9781422277683

Many leaders didn’t bother to offer justifications for their right to rule. Military power made the question of legitimacy irrel- evant. On the other hand, the absolute rulers of the past often claimed that their authority was divinely sanctioned. The pharaohs of ancient Egypt and the Inca emperors of Peru, for instance, were considered gods in their own right. Chinese emperors ruled under the so-called Mandate of Heaven. According to this idea, Heaven granted the emperor supreme power to govern. However, if the emperor abused his power, Heaven’s blessing would be withdrawn. Evidence that the emper- or had lost the Mandate of Heaven might include natural disas- ters such as droughts, floods, or crop failures, or even widespread social strife. In such cases, the emperor could justifiably be over- thrown (and, in fact, a successful rebellion constituted proof that the deposed sovereign had forfeited Heaven’s blessing). By contrast, medieval European monarchs didn’t acknowl- edge any circumstances under which their removal from power was justified. They claimed, under a doctrine known as the divine right of kings, that their rule was the expression of God’s will. Hence opposition to the monarch amounted to dis- obedience of God himself. Exceptions to the pattern of authoritarian governance were, until relatively recent times, fairly rare. Still, the world’s first known democracy flourished, albeit briefly, some 2,500 years ago. Rule by the People The English word democracy comes from demokratia , an ancient Greek term formed by the combination of demos ,

8

Democracy: The People’s Government