elective monarchy
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Encyclopedic overview
The 1764 Polish royal election
An elective monarchy is a monarchy where the ruling head is elected instead of strictly inheriting power. The manner of election, the nature of candidate qualifications, and the electors vary from case to case. Historically, it was common for elective monarchies to transform into hereditary ones (whether legally or de facto) by repeated election of the previous rulers' children, or for hereditary monarchies to acquire elective or semi-elective succession laws, particularly following dynastic crises.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “elective monarchy” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.