In the early days of the world most countries were ruled by a king - and he ruled by " Divine Right " ! The power of all decisions was at his whim - and consequently he was a tyrant. That came to an end in merry olde England on June 15, 1215 when the powerful barons of the aristocracy forced King John to sign a document called " Magna Carta " at Runnymede. At the point of a sword the King was forced to give up most of his power and decision making passed to parliament.
In todays world the rule of Monarchs has mostly ended. Republics with a president elected by the people have replaced Kings sitting on their thrones and most are subject to term limits.Over the centuries despots have set aside these limits and achieved unlimited power and this has usually led to war. The history books record the carnage during the rule of both Napoleon and Adolph Hitler.
Political power seems impossible for some to hand to others and we are seeing some leaders cling to office by destroying challengers. This is evident in Vladimir Putin's Russia, Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines and Recep Tayip Erdogan in Turkey. They crush all dissent and give themselves more power.
What is ominous is the power structure developing in the world most populous nation. Under Mao Zedong's autocratic rule China's 1.4 billion people suffered the " Great leap forward " which caused the loss of forty-five million lives to starvation, and the misery of the " Cultural Revolution ". Following Mao, Deng Xiaphong introduced collective leadership and term limits, but current leader Xi Jinping has packed the executive of the ruling Communist party with supporters and quietly removed these term limits. He now has the supporting structure to remain in power - for life.
The Communist rulers have imposed strict censorship on what citizens are allowed to see and to read. So far the Communist state has concentrated on taking the country from agrarian to the world's workshop in developing export trade, but at the same time it has been expanding its armed forces to achieve parity with the United States. It is evident that the first priority of this military force is to safeguard the rule of the Communist party in China and it would be ruthless in suppressing any internal or external threat.
Supporters of the democratic process are dismayed that American president Donald Trump has chosen to endorse the removal of term limits and the installation of Xi Jinping with dictatorial power in China. In fact Trump has hinted that term limit removal is a course America might follow.
These events in China have altered the balance of world power. The inscrutable Xi Jinping is the man who will take China where his mind decides it should go and that may be to the detriment of the existing world order. The normal levers of restraint have become inoperative within the Chinese Communist party now that a supreme leader has gathered all the reigns of control.
Perhaps this leadership change in China will be seen as a reversal of the power change that took place at Runnymeade back in1215. That dispersed power from a king and handed it back to his subjects. In China it has been concentrated in the hands of one man, who can dominate that country for life.
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