The relationship between democracy and monarchy or theocracy

When considering the course of history across different nations, patterns in the shift of forms of government can be observed worldwide. In most cases, a shift from direct democracy to theocracy, then to a monarchy and then to a representative democracy with a parliament.

Democracy in tribal societies

Peoples often trace their origins back to tribes. Tribal societies are typically organised by the members of the community, often through direct voting on specific issues. The Germanic tribes held assemblies of all free men at thing sites. Things were open-air assemblies used for political decision-making and legal proceedings. The ancient Greeks in Athens held popular assemblies of all free citizens of Athens on the Pnyx, a hill west of the Acropolis. There, too, political decisions were made and legal proceedings conducted. The Sioux were a confederacy of seven tribes, each living in several villages. Among the Sioux, all adult men were part of the village council. The village councils sent representatives to the tribal council of the various tribes. These, in turn, elected a tribal chief who was a member of the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (Council of Seven Fires). Political decisions for the Sioux tribes were made in the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ.

The tribal assemblies sometimes took place only every few years and usually lasted several days, as they were very labour-intensive. To attend, all men from across the entire tribal territory had to make the journey to the assembly site on foot.

Transition to monarchies or theocracies

In tribal societies, chiefs or kings were elected for a specific period during times of war. There could also be chiefs for specific tasks, such as hunting chiefs for the hunt. As the tribes and their territories grew in size, chiefs or kings were then elected for life. However, as kings were usually also responsible for religious duties, they simultaneously served as religious leaders. They therefore also had to obtain the consent and blessing of the most important religious figures. In many societies, however, the most important religious figures directly elected the leader, who then ruled as both spiritual and temporal head, that is, as a theocrat. The first rulers were often elected rulers, who increasingly came from a small group of people and were elected by a small group of people. These elective monarchies were transformed into hereditary monarchies after a few generations. The same was true of the theocracies, as could be observed, for example, with the pharaohs in Egypt. Hereditary monarchies proved to be significantly more stable, as every election of a successor to the throne risked triggering factional strife amongst the small number of powerful electors, and the elected monarchs were often heavily dependent on the electors, the royal council or similar bodies. A clear line of succession, by contrast, determined the heir very early on and was less frequently called into question.

Thanks to technological advances in weaponry, military organisation and military leadership, these monarchies were then able to significantly expand the territory under their control. By 221 BC, the state of Qin had conquered the remaining six Chinese kingdoms and seized further territories, which, covering some 2.3 million km², extended over roughly a quarter of today’s Chinese territory. The Chinese Empire began with the subsequent Qin Dynasty. By 324 BC, Alexander the Great had conquered a territory stretching from Greece to present-day Pakistan and as far as Egypt, covering an area of approximately 5.2 million km². By 395, the Romans had conquered the entire Mediterranean region, as well as Western Europe, covering an area of approximately 6.5 million km². In 740, the Umayyad Caliphate stretched from Spain across North Africa to present-day Pakistan, covering an area of 11.1 million km². Under Genghis Khan, Ögedei Khan, Güyük Khan and Möngke Khan, the Mongol Empire was expanded from 1190 to 1260 from East Asia to Western Europe, covering an area of approximately 24 million km².

Such empires could only be governed through monarchies or theocracies, because, given the state of technology at the time, it was neither possible within a reasonable timeframe nor affordable to communicate and discuss different political positions with all citizens, and then vote on decisions regarding political issues. Democratically governed tribes and city-states disappeared simply because they were conquered by the powerful empires. Public order was sometimes difficult to enforce. Consequently, a feudal system often developed, in which the territories under control were granted to vassals, who could in turn grant them to their own vassals. In return, military assistance was often required. Public order was organised locally. The supreme ruler was known to many people only through stories. The legitimacy of the supreme ruler’s rule was based on religion. In China, the emperor held the “Mandate of Heaven”; the Japanese imperial dynasty was descended from the sun goddess Amaterasu; in India, the king was an incarnation of a god, such as the god Vishnu; in Europe, rulers reigned by the grace of God; the rulers of the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties were both relatives of Muhammad, the messenger of Allah and founder of Islam; the rulers of the Maya and Aztecs were the representatives of the gods on earth. Thus, no one questioned the legitimacy of the supreme rulers, and local rulers ultimately derived their legitimacy from the supreme ruler.

