The Political Modernization of Traditional Monarchies

Huntington, Samuel P. "The Political Modernization of Traditional Monarchies." Daedalus v. 95, n. 3 (1966): 763-788.

“The withering away of European colonial empires has virtually eliminated what was widely believed to be a highly anachronistic type of political order. There still remain, however, much more antique and even more curious political systems in which legitimacy and power reside largely in the highly traditional institution of hereditary monarchy. Most of these monarchies exist today in countries which are beginning to undergo rapid social, economic, and cultural change. The purpose of this paper is to explore the problems which modernization poses for such traditional political systems. To what extent are kings simply doomed relics of a fading historical era? Can monarchial systems cope with modernizing problems? To what extent are the political evolutions of such regimes likely to be in the direction of democracy, dictatorship, or revolution?”

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