Dear Evan0,
There are several ways to approach your question. If you're
interested, I made a list of each country's type of regime and rulers
(including traditional and pre-colonial rulers). However, when
considering this list carefully, one notices that almost each country
of the world belongs to one of the following categories (if not more):
(1) Is currently a monarchy (or, like Canada or Australia, officially
recognises a monarch as the supreme sovreign, even if practially it
has no meaning).
(2) Was a monarchy and became a republic
(3) Was part of a larger monarchy/empire (most notably, part of the
Spanish, Ottoman, Portuguese, Dutch and British empires)
(4) Cosists of cultures and people who had monarcy before the
colonialisation by European powers (most notably, post colonial French
colonies).
(5) Justifies its exitance and right of independence/self decleration
in a historical kingdom, which is supposedly related to that country
(examples: Croatia - no independent Croatian kingdom since 11th
century; Israel - no idependent "Israelite" kingdom since Greek and
Roman occupations; etc.)
This is also logical - since monarchy is considered to be one of the
oldest forms of organisation, every people that is settled, and moved
on from the hunters-gatherer step, has some form of traditional (non
elected) leader. Since modern states do not consist (at least not
solely) of hunters-gatherers, they maintain some form of monarchy in
their collective past, or in the past of the groups that consist that
"nation" (since in the post colonial world, it is hard to talk of a
"nation", for example, in the Nigerian case).
Saying that, there are several lists that provide us with information
on the times of democratisation, and therefore, on the nations which
were democratic "non-stop". I am basing myself on Samuel Huntington's
theory on "waves of Democracy" (The Third Wave: Democratization in the
late twentieth century).
The first countries to democratise in the 19th century were Australia
Canada, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland,
U.K. and the U.S.
Of those, Australia, New Zealans, Canada, and of course the UK, are
officially subjected to the British Monarch. Finland was subjected to
the Swedish monarchs and later to the Russian Czars. Iceland was
subjected to the Danish royals, and actually had its own until 1944.
Sweden is a Constitutional Monarchy.
Which leaves us with Switzerland (1848, full democracy, including
women, only in 1971) and the US (1776; 1919 partial voting rights to
native Americans; 1920 to women; until the 1960s Native Americans,
African Americans and other minorities - notably Asian Americans -
were discriminated in various "literacy tests"). As you mentioned
before, in five cases, the popular vote was not compatible to the
electoral college vote. See also
http://www.campvishus.org/PresPartyShare.htm
Chile, democratic since 1987, belongs to a secodn type. It is
democratic since the first wave of democracy, and its monarchial
heritage sums up to the Spanish colonial heritage, but it was couped
in 1973 by Augusto Pinochet.
Many other countries democratised in the years 1826-1926, but later
loss that democracy and regained it only after the Second World War.
Among these countries: Austria, Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, France,
Germany, Italy, Japan,
Netherlands and Norway.
Of these, Austria was a centre of the Austro-Hungarian Empire; Belgim,
Japan, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway are all constitutional
monarcies. Germany, Italy and France had their own monarchies, but
became republics. germany itself is of course fully democratised only
after 1991, when both parts of the country are democratic.
Colombia, a former Spanish colony, is the only one left, but it is a
highly breakable democracy, and in the midst of a civil war.
Few more countries, which were democratised during the 19th century,
are Argentina, Czechoslovakia (Czech and Slovak Republics), Greece,
Hungary
and Uruguay.
Of them, Argentina (dem, since 1983) and Uruguay have only the
colonial heritage of the Spaniarsds, but then again - they are very
shakey democracies. Greece, Hungary and the Czech and Slovak Republics
were democratised in the last 20 years, but had monarchial heritage
(Czech Republic - Roughly coextensive with today's Czech Republic were
the "Lands of the Crown of St. Wenceslas," over which the emperor of
Austria (until 1867 a purely dynastic, rather than territorial, title)
ruled in his capacity as king of Bohemia and, subsidiarily, margrave
of Moravia and duke of Upper and Lower Silesia.
http://www.rulers.org/ruld.html").
