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Absolute monarchy or absolutism is a monarchical form of government in which the monarch has absolute power among his or her people. An absolute monarch wields unrestricted political power over the sovereign state and its people. Absolute monarchies are often hereditary but other means of transmission of power are attested. Absolute monarchy differs from constitutional monarchy, in which a monarch's authority in a constitutional monarchy is legally bounded or restricted by a constitution.〔Jerome Blum et al., ''The European World'' (1970) 1:267-68〕 In theory, the absolute monarch exercises total power over the land, yet in practice the monarchy is counterbalanced by political groups from among the social classes and castes of the realm, such as the aristocracy, clergy, and middle and lower classes. Some monarchies have weak or symbolic legislatures and other governmental bodies that the monarch can alter or dissolve at will. Countries where the monarch still maintains absolute power are Brunei, Qatar,〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20890765 )〕 Oman,〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15288960 )〕 Saudi Arabia,〔 Swaziland,〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14095303 )〕 the emirates comprising the UAE,〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-05-02/education/29495629_1_monarchy-absolute-power-head )〕 and Vatican City. ==Historical examples== Throughout much of European history, the divine right of kings was the theological justification for absolute monarchy. Many European monarchs, such as those of Russia, claimed supreme autocratic power by divine right, and that their subjects had no rights to limit their power. James VI of Scotland (later also James I of England) and his son Charles I of Scotland and England tried to import this principle. Charles I's attempt to enforce episcopal polity on the Church of Scotland led to rebellion by the Covenanters and the Bishops' Wars, then fears that Charles I was attempting to establish absolutist government along European lines was a major cause of the English Civil War, despite the fact that he did rule this way for 11 years starting in 1629, after dissolving the Parliament of England for a time. By the 19th century, the Divine Right was regarded as an obsolete theory in most countries in the Western world, except in Russia where it was still given credence as the official justification for the Tsar's power. There is a considerable variety of opinion by historians on the extent of absolutism among European monarchs. Some, such as Perry Anderson, argue that quite a few monarchs achieved levels of absolutist control over their states, while historians such as Roger Mettam dispute the very concept of absolutism.〔Mettam, Roger. ''Power and Faction in Louis XIV's France'', 1991.〕 In general, historians who disagree with the appellation of ''absolutism'' argue that most monarchs labeled as ''absolutist'' exerted no greater power over their subjects than any other ''non-absolutist'' rulers, and these historians tend to emphasize the differences between the absolutist rhetoric of monarchs and the realities of the effective use of power by these absolute monarchs. Renaissance historian William Bouwsma summed up this contradiction: 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「absolute monarchy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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