Both monarchy and republic are systems of government. However, the republic is opposed to the monarchy in the way of governing.
In a monarchy, the head of state remains in power for life, or until he abdicates. In the republic, the head of state is democratically elected for a certain period of time.
In a monarchy, with the exception of elective monarchies, which are not so common today, heredity is an important factor. In the regime, the children of the monarchs are her successors. In the republic, new heads of state are elected by the people after a term that usually lasts about four or five years.
A monarch is also given the title of King or Queen, Prince or Princess, Grand Duke or Grand Duchess, Emperor or Empress, among other designations. In the republic, the head of state is called the president of the republic.
In the case of a presidential republic, the president will be head of state and head of government. However, in a parliamentary republic, the head of government is usually called the prime minister.
The president in parliamentarism is seen as a symbolic figure, with limited powers. Therefore, it is a system very similar to the constitutional monarchy, but with a change of head of state after a defined term of office.
See more differences between the two types of government:
| Monarchy | Republic | |
|---|---|---|
| Concept | Form of government in which the head of state remains in power for life or until he abdicates. | Form of government in which the head of state is democratically chosen for a defined term of office. |
| Head of state | Monarch. | President of the Republic, or just President. |
| types |
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| At the moment | There are 44 monarchies still in force in the world, 43 of them States recognized by the United Nations (UN). | Most sovereign states recognized by the UN are currently republics. |
| Examples |
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What is monarchy?
Monarchy is a form of government. In it, the head of state remains in power throughout his life or until he abdicates. It is the oldest existing form of government on the planet.
Generally, the monarch has the title of king or queen and her office is hereditary. That is, your children are your successors.
Despite periods of history in which there were absolutist monarchies, currently the most common type of monarchy is the constitutional one. In this form of monarchy, the king or queen has no power over the government, being only a political figure.
In the case of a constitutional monarchy, the government is headed by the prime minister. Usually democratically elected.
However, among the various monarchies still in force, there is the elective monarchy. In it, the sovereign is chosen for the position, unlike constitutional monarchies, in which the new kings and queens are their direct descendants. Examples: Vatican, Cambodia and Malaysia.
Nowadays, constitutional monarchies are the most common, as is the case in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, among others. However, there are still absolute monarchies, present in countries like Oman and Saudi Arabia.
origin of the monarchy
The term “monarch” comes from the Latin monarch, which in turn originates from the Greek. In the Greek language, the word is a combination of the terms singular It is leader.
The monarchy is reminiscent even of ancient tribal groups. It can be observed in peoples since antiquity, who exercised this form of government in different ways.
Despite being the oldest existing form of government in the world, the monarchy is in decline. From 1800, absolute monarchies began to be abolished in several countries. This was due to the influence of the French Revolution and also the Napoleonic Wars, which weakened this type of government.
However, the monarchical system effectively went into decay after the First World War, which brought to an end the Russian, German and Austro-Hungarian empires.
types of monarchy
religious monarchy
The sacred or religious monarchy is the oldest type of monarchy in the world. Ancient peoples, such as the Egyptians and Aztecs, had this form of government.
These peoples saw the figure of the monarch as a deity, chosen by superior beings to perform the function. Being of divine origin, the king in a sacred or religious monarchical culture had unlimited power.
feudal monarchy
Common in the Middle Ages, the feudal monarchy began to spread across Europe due to the need to have a figure with great power. This in order to improve the defense of territories at a time when invasions and wars were frequent.
However, a monarch's power during this period was not entirely unlimited. The king needed agreements between feudal lords so that they could exercise power.
Feudal lords, in turn, held control over portions of land and individuals. Thus, the king exercised power through the will of these lords. Therefore, it can be said that conflicts of interest could trigger problems in this form of monarchy.
See also the difference between High and Low Middle Ages.
absolute monarchy
In an absolute monarchy, the king held complete control over the executive and legislative branches. This form of monarchy became more common from the 16th century onwards, when feudalism began to decline in Europe.
With feudalism in decline, the bourgeoisie could benefit from a strong sovereign figure. This is because it could maintain order and strengthen trade, which many bourgeois depended on to maintain the standard of living they had been achieving.
However, over time, the figure of the king as a leader who rules alone came to be questioned by the bourgeois and other citizens. Because they also intend to be part of the country's government, being consulted on decision-making.
Due to the pressure of the middle class on the absolute monarchies, they were gradually replaced in Europe by the parliamentary monarchy.
See also the difference between executive, legislative and judicial.
Parliamentary or constitutional monarchy
In a parliamentary or constitutional monarchy, the king reigns but does not rule. This means that he is below the Executive and Legislative branches, having to respect them. In this sense, the laws and orders of these powers shape not only the government, but the actions and functions of the monarch himself.
The Constitution, in turn, must be emanated from the people. This will then define the rules to which society is subject and which should be the basis for government. Generally, the government is chaired by the Prime Minister, who is a democratically elected figure.
In a constitutional or parliamentary monarchy, the figure of the monarch is reduced to ensuring that all State institutions are in operation. Thus, the king would be the personification of the authority of the state, commanded by the prime minister.