Estonia, democratic sicne 1992, could be also added to the list of
countries who have a very faint history of monarchy, it never had a
royalty according to http://www.rulers.org/rule.html#estonia.
Botswana, Gambia, Israel, Jamaica, Malaysia, Malta, Sri Lanka,
Trinidad &
Tobago, Venezuela - were all democratised during the Second Wave. Of
them, Israel is the only one that could be considered as having no
monarchial tradition, through it relates to the Judean and Israelite
Biblical rule. Other countries still adhere (officially) to the
British monarch, or had some sort of monarchial rulers in the past.
Another grey case, similar to Israel, is Botswana, democratic since
independence in 1966, that has traditional leaders, but its leaders
are democratically elected.
In other words, you can see very little number of countries in your
list, because most countries were historically part of monarchy, or
relate to a historical kingdom. Very few countries are democratic in
the Western sense for a long time now, so it is also hard to judge
from this angel.
I hope that helped and answered your question. I'd be pleased to
answer any clarification you may need. My search strategy was to
search for each country, with words such as "democratizetion",
"monarchy" or "king". |
Clarification of Answer by
politicalguru-ga
on
14 Nov 2002 06:55 PST
Dear Evan0,
Because of computer problems, I haven't been able to upload the list,
so I pasted it here, and I hope you wouldn't mind
Notes:
BC - British Commonwealth
yp - yes, partially (democratic) (or np - no, but has some democratic
elements)
trad - traditional monarchy
trans - transitiona regime
ni - not independent
Country democratic (now?) monarchy ever?
============================================
Afghanistan transitional y trad.colo
Albania yp y trad
Algeria n y ottoman
American Samoa ni y trad
Andorra yp y now
Angola yp y
colonial+trad
Anguilla y y bc
Antarctica ni na
Antigua and Barbuda y y bc
Argentina y y colonial
spain
Armenia yp y trad +
russia
Aruba yp y
netherlands
Australia y 1901 y bc
Austria y y
austrohungary
Azerbaijan n y trad
Bahamas, The y y bc
Bahrain n y now
Bangladesh y y colonial +
traditional
Barbados y y bc
Belarus yp y trad
Belgium y y now
Belize y y bc
Benin partial y
traditional(1)
Bermuda yp y uk/bc
Bhutan n y now
Bolivia y y
colonial + trad
Bosnia and Herzegovina y trans y trad + austro hung
Botswana y y bc * trad
Brazil y y
colonial
British Virgin Islands ni y bc
Brunei n y now
Bulgaria y y trad (2)
Burkina Faso trans y trad
Burma n y british
colonialism + trad
Burundi trans y belgium +
trad
Cambodia y trans y now
Cameroon yp trans y trad + parts
brit/german colony(3)
Canada y y bc
Cape Verde yp y portugal
Cayman Islands ni y now British
crown colony
Central African Republic n/trans y trad + modern (4)
Chad no trans y trad
Chile y y
spanish
China n y
Christmas Island ni y bc
Cocos (Keeling) Islands ni y bc
Colombia partial y spanish
Comoros partial/no y trad +
madagaskar
Congo, Democratic Republic of n y trad
Congo, Republic of the partial/no y trad
Cook Islands ni y bc
Costa Rica y y trad +
colonial
Cote d'Ivoire partial/trans y trad
Croatia y y trad +
austro hung
Cuba n y
colonial
Cyprus y y brit
col
Czech Republic y y austro hung
Denmark y y now
Djibouti y y trad
Dominica y y bc
Dominican Republic y y spanish
East Timor trans y y postuguese
+ trad
Ecuador n/trans y spain
Egypt n y
ottoman + self + mythical(5)
El Salvador y y spain
Equatorial Guinea partial/no y spain
Eritrea trans y trad +
italy
Estonia y y
colonial (danish, swedish, russian see 6)
Ethiopia partial trans y trad
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) ni y bc now
Faroe Islands y/ni y danmark
now
Fiji yp y
trad +brit colony
Finland y y
colonial swedish/russian
France y y until
1789....
