absolute monarchy

plural absolute monarchies

1. countableuncountableA state over which a sole monarch has absolute and unlimited power.

   Protests are rare in Eswatini, Africa’s last absolute monarchy.

   2021 June 29, “Armed forces open fire in crackdown on anti-monarchy protests in Eswatini”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

   1 more example

   The kingdom [of Saudi Arabia] remains an absolute monarchy with few outlets for dissent, with public policy-making concentrated almost entirely in the hands of the ruling family.

   2011 February 24, Jack Shenker, “Saudi Arabia king accused of misjudged bribery in attempt to avoid unrest”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

2. uncountableThe rule of such a monarch, as a form of government.

   Thailand is often described as coup-prone, given the numerous military takeovers since the end of the absolute monarchy in 1932.

   2020 October 15, “The Guardian view on Thailand's protests and the king: the end of deference”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

   1 more example

   The attempted justification for the return of absolute monarchy is that the country was sliding into chaos because ceaseless in-fighting between political parties had allowed an eight-year-old Maoist insurgency to spread to virtually every corner of the country.

   2005 February 5, Randeep Ramesh, “For Nepal, a brutal return to a feudal past”, in The Guardian, →ISSN