It simultaneously combines monarchical and democratic institutions. The degree of their ratio, as well as the level of real power of the crowned personnel, differ in various countries. Let us find out more about it, which is a constitutional monarchy and what the features of this form of government are.
Essence of the term
The constitutional monarchy is the special type of government, in which the monarch is also considered to be formally head of state, but its rights and functions are largely limited by the legislation of the country. In mandatory, this restriction should be not just legal, but also actually apply.
At the same time, it should be noted that there are such countries in which the crowned empires has quite high powers, despite the restrictions, and such states where the role of the monarch is purely nominal. In contrast to the republic, the constitutional monarchy is often inherent in the hereditary form of transfer of power, although its real volume can be minimized.
Classification of monarchy
The constitutional monarchy is only one of the many species that the monarchical device can take. This form of government may be absolute, theocratic (power belongs to the religious chapter), the estate-representation, early reforteline, ancient, anciently unearthly.
The absolute and constitutional monarchy differ mainly in that in the first of these, any decision of the ruler has the power of the law, and in the second will of the monarch is largely limited by domestic laws and norms. Therefore, these forms of government are considered largely opposite to each other.
At the same time, inside the concept of "constitutional monarchy" there is a division into two groups: dualistic and parliamentary.
Dualistic monarchy
Such a type of government, as a dualistic monarchy, implies a significant participation of crowned personnel in state affairs. Often, the ruler is a full-fledged head of the state with a majority of the rights and functions that flow from here, but they are somewhat limited by law.
In such states, the monarch has the right to personally appoint and shift the government of the country. The restriction of the power of the crowned person is most often expressed in the resolution that all its orders are legal force only after they are confirmed by the Minister of the Relevant Office. But, given the fact that the ministers appoint the ruler himself, these restrictions are largely formal.
In fact, the executive authority belongs to the monarch, and the legislative - parliament. At the same time, the ruler can impose a veto to any law adopted by Parliament, or dissolve it at all. The restriction of the power of the monarch is that the aforementioned legislature approves an approved crowning special budget or rejects it, but in the latter case risks being loose.
Thus, in the dualistic monarchy, the ruler is the legal and actual head of the state, but with limited law.
Parliamentary monarchy
The most limited constitutional monarchy has a parliamentary form. Often in the country with such a state device, the role of the monarch is purely nominal. It is a symbol of the nation and the formal chapter, but there is practically no actual power. The main function of the crowned personnel in such countries is representative.
The government is responsible not to the monarch, as is customary in dualistic monarchies, but before parliament. It is formed by the legislative body with the support of the majority of parliamentarians. At the same time, the crowned emphasis often does not have the right to dissolve parliament, which is elected by a democratic way.
At the same time, some formal functions still remain behind the nominal ruler. For example, it often signs decrees on the appointment of ministers chosen by the legislative authority. In addition, the monarch represents his country abroad, performs ceremonial functions, and in critical moments for the state may even take on the completeness of power.
Thus, under parliamentary form, the monarch does not have any legislative or executive authorities. The first one belongs to the Parliament, and the second is a government, which is responsible to the legislature. The head of the government is the Prime Minister or similar to him for the functions of the official. Parliamentary monarchy most often complies with the democratic political regime.
The origin of constitutionalism
Let's follow how this form of government has developed over the centuries.
The formation of the constitutional monarchy is associated with the glorious revolution in England in 1688. Although before this period, there were countries with the forms of government, in which the power of the king was significantly limited to the feudal tip (the Sacred Roman Empire, Commonwealth, etc.), but they did not comply with the current meaning of this term. So, in 1688, due to the coup, the stewart dynasty was shifted in England, and the King became Wilhelm III Orange. For the next year, he published Bill on Rights, which significantly limited the royal power and endowed parliament with very large powers. This document initiated the formation of the political system existing in the UK. The constitutional monarchy in England finally developed in the XVIII century. 
Further development
After the revolution of 1789 in France, a constitutional monarchy was actually introduced for some time. But she acted for a short time, until 1793, when the king was lowered and executed. The days of the republic came, and then the Napoleonic Empire. After that, the constitutional monarchy existed in France during periods from 1830 to 1848 and from 1852 to 1870.