French Guiana ni/y y colonial
French Polynesia ni/y y trad
Gabon yp y trad
Gambia, The trans p y bc + trad
Georgia trans y trad +
russia
Germany y y
Ghana yp y trad
+ brit rule
Gibraltar ni y bc
Greece y y also
mythical
Greenland y/ni y
denamrk now
Grenada y y bc
Guadeloupe ni/y y
colonial
Guam ni y
spain
Guatemala y y trad +
spain
Guernsey ni y part
of the uk
Guinea yp y
traditional
Guinea-Bissau y y
colonial portugal
Guyana y y
colonial brit + dutch
Haiti yp y
trad
Holy See (Vatican City) n n, never
Honduras y y trad
+ colonial
Hong Kong ni/n y
chinese dynasties + uk
Hungary y y
austrohungary
Iceland y y
trad + colonial (danish)
India y y
bc + trad
Indonesia yp trans y trad
+ colonial
Iran partial y
shah trad
Iraq n y
hashemite + colonial brit
Ireland y y
colonial brit
Israel y (7) n
- but as a myth (8)
Italy y
y
Jamaica yp y bc
Japan y y
now
Jersey ni y y
now
Jordan partial y
now
Kazakhstan n y trad
(9)
Kenya n y
trad + colonial
Kiribati y y
colonial
Korea, North n y
trad + jap. occupation
Korea, South y y trad
+ jap occupation
Kuwait n y
now
Kyrgyzstan yp y trad
(10)
Laos n y
trad
Latvia y
y trad "mythical"
Lebanon n y
ottoman
Lesotho y y
now
Liberia civil war y
trad
Libya n
y trad + ottoman
Liechtenstein y y
now
Lithuania y y
trad
Luxembourg y y
now
Macau ni y
colonial portugal
Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of (FYROM)
trans
y ottoman austro hungary, yugoslavia
Madagascar py y
trad
Malawi y
y trad + colonial
Malaysia n y
now
Maldives n y
trad + colonial
Mali y
y trad
Malta y
y colonial (+ 11)
Man, Isle of ni/y y
uk
Marshall Islands ni/y y
trad + germany colonial
Martinique ni/y y
colonial
Mauritania n y
trad
Mauritius y
y colonial (brit)
Mayotte ni/y y
trad
Mexico yp y
trad + spain
Micronesia, Federated States of
ni/y
y trad + colonial germany
Moldova p/trans y
trad (12)
Monaco y y
now
Mongolia yp y
trad (+ czarist Russia)
Montserrat ni/y y
now uk
Morocco partial y
now
Mozambique trans y
trad + port colony
Namibia y y (trad +
colonial)
Nauru y y
colonial
Nepal y y now
Netherlands y y now
Netherlands Antilles
y y
colonial
New Caledonia ni y trad
New Zealand y y bc
Nicaragua yp y spain
colony + trad
Niger trans y trad
Nigeria trans y trad (+
brit colony)
Niue ni/y y trad
+ bc
Norfolk Island ni y bc
Northern Mariana Islands
ni y
colonial
Norway y y now
Oman n y now
Pakistan np y trad (+
brit rule)
Palau ni y trad
Panama y y colonial
spain
Papua New Guinea y y now
Paraguay y y
colonial spain
Peru y y
colonial spain + trad
Philippines y y trad +
colonial spain
Pitcairn Islands ni y now
(UK)
Poland y y trad
Portugal y y trad
Puerto Rico ni/y y spanish
colony
Qatar n y now
Reunion ni y
colonial
Romania y y trad
Russia y y trad
Rwanda trans y trad +
belgium
Saint Helena ni y (Brit.
Crown colony)
Saint Kitts and Nevis y y bc
Saint Lucia y y bc#
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
ni no
(13)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
y y
bc
Samoa y y trad
now
San Marino y no (14)
Sao Tome and Principe
yp y
colonial portugal
Saudi Arabia n y now
Senegal yp y trad
Seychelles y y
colonial brit.
