<P> Some monarchies are non-hereditary . In an elective monarchy, monarchs are elected, or appointed by some body (an electoral college) for life or a defined period, but otherwise serve as any other monarch . Three elective monarchies exist today: Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates are 20th - century creations, while one (the papacy) is ancient . </P> <P> A self - proclaimed monarchy is established when a person claims the monarchy without any historical ties to a previous dynasty . There are examples of republican leaders who have proclaimed themselves monarchs: Napoleon I of France declared himself Emperor of the French and ruled the First French Empire after having held the title of First Consul of the French Republic for five years following his seizure of power in the coup of 18 Brumaire . The President Jean - Bédel Bokassa of the Central African Republic declared himself "Emperor" of the Central African Empire . Yuan Shikai, the first formal President of the Republic of China, crowned himself Emperor of the short - lived "Empire of China" a few years after the Republic of China was founded . </P> <Ul> <Li> In an absolute monarchy, the monarch rules as an autocrat, with absolute power over the state and government--for example, the right to rule by decree, promulgate laws, and impose punishments . Absolute monarchies are not necessarily authoritarian or totalitarian; the enlightened absolutists of the Age of Enlightenment were monarchs who allowed various freedoms . </Li> <Li> In a constitutional monarchy, the monarch is subject to a constitution . The monarch serves as a ceremonial figurehead symbol of national unity and state continuity . The monarch is nominally sovereign but the electorate, through their legislature, exercise (usually limited) political sovereignty . Constitutional monarchs have limited political power, except in Japan and Sweden, where the constitutions grant no power to their monarchs . Typical monarchical powers include granting pardons, granting honours, and reserve powers, e.g. to dismiss the prime minister, refuse to dissolve parliament, or veto legislation ("withhold Royal Assent"). They often also have privileges of inviolability, sovereign immunity, and an official residence . A monarch's powers and influence may depend on tradition, precedent, popular opinion, and law . </Li> <Li> In other cases the monarch's power is limited, not due to constitutional restraints, but to effective military rule . In the late Roman Empire, the Praetorian Guard several times deposed Roman Emperors and installed new emperors . Similarly, in the Abbasid Caliphate the Ghilmans (slave soldiers) deposed of Caliphs once they became prominent, allowing new ones to come to power . The Hellenistic kings of Macedon and of Epirus were elected by the army, which was similar in composition to the ecclesia of democracies, the council of all free citizens; military service was often linked with citizenship among the male members of the royal house . Military domination of the monarch has occurred in modern Thailand and in medieval Japan (where a hereditary military chief, the shōgun, was the de facto ruler, although the Japanese emperor nominally ruled). In Fascist Italy the Savoy monarchy under King Victor Emmanuel III coexisted with the Fascist single - party rule of Benito Mussolini; Romania under the Iron Guard and Greece during the first months of the Colonels' regime were much the same way . Spain under Francisco Franco was officially a monarchy, although there was no monarch on the throne . Upon his death, Franco was succeeded as head of state by the Bourbon heir, Juan Carlos I, who proceeded to make Spain a democracy with himself as a figurehead constitutional monarch . </Li> </Ul> <Li> In an absolute monarchy, the monarch rules as an autocrat, with absolute power over the state and government--for example, the right to rule by decree, promulgate laws, and impose punishments . Absolute monarchies are not necessarily authoritarian or totalitarian; the enlightened absolutists of the Age of Enlightenment were monarchs who allowed various freedoms . </Li>

Who has the power in a monarchy government
find me the text answering this question