Sweden and Norway called constitutional monarchies in 1818, when Bernadov's dynasty was edited there, which was the former Napoleonic general. A similar form of power was established in the Netherlands from 1815, in Belgium - from 1830, and in Denmark - from 1849.
In 1867, the Austrian Empire, before the extensive support of absolutism, was transformed into the Austro-Hungarian empire, which became a constitutional monarchy. In 1871, the German Empire was formed, which also had a similar form of government. But both states ceased to exist due to defeat in the First World War.
One of the youngest monarchical systems with constitutional entry is Spanish. It originated in 1975, when after the death of the dictator Franco on the throne, King Juan Carlos I was ascended.
Constitutionalism in the Russian Empire
Talk about the possibility of restricting the power of the emperor by the Constitution began to be conducted among the advanced representatives of the nobility at the beginning of the XIX century, during the days of Alexander I. The famous rebellion of the Decembrists of 1825, the main goal was to abolish the autocracy and establishing a constitutional monarchy, but it was suppressed by Nikolai I.
With the Tsar-reformer Alexandra II, who abolished the serfdom, began to take certain steps and from the authorities in the direction of restriction of the autocracy and the development of constitutional institutions, but with the murder of the emperor in 1881 all these undertakings were frozen.
The 1905 revolution showed that the existing regime in the old form was outlined. Therefore, the emperor Nicholas II gave good to the formation of the parliamentary authority - the State Duma. In fact, this meant that since 1905 there was a constitutional monarchy in Russia in its dualistic form. But this form of the state device existed for long, since the February and October revolution of 1917 marked the beginning of a completely different political system.
Modern examples of constitutional monarchies
Brightly pronounced dualistic monarchies of the modern world are Morocco and Jordan. With reservations, you can add to them European dwarf states of Monaco and Liechtenstein. Sometimes the state structure of Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates is counted against this form of the board, but most of the political science specialists are still closest to absolutism.
The most famous examples of the parliamentary monarchy are represented by the State Device of Great Britain and the former Dominions (Australia, Canada, New Zealand), Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Japan and other countries. It should be noted that states representing this form of government are much larger than dualistic.
Value of the form of the Board
Thus, it is possible to state the fact that the constitutional monarchy in various types of its species is a fairly common form of government. In many countries, its existence has no one hundred years, and in the others it is established relatively recently. This means that this type of state device remains fairly relevant today.
If in parliamentary form, the formal primacy of the monarch is associated more than respect for the history and traditions, then a dualistic species is a way to limit the level of concentration of power in one hands. But, of course, in each country there are features and nuances of the formation and operation of this type of state device.
The constitutional monarchy where it exists today is a remnant of the past epoch, a tribute to the national tradition. In the foundation of the collective consciousness of a multitude of peoples since the days of the Middle Ages and the new time, the image of the monarchical specialization of the nation, its most important dignity was laid. A striking example of such an attitude to its ruler
is the capitulation of Japan in World War II. The only condition
the Japanese put forward was the preservation of the imperial power in the country. However, his status has changed much. The emperor abandoned the claims for divine origin, lost the levers of government, while remaining the symbol of the nation. Today's Japan is one of the classic examples where the constitutional monarchy is present. In general, there are not many such countries in the world.
The origin of constitutional monarchies. Historical aspect
Strictly speaking, the classical monarchical form of government was born and developed in Europe in medieval times. However, the new time and century of public enlightenment presented the world new ideas about how it should rule the state and what exactly will bring happiness to people. We all from the course of school history today are known revolution, the construction of socialist and liberal economic states, the progressive expansion of the rights to all new categories of the population. A wave with the provision of electoral law began in Europe and swept around the world. This led to the fact that the royal person was already a priori was an autocratic element. Somewhere, as in Germany or Russia, the emperors overthrew.
