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Zog for Albania, Edward for Estonia, and Monarchs for All the Rest? The Royal Road to Prosperity, Democracy, and World Peace

Bibliographic Data

ID12378327
AuthorsJeremy D Mayer (0000-0001-9429-6292, Kalamazoo College, corresponding author), Lee Sigelman (George Washington University)
Year1998
Volume31
Issue4
Pages771-774
Publication date1998-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePS Political Science & Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1049-0965 • E-ISSN: 1537-5935
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/420713
OpenAlexW2071075011
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited3

Monarchy has been the predominant form of governance throughout recorded history, and its hegemony extended well into the twentieth century. On the eve of World War I, only four nations in Europe, and none of any consequence (France, Portugal, San Marino, and Switzerland), were not monarchies. Today, however, democracy reigns, and monarchs are widely seen, in the words of the American writer Austin O'Malley, as “a vermiform appendix: useless when quiet; when obtrusive, in danger of removal” (quoted in Esar 1962, 140), or even as the capstone of a sinister conspiracy. “The Royal Family stands at the pinnacle of the class system, and its wealth is linked to the creation of poverty and need,” charges British Marxist Mark Kirby (1998, 37). For antimonarchists, the crown is not only a symbol but also a source of centuries-old class domination, social injustice, and imperialism, a wasteful frippery at best (Came 1998) and a malignant atavism at worst (Nairn 1994). Thus, the forces of blond egalitarianism have humbled the Nordic royalty by replacing their horse-drawn carriages with bicycles, and the British have reduced their nobility to guiding hordes of T-shirted, gumsnapping American tourists through their ancestral homes in order to make ends meet. In Australia, “progressive” forces have succeeded in scheduling a referendum in 1999 on whether the current head of state, Queen Elizabeth, should be replaced by an illustrious Australian—if one can be found. Though an endangered species, monarchs are by no means extinct

Absolute monarchy · Ancient history · Democracy · Economic history · Elite · Hegemony · Militarism · Militarization · Monarchy · Nobility · Political science · Politics · Prerogative · History · Irish and British Studies · Law

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Unique citing works3
Citations per year0,19
Citation span2010 - 2024 (15)
Citation velocityrecent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 3

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