Transition from monarchy to democracy

With increasing technological progress and as a result of rising economic output and higher tax revenues, the supreme rulers’ dependence on their vassals diminished. The feudal system came to an end, tax collection was centralised, and the power of the supreme ruler was strengthened. Public order was increasingly governed by laws and courts that originated from the supreme ruler and were no longer subordinate to the local ruler. This significantly strengthened the judicial system and the maintenance of internal security. A strong judiciary is, in turn, necessary to prevent the irregular seizure of government and to punish electoral fraud.

The invention of movable-type printing in Europe by Johannes Gutenberg in 1450 paved the way for the development of newspapers. This made it possible to inform large populations across vast areas about current political events at low cost. It also enabled the exchange of information and discussion regarding the views of different groups of people on various political issues in a cost-effective manner. The first newspaper appeared in 1605 with the German weekly “Relation aller Fürnemmen und gedenckwürdigen Historien” [“All Important and Memorable Historical Events”] in Strasbourg. Further newspapers in Europe followed. The first daily newspaper appeared in 1650 with the German “Einkommende Zeitungen” [“Current Newspapers”] in Leipzig. The first American newspaper was the English newspaper “The Boston News-Letter” from Boston. The first African newspaper was the Arabic-Turkish newspaper “وقائع مصرية” [“Vekâyi-i Mısriyye”] [“Egyptian Facts”] in 1828. In China, although movable-type printing was developed by Bi Sheng around 1041, it failed to gain a foothold there for a long time. The first newspaper in China appeared in 1845 with the English-language newspaper “The China Mail” and in 1853 with the Chinese-language newspaper “遐邇貫珍” [English title: “Chinese Serial”] in Hong Kong. In Korea, the book “백운화상초록불조직지심체요절” [“Anthology of the Zen Teachings of the Great Buddhist Priests”] was printed using movable type in 1372. But even there, the printing process failed to gain much traction. Korea’s first newspaper was the “朝鮮新報” [“Korean Newspaper”], published in Chinese and Japanese from 1881 onwards.

With the development of radio and later television broadcasting, the dissemination of information on current events and public discussion of political issues were once again significantly simplified and accelerated.

In parallel with the development of printing and the publication of newspapers, the Age of Enlightenment began in Europe and North America. In 1776, with the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain, the USA transitioned to a democratic government, thereby forming the first democratic state of the modern era. This was the result of several tax increases imposed by Great Britain on the North American colonies without the colonies being consulted or able to negotiate a compromise. The motto “no taxation without representation” dates back to a provision that had been in force in England since the Magna Carta Libertatum of 1215 and formed the basis for the English Parliament from the 13th century onwards, comprising the “House of Commons” and the “House of Lords”. In 1792, France followed suit with the abolition of the monarchy following the end of the French Revolution of 1789. In the decades that followed, many other European states and then further states worldwide followed suit.

Basic principles of the evolution of forms of government

The observable development is the emergence of societies in small groups and the participation of their members in political decisions through direct democracy, and occasionally representative democracy. With increasing technological progress, military and weaponry technology in particular could be further developed, thereby enabling the conquest and control of large territories. This was accompanied by a loss of information and communication among individual members of society. The loss of internal security was often offset by feudal social structures. Furthermore, conquered peoples were often granted only a limited say in political decisions. This led to small sections of the population participating in politics. Elective monarchies emerged. As elective monarchies often led to the overthrow of rulers, a transition began towards hereditary monarchies, which proved to be significantly more stable. Further technological advances in agriculture, manufacturing and trade then led to higher tax revenues, which in turn strengthened the judiciary, centralised rule and thus centralised legislation, standing armies under the king’s control, and a strong, stable central government. The subsequent technological advances in printing, newspapers and later radio, in turn, strengthened communication and access to information for individual members of society. The monarchs were overthrown and abdicated. Representative democracies subsequently emerged. Where these states demonstrated high economic performance, the democratic form of government, through a strong judiciary and a strong central government within a state, exhibited a high degree of stability against attempts at overthrow by individual actors.

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