But in those countries that did not experience major revolutionary shocks, often the royal dynasty turned out to be an archaic appendage. To exit this situation, such a concept was created as a constitutional monarchy. Such a format of the Board assumes that the entire fullness of power in Power is transferred to the people, choosing a parliament, and, direct or indirectly, the Cabinet of Ministers with its head. Today, countries with the constitutional monarchy are England (as the most classic example), Spain, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, a number of countries staying in the current British Commonwealth, like Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand. Countries with such a form of government include some Muslim states where sheikh rules: Kuwait, Bhutan, Morocco.
Features of constitutional monarchies of different regions
With all this, the powers of the monarch in some cases are quite different. If in England and Denmark, the constitutional monarchy means that the dynasty is only an honorable nation symbol that does not make any decisions regarding
internal and foreign policy of the country, then the powers of Juan Carlos in Spain
very serious and comparable to the powers of the president of many European states. Interestingly, Spain is one of those countries that experienced the expulsion of the king in the thirties. However, as a result of the Civil War, 1936-39. To power there came the reactionary forces that returned the royal throne of the country. However, before the fall of this reaction, the king was also a symbolic figure at a dictator. And the Sultan Brunei, which is a full head of the country, has a relatively wide powerful powers.
| No. p / p | Region | The country | Form of government |
| E in r o p a | United Kingdom (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) | KM | |
| Spain (Kingdom of Spain) | KM | ||
| Belgium (Kingdom of Belgium) | KM | ||
| Netherlands (Kingdom of the Netherlands) | KM | ||
| Monaco (Monaco Principality) | KM | ||
| Liechtenstein (Principality Liechtenstein) | KM | ||
| Sweden (Kingdom of Sweden) | KM | ||
| Norway (Kingdom of Norway) | KM | ||
| Denmark (Kingdom of Denmark) | KM | ||
| Luxembourg (Great Duchy Luxembourg) | KM | ||
| Andorra (Principality of Andorra) | KM | ||
| Vatican | Atm | ||
| And z and i | Brunei (Brunei Darussalam) | Atm | |
| Saudi Arabia (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) | Atm | ||
| Qatar (State Qatar) | AM | ||
| Oman (Sultanate Oman) | AM | ||
| Kuwait (Kuwait State) | KM | ||
| Bahrain (Bahrain State) | KM | ||
| United Arab Emirates (UAE) | KM | ||
| Bhutan (Kingdom Bhutan) | KM | ||
| Cambodia (Kingdom of Cambodia) | KM | ||
| Thailand (Kingdom of Thailand) | KM | ||
| Malaysia (Federation Malaysia) | KM | ||
| Japan | KM | ||
| Jordan (Jordanian Hashemite Kingdom) | KM | ||
| AFRICA | Morocco (Kingdom of Morocco) | KM | |
| Swaziland (Kingdom Swaziland) | KM | ||
| Lesotho (Kingdom Lesotho) | KM | ||
| Oceania | Tonga (Tong Kingdom) | KM |
Note: km - constitutional monarchy;
AM is an absolute monarchy;
ATM is an absolute theocratic monarchy.
Republican form of board it originated in antiquity, but the greatest distribution received during the periods of the new and the latest history. In 1991, there were 127 republics in the world, but after the collapse of the USSR and Yugoslavia, their total number exceeded 140.
With republican, the legislative power usually belongs to Parliament, and the executive to the government. At the same time distinguish the presidential, parliamentary and mixed republic.
Presidential republic It is characterized by a significant role of the president in the system of state bodies, the compound in his hands the powers of the head of state and the head of government. It is also called the dualistic republic, emphasizing, thereby, the fact of concentrating the strong executive authorities in the hands of the president, and the legislative - in the hands of the parliament.
Distinctive features of such a form of reign:
· The extra-parliamentary method of election of the president (either the population is Brazil, France, or the electoral collegium - the USA),
· The extra-parliamentary method of formation of the government, that is, the president forms it. The President is both formally and legally head of government (the post of Prime Minister is absent, for example, in the USA), or he appoints the head of government. The government is responsible only to the president, and not before Parliament, since only the president can send him to resign,
· In general, with this form of the board, the president has much greater powers compared to the parliamentary republic (is the head of the executive power, approves laws by signing, has the right to send the government to resign), but in the Presidential Republic, the president, as a rule, is deprived of the rights of the Parlet , and the parliament is deprived of the right to express distrust to the government, but can shift the president (impeachment procedure).