Sierra Leone trans y
colonial + trad
Singapore partial y
colonial + trad
Slovakia y y
austro hungary
Slovenia y y
austro hungary, yugoslavia, etc.
Solomon Islands yp anarchy/civil war y british crown
Somalia trans y
traditional
South Africa y y
british rule + trad
Spain y y
now
Sri Lanka y y
trad
Sudan n y
ottoman, egyptian and self
Suriname y y
dutch
Svalbard ni y
Norway
Swaziland partial y now
Sweden y y
now
Switzerland y no
Syria no y
ottoman
Taiwan yp y
chinese
Tajikistan n civil war y
legedary (15)
Tanzania np y
omani; brit. colnialism, trad
Thailand y y
now
Togo trans y
trad
Tokelau ni y
bc; trad
Tonga y y
now
Trinidad and Tobago y y bc
Tunisia np y
ottoman
Turkey y y
center of the Ottoman Empire
Turkmenistan n y
trad
Turks and Caicos Islands
ni
y uk
Tuvalu y
y now
Uganda np y
colonial + trad
Ukraine yp y
also under russia
United Arab Emirates
n
y now
United Kingdom y y now
United States y no
(16)
Uruguay y y
trad + spanish rule
Uzbekistan n y
trad
Vanuatu y y
colonial
Venezuela yp y
colonial
Vietnam n y
trad
Virgin Islands ni y
colonial
Wallis and Futuna ni y
trad (now)
Western Sahara ni y
colonial
Yemen n y
colonial - ottoman and British
Yugoslavia trans/y y
austro hungary and ottoman
Zambia np
y british colonial + trad
Zimbabwe n y
british colonial
(1) An anecdote: Benin was called Dahomey until 1975, when the
military regime decided to change the name of the country. One of the
reasons is apparently the curse of the last king of Dahomey, that the
country would not be managable, because of the traitors who gave him
to the French.
(2) Another anecdote: The heir to the throne of Bulgaria, is now their
elected President.
(3) Cameroon as a colony was a German, a French and a British colony.
(4) Not a very nice story: on 1976, the dictator Bokassa proclaimed
himself as an Emperor of the land. He was deposed on 20/9/1979., but
managed to pull some tricks Neron would be ashamed of, notoriously
shooting school children in the national stadium.
(5) Modern Egypt attributes itself the Pharonic kingdom.
(6) See: Does Estonia Has a King?
http://www.einst.ee/publications/12/kuues.html
(7) Excluding the occupied territories
(8) Israel relates itself to the myth of the Biblical kingdoms of
Israel and Judea.
(9) see The History of Kazakhstan http://www.kz/firsteng.html
(10) see: Gypsy Journal
http://www.gypsyjournal.com/Chapter.asp?ChapterID=489
(11) Malta was ruled by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
1530-1798 but in practice also after that.
(12) See Chastain, James, "Cuza, Alexandru Ioan (1820-1870)",
ncyclopedia of 1848 Revolutions
<http://www.ohiou.edu/~Chastain/ac/cuza.htm >
(13) Saint Pierre e Miquelon became a French colony after the
revolution. The two islands' original inhabitants parished; the
islands therefpre had no "monarchy". They are part of France, and not
a sovreign democratic unit.
(14) San Marino claims to be the oldest republic in the world, since
the fourth century. It was briefly occupied by the Germans and the
British during WWII. My mistake for not including it in my original
list.
(15) See Pamela Constable, "Tajikistan Struggles in Post-Soviet
Poverty" Washington Post, Monday 12 February 2001; Page A14
<http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/53/114.html>
(16) Naturally, parts of the US were British colonies (as well as
French, Spanish and Russian territory); Hawaii had a monarch.
For general sources, see
http://www.almanach.be/
http://www.rulers.org/
Thank you for your ratings!
|
