Asian Geographic2017

Monarchies have been associated with

majesty, mercilessness, and even madness.

Few absolute monarchies remain – but in

some states, blood still runs thicker than water

There was a time when a king needed no mandate

from his subjects. His right to rule was considered

divine. He (and it was almost always a man) was

appointed by God, and thus no mere mortal had the

right to question, challenge, or dethrone him.

From the very first rulers of Mesopotamia, who

regarded their kings as deities after death, through

the royal dynasties of China and Japan, South and

Southeast Asia, the king’s “Mandate of Heaven” was

taken as read. For who would risk incurring the wrath

of God? Even if you were not a believer, the king’s

wealth and power, large army, and fortified palace

would have been a more than adequate deterrent.

But the world changed. The thinkers of the

Renaissance began to argue against the divine right

of kings, and slowly but surely, power began to

shift to the people. Country after country exiled or

decapitated their erstwhile rulers, replacing them

with elected presidents. Being the firstborn son

of a king no longer guaranteed your right to rule.

Today, just 43 countries around the world still

have monarchs as their head of state (44, if you

count the Pope in the Vatican). Of these, 16 are

Commonwealth states, led by Britain’s Queen

Elizabeth II, and she appoints governors general in

each country to fulfil her constitutional functions.

Some monarchies are absolute monarchies –

all the power is vested in a single person – whereas

others are constitutional monarchies, where the

monarch is legally bound to act in accordance with

the constitution, and shares power with an elected

head of government.

But what specifically of the monarchies in Asia?

Where are they, and how do they function? Are they

still relevant in the modern world? We examine five

of the most interesting cases.

right King Wangchuck and

his son the prince in a field of

maize in Dungkhar, Lhuentse

above Ugyen Wangchuck

was the first king of Bhutan,

pictured here in Trongsa

Dzong in 1905

IMAGE © WIKICOMMONS