majority of the people). Much of the subsequent political history England is the story of the increasing power of the parliament, especially the House of Commons, along with the declining power of monarchy. Today, it is fair to say that the British King an...

The rule of law may be at best an imperfect way of settling disputes and reconciling differences between citizens. By their very nature, laws are general and are designed to apply to one or several of the many categories of social relationship. But the problems of a society are expressed in particular terms; they pertain individuals in a different social contexts also change over the time. Enlightened monarchy was consequently the most efficient and the most just way of ruling a state; it guaranteed that the basic guidelines of the society would be implemented according to the changing circumstances and the particular needs. Supporters of the monarchy system of governance even in contemporary times also have argued that this kind of government maximizes the chances of political stability, especially in the context of sweeping social and economic change. In fact, the student of comparative politics must be impressed by the relatively high stability of contemporary states that have retai...

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