The classical presidential republic are the United States of America. The US Constitution is based on the principle of separation of the authorities. According to this Constitution, the legislature belongs to Congress, the executive - to the president, the judicial - the Supreme Court. The president, elected by the electoral collegium, forms the government from persons belonging to his party.
Presidential republics are common in Latin America. This form of government is also found in some countries of Asia and Africa. True, sometimes in these countries the authorities of the head of state in fact goes beyond the constitutional framework, and, in particular, the Latin American presidential republics were characterized by researchers as super test.
Parliamentary (parliamentary) Republic It is characterized by the proclamation of the principle of the rule of parliament, in front of which the government is fully responsible for its activities.
In such a republic, the government is formed by the parliamentary way from among the deputies of parties with a majority vote in parliament. It remains in power until the support of the parliamentary majority. This form of government exists in countries that are different, to a large extent self-regulating economy (Italy, Turkey, Germany, Greece, Israel). Elections with such a system of democracy are usually held on party lists, that is, voters are not voting for the candidate, but for the party.
The main function of parliament, in addition to the legislative, is the control over the Government. In addition, Parliament has important financial powers, since it develops and accepts the state budget, determines the ways of the country's socio-economic development, solves the main issues of the internal, foreign and defense policy of the state.
The head of state in such republics is usually elected by the Parliament or a specially formed broader board, including members of the Parliament, representatives of the subjects of the Federation or representative regional bodies of self-government. This is the main type of parliament control for the executive.
In Italy, for example, the President of the Republic is elected by members of both chambers at their joint meeting, but at the same time the election participates three representatives from each region chosen by regional councils. In the Federal Republic of Germany, the President is elected by the Federal Assembly, consisting of members of the Bundestag and the same number of persons chosen by land landscapes on the basis of proportional representation. In the Parliamentary republics, elections may also be universal, for example, in Austria, where the President is elected by the population for a period of 6 years.
With this form of public administration, they speak about the "weak" president. Nevertheless, the head of state has quite broad powers. He will publish the laws, publishes decrees, has the right to dissuade the parliament, formally appoints the head of government (only the chapter of the party who won the elections) is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, has the right to amnesty convicted.
The president, being the head of state, is not the head of the executive authority, that is, governments. The Prime Minister is formally appointed by the president, but it can only be the head of the faction having a parliamentary majority, and not necessarily the head of the winning party. It should be noted that the government is competent to government to rule only when it enjoys the trust of parliament.
Mixed Republic (Also called the semi-represented, semi-chaired, presidential and parliamentary republic) - the form of the board, which is not considered a variety of presidential, no parliamentary republic. Of the modern Mixed include the fifth republic in France (after 1962), Portugal, Armenia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Slovakia.
Special form of state reign - socialist Republic (which originated in the XX century. in a number of countries as a result of the victory of socialist revolutions). Its varieties: Soviet Republic and People's Democratic Republic (former USSR, countries of Eastern Europe until 1991, as well as China, Vietnam, DPRK, Cuba, who remain socialist republics and now).
The Republican reign form can be considered the most progressive and democratic. She was chosen for not only economically developed states, but most of the countries of Latin America, freed from colonial dependence in the past century, and almost all former colonies in Asia, who gained independence in the middle of our century, as well as African states, most of which achieved Independence only in the 60-70s of the XX century. And even later.
At the same time, it should be borne in mind that such a progressive form of government does not understand the republic. They are quite significantly different from each other in political, social and other relations.
It should be noted a peculiar form of government - interstate associations: Commonwealthheaded by the United Kingdom (CommonWealth)and Commonwealth of independent states(CIS, which includes Russia).
