hereditary power
Throne by blood
Hereditary power is authority or control passed down through family lineage rather than earned or elected.
The term typically describes monarchies and aristocracies where rulers inherit their positions: The dynasty maintained hereditary power for three centuries.
It can also apply to wealth or influence that concentrates across generations within families.
- kingMale crowned ruler
- vassalLand-holding sworn subordinate
- nobilityTitled ruling class
- ruling classDominant governing stratum
- queenMost powerful chess piece
tradition · primogeniture · bloodline · baron · lordship · lineage · entail · family seat · old money · dynasty · succession · countess · ancestry · noble birth · emperor · empress · divine right · serfdom
hereditary powermeritocracy
Advancement through demonstrated ability
technocracy · popular sovereignty · electoral mandate · military coup
hereditary powerpopular sovereignty
Populace holds ultimate authority
representative government · republican government · electoral mandate · consent of the governed · constitutional democracy
hereditary, heredity, hereditarily, heir, heiress, heirloom, inherit, inheritance, inherited