See also the difference between direct, indirect and representative democracy.
According to the rules established by each country, the succession of the monarch can be hereditary or elective.
It is common that heredity is still taken into account in most countries where constitutional monarchy is a reality, but it is not the rule. An example of hereditary monarchy is Japan. The Vatican has an elective monarchy.
elective monarchy
In an elective monarchy, the figure of the monarch is chosen by a council. Countries that employ this form of government are rare, but it also emerged during the Middle Ages. At that time, kings in elective monarchy states were selected by princes and other high-ranking members of the court.
Elected monarchs also hold power for life.
Currently, the Vatican is an elective monarchy, with the monarch being the figure of the Pope. This carries power throughout life. Upon death, he is replaced by another monarch through a vote in Conclave, held by the College of Cardinals.
See also the difference between be catholic and be christian.
Besides these types of monarchy, there are some other forms. Among them, one can highlight the federal monarchy, in which several federal states have a single monarch as head of state, as in Canada.
there is also the popular monarchy, in which the king would be chosen by the people.
There are still, in force in several countries, subnational monarchies. These are established monarchies within recognized countries.
Therefore, they do not have the status of sovereign states, but have a recognized monarchy. The case of Tibet, in China, which has the Dalai Lama as monarch; and Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates, where the monarch has the title of sultan.
What is republic?
Currently, there are two types of republic: presidential or parliamentary, the republic being a form of government in which the head of state is chosen by the people. However, tenure is generally limited to four or five years. Typically, the number of terms is also limited.
The head of state is selected for the mandate based on a free and secret ballot.
There are different republics, so the political rules may vary slightly depending on the country. However, nowadays, the republic is seen as a type of government that should be based on equality between people.
(Image: Ovigilante / Wikimedia Commons)
In addition, those who exercise political power must be chosen by the people, representative in nature, for a limited time and with responsibility.
It is also worth mentioning that there are republics with dictatorial characteristics. This is the case of Cuba and China, which are not countries officially defined as dictatorships, but have typical traits of this form of governmental regime.
Both countries have the term "republic" in their official name. However, contrary to democracy, there is persecution of people linked to the opposition to the government and extreme control of the press and freedom of expression. This leads to these countries often being linked to the dictatorship.
origin of the republic
The word “republic” comes from the Latin res publica, that means public thing.
Thus, the Latin writer Cicero defined three fundamental characteristics for this type of government to be possible:
- Multitude: reasonable amount of people;
- Community: group of individuals with common interests;
- Consensus of law.
With these three characteristics, Cicero claims to emerge the three pillars of a republic:
- A free people;
- Authority of the Senate;
- Civil power of magistrates.
Many use republic as a synonym for "democracy", but in antiquity there were definite rules about who could participate in state decision-making. For example, women and slaves were excluded.
However, there were several republics, which had characteristics of government very different from those of the Modern Age. These republics are called “classical republics”, which include the city-states of Greece, such as Sparta and Athens.
There was also the Roman Republic, which with the expansion of the Roman people around the Mediterranean Sea later became the Roman Empire. In this way, some ancient republics were taken over by empires or became empires.
Despite the transformations in the following centuries, most historians consider the ancient republics to be very important. For they would be crucial for the construction of the republics as we know them today.
This is because highly influential authors, such as Machiavelli and Montesquieu, discussed alternative forms of government to monarchy. His works became of great value for the understanding of the republics.
types of republic
In addition to the classic ancient republics, there have been a few distinct types of republics throughout history. Below are the main ones:
- mercantile republics: common in the Middle Ages, when the merchant class acquired political power;
- protestant republics: in which certain countries used the Protestant Reformation to establish a form of republic;
- liberal republics: in which the freedom and equality of all before the law are the main premises;
- Socialist and Communist Republics: had or have the ideals of socialism and communism as a foundation;
- islamic republics: are those who have assumed the Islamic religion as part of the republic, in which the majority of the population is Muslim;
- parliamentary republics: they function basically like a constitutional monarchy, but the role of the king is replaced by that of the president, who has a mandate for a certain period of time, limited powers and is seen as a figure symbolic. The head of government is the prime minister.
- Federative Republic: when several autonomous territories with their own government come together to form a federation, called the Federal State. The Federative Republic of Brazil itself is an example, being formed by 26 states and the Federal District. That is, 27 federative units.
Monarchy x Republic
Today, the term “republic” generally refers to a system of government empowered by the people. Many even use the word "republic" as a synonym for democracy. However, there are republics with characteristics of dictatorial government, opposition repression and freedom of expression.
Therefore, in general, it is wrong to relate the term to democracy.
The republic would be a form of government opposed to the monarchy, in which power would emanate from heredity or would be of “divine” origin. It is worth mentioning that, however, in current monarchies, power can also originate from the Constitution.
See also the differences between:
- Parliamentarianism and presidentialism
- Democrats and Republicans
- capitalism and socialism
- Nazism and Fascism