Legally, the British Commonwealth of Nations was issued back in 1931. Then the United Kingdom and her Dominions were included in it - Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South African Union, Newfoundland and Ireland. After the Second World War and the collapse of the British Colonial Empire, the Commonwealth included the absolute majority of the former possessions of Britain - about 50 countries with a common territory of more than 30 million km 2 and the population of over 1.2 billion people located in all parts of the world.
Commonwealth members have unconditional right of one-sided exit from it when they wish. They used Myanmar (Burma), Ireland, Pakistan. All states entering the Commonwealth have full sovereignty in their internal and external affairs.
In the states entering the Commonwealth, which have the republican form of government, the Queen of Great Britain is proclaimed "the head of the Commonwealth ... A symbol of the Free Association of Independent States - its members." Part of the members of the Commonwealth - Canada, Australian Union (Australia), New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, Mauritius, Jamaica and some others are officially referred to as "States in the Commonwealth." The Supreme Power in these countries formally continues to belong to the British monarch, which is represented by the Governor General, appointed on the recommendation of the Government of this State. The highest authority of the Commonwealth of Governments.
In 1991, simultaneously with the signing of Belovezhsky agreements on the USSR dissolution, it was decided to establish Commonwealth of independent states(Russia, Ukraine, Belarus). Subsequently, the CIS joined all the former republics of the USSR, except for the three Baltic States. Objectives: promote the integration of CIS member countries in the economic, political and humanitarian fields, support and develop contacts and cooperation between nations, state institutions of the Commonwealth countries. The CIS is an open organization for the accession of other countries. In different years, subregional associations arose within the CIS: the Central Asian Economic Community (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Russia, Georgia, Turkey and Ukraine) and GUUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Moldova) were accepted as observers. In 1996, the Customs Union was created, which united the economic space of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan (later Tajikistan joined them. In October 2000, the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) was formed on the basis of the Customs Union. Continuish among member countries CIS and military political associations (for example, collective security agreement). In September 2008, after the conflict in South Ossetia, Georgia declared the desire to leave the Commonwealth.
Form of state device (Administrative-territorial structure of states) is an important element of the political map of the world. It is directly related to the nature of the political system and the form of state reign, reflects the national-ethnic (in some cases a confessional) composition of the population, the historical and geographical features of the country's formation.
There are two main forms of the administrative and territorial device - unitary and federal.
Unitary state - This is a single one-piece state education, consisting of administrative-territorial units, which are subject to central authorities and not possess signs of state sovereignty. In a unitary state, there is usually a single legislative and executive power, a unified system of state bodies, a single constitution. There are an overwhelming majority in the world.
Federation - The form of a device in which several state formations legally possessing a certain political independence form one union state.
Characteristic signs of the Federation:
The territory of the Federation consists of the territories of its individual subjects (for example, states in Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, India, USA; provinces - in Argentina, Canada; Cantons - in Switzerland; lands in Germany and Austria; republics, as well as other administrative formations (autonomous districts, edges, regions - in Russia);
The subjects of the Federation are usually endowed with the right to adopt their own constitutions;
The competence between the federation and its subjects is delimited by the Federal Constitution;
Each subject of the federation has its own legal and judicial system;
In most federations there are united allied citizenship, as well as citizenship of union units;
The federation usually has uniform armed forces, an overedtrable budget.
In a number of federations in the Union Parliament there is a chamber representing the interests of the Federation members.
However, in many modern federal states, the role of the in-departments is so great that they can essentially be considered as unitary, and not federal states. Thus, the Constitution of such federations as Argentina, Canada, USA, Germany, Switzerland does not recognize the members of the Federation of the right to exit.
Federations are built on territorial (USA, Canada, Australia, etc.) and national characteristics (Russia, India, Nigeria, etc.), which largely determine the nature, content and structure of the state device.
Confederation - this is the temporary legal alliance of sovereign states created to ensure their common interests (members of the Confederation retain their sovereign rights both in domestic and external affairs). Confederate states are short-lived: they or disintegrate, or turn into the federation (examples: the Swiss Union, Austria-Hungary, as well as the United States, where the state of states enshrined by the US Constitution 1787 was formed from the Confederation established in 1781).
