Monarchy remains a form of government in a number of other countries throughout the world, though the nature of the monarchy in these nations has changed greatly over the centuries. The monarchy in great Britain is well known throughout the world, once as a powerful head of government but now more as the symbolic head of state. Yet even this role has been brought more and more into question in England and in other monarchies. The death of Pricess Diana may be cause for even deeper questioning of monarchy. Likely, the monarchy will survive well into the next century, and it may remain the reality in some countries for a long time. In the long run, though, the trend is clearly toward a more republican form of government, with elected representatives and elected heads of government and with the power emanating form the people and not from an inherited family dynastic right to govern.
The most dominant form of government in Europe today is some form of parliamentary government with a prime minister generally chosen from the political party with the largest number of seats. Some countries have a president who participates in the selection, while others have the prime minister as the head of the government. The electoral system derives from a historical and cultural context in each country, but the electoral system today determines the political culture. A parliamentary system such as that in England centers on two basic party groupings, while that in Germany is fragmented and requires a coalition government to achieve a majority. The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy under a democratic parliamentary regime, with the Queen as the head of state and also the symbol of the nation's unity. Control of the government rests with the party that has the majority in the House of Commons, and control shifts between the Conservative Party and the Labor Party. The two are distinct, and coalitions are not necessary for rule. The ...