hereditary rule
Throne passes down
Hereditary rule is a system of government where power passes through family lines, typically from parent to child.
Monarchies are the classic example: The country operated under hereditary rule for centuries before becoming a republic.
The term often appears in discussions contrasting inherited authority with elected or merit-based leadership.
- aristocracyRule by hereditary elite
- monarchyRule by crowned sovereign
- primogenitureEldest inherits all
- successionFollowing in order
- royal lineageHereditary line of sovereigns
family tree · nobility · divine right of kings · crown prince · dynasty · throne · crown · bloodline · coronation · caste system · royal family · royal · landed gentry · old money · feudalism · heir · line of succession · regent
- governancegovernance, government, democracy, vote, parliament
- monarchyking, queen, prince, princess, crown
- lineageancestry, royal dynasties, bloodline, noble houses, dynasty
- monarchiesmonarch, monarchy, kingdom, realm, sultanate
- rulekingdom, empire, monarchy, dictatorship, tyranny
- rulershipreign, dominion, kingdom, realm, sovereignty
basis of authority
hereditary ruledemocracy
Rule by the people
popular sovereignty · representative government · electoral system · meritocracy · popular vote