What’s in a Year?

For at least as long as people have had written records, people have used celestial effects to mark off time. This continued until half a century ago, when we developed clocks more accurate than most celestial effects and measurements. Thus, the day and the month and the year. There are two issues with these units [...]

Monarchy: How Did It Emerge?

As we have seen, monarchy has gone on a rather precipitous decline over the last few centuries, with many of the remaining monarchs being figureheads who preside over de facto republics. But here and there, hereditary succession of leaders has re-emerged, notably in North Korea and Syria. Saddam Hussein and Muammar Khadafy both wanted to [...]

Communist Monarch Kim Jong Il now Dead

I’ve blogged here about monarchy, so it’s appropriate to report on the passing of a de facto monarch, North Korea’s “Dear Leader” Kim Jong Il. He had succeeded his father, and one of his sons is officially his successor: Kim Jong Un. I’ve seen lots of speculation about which of his other relatives might have [...]

Monarchy: Who’s Next to Fall?

Monarchism in republics has a converse, republicanism in monarchy. How strong are republican movements in monarchies and how likely are they to succeed? The more autocratic monarchies, like in Saudi Arabia, are not likely to have much tolerance for republican movements. However, the experience of the last few centuries suggests that political upheavals are likely [...]

Monarchy: Who Wants Them Back?

Though several monarchies have been deposed over the last few centuries, several ex-monarchs’ families keep the memory alive. Some of the family members even claim to be successors of those ex-monarchs, ready to become those nations’ monarchs again. Royal families like The Bourbons of France The Hohenzollerns of Germany and Romania The Habsburgs of Austria [...]