Most states of the Unitary states. Federations are only 24 states today (Table 4).
The monarchist state or, in a different way, the monarchy is called the state, the power in which, in whole or in part, belongs to one person - the monarch. This may be the king, the king, the emperor, or, for example, Sultan, but any monarch rules life and conveys his power to inherit.
Today in the world there are 30 monarchical states and 12 of them are monarchies in Europe. The list of monarchy countries located in Europe is given below.
List of monarchy countries in Europe
1. Norway - the kingdom, constitutional monarchy;
2. Sweden - the kingdom, constitutional monarchy;
3. Denmark - the kingdom, constitutional monarchy;
4. United Kingdom - Kingdom, constitutional monarchy;
5. Belgium - the kingdom, constitutional monarchy;
6. Netherlands - the kingdom, constitutional monarchy;
7. Luxembourg - Duchy, constitutional monarchy;
8. Liechtenstein - Principality, Constitutional Monarchy;
9. Spain - the kingdom, parliamentary constitutional monarchy;
10. Andorra - Principality, Parliamentary Principality with two co-guards;
11. Monaco - Principality, constitutional monarchy;
12. Vatican - Papal State, elected absolute theocratic monarchy.
All monarchies in Europe are countries, the form of the board in which the monarchy is constitutional, that is, this, in which the power of the monarch is significantly limited by the elected parliament and the constitution adopted by it. The exception is only the Vatican, the absolute board in which is carried out by elective Roman dad.
Constitutional monarchy, (limited monarchy) A variety of monarchical form of government, in which the power of the monarch (see Monarch (head of state)) is limited by the Constitution, there is a elective legislative authority Parliament and independent ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary
The state in which the power of chapter is limited by the Constitution. Explanation of 25,000 foreign words included in the Russian language, with the same roots. Michelson A.D., 1865. Constitutional monarchy The state in which the authorities of the chapter ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language
a constitutional monarchy - Monarchy, where the power of the monarch is limited by the Constitution, i.e. Legislative functions are transferred to the Parliament, and the executive - the Government ... Dictionary on geography
A CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY - A variety of monarchical form of government, a state in which the power of the monarch is significantly limited by the elected representative body (Parliament). This is usually determined by the constitution that the monarch is not entitled to change. As a rule, K.M. ... ... Legal encyclopedia
A constitutional monarchy - (English Constitutional Monarchy) State Device, in which the power of the monarch (king, emperor, etc.) is limited by the Constitution (legislative functions are transferred to Parliament, executive to the government) ... Encyclopedia Rights
- (limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy), the form of government, in which the power of the Lifetime ruler is a monarch - to one way or another is limited to one of the political institutions, which is the Constitution, Parliament, Higher ... ... Geographic Encyclopedia
A constitutional monarchy - Monarchy in which the power of the monarch is limited to Parliament (England, Belgium, Sweden) ... Popular Political Dictionary
a constitutional monarchy - See TZH. Limited monarchy. A special kind of monarchical form of government, in which the power of the monarch is limited by the Constitution, there is a elective legislature parliament and independent courts. For the first time appeared in the UK at the end ... ... Big Law Dictionary
The form of the board, in which the monarch, although is the head of state, however, in contrast to the absolute or unlimited monarchy, its power is limited by the Constitution. KM It is customary to divide on dualistic and parliamentary. AT… … Encyclopedia lawyer
See the Monarchy Article ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia
Books
- Metamorphosis of Russia's history. Volume 3. Pre-capitalism and constitutional monarchy, L. S. Vasilyev. The third volume of the research project is dedicated to the fourth metamorphosis of Russia. The reforms of the 1860s and 1905 created a sociopolithic and private basis basis, allowing a jerk to the side ...
- Metamorphosis of Russia's history. Pre-Capalism and constitutional monarchy. Volume 3, Vasilyev LS. The third volume of the research project is dedicated to the fourth metamorphosis of Russia. The reforms of the 1860s and 1905 created a sociopolithic and private basis basis, allowing a jerk to the side ...