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28 KPI Congress 15 th

political power. Of course, many constitutional monarchies remain in both East and
West, but political power has almost everywhere been devolved to democratically
elected officials who exercise devolved authority in the name of the people and who
can be voted out of office at periodic elections. According to one well-known Western
intellectual, Francis Fukuyama, the rise of liberal democracy marks the final stage in
the evolution of political institutions, or as he famously described it, ‘the end of
2
history.’ If his thesis is correct, it follows that the age of Dhammarajas is also at an
end, both in the East and West. Perhaps this is no bad thing, for as the experience
of the twentieth-century has shown, there can be little as dangerous as unlimited
political power when it falls into the wrong hands. From Dhammaraja to dictator is but
a small step, and countless millions have perished at the hands of despots East and
West like Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot, as they sought to impose their personal
ideological visions on society at large. Closer to home, the Pali canon has a term –
rajabhaya – to denote the dangers and perils that kings can represent, and the
prophetic phuttha-thamnai writings of northern Thailand vividly describe the chaos and
destruction that results from the leadership of failed kings. 3

Approaches
to
the
Question

So, to return to my question, if there have been no Western Dhammarajas in
the past, and we can expect none in the future, on what basis can we make a
comparison? Of course, following the example of the Buddha one can always maintain
a noble silence in response to questions that seem wrongly put. Alternatively, and
more fruitfully for present purposes, we could interpret the title as inviting us to
explore the degree to which we can find a convergence of ideas around the notion of
righteous kingship -- or to use a more modern expression ‘good government’ -- in Asia
and the West. Framed in this way, there are various possible strategies we could
adopt to explore the question. One would be to engage in comparative history by
examining the similarities between Buddhist kings of the past and their Christian
counterparts in the West whose reigns are closely associated with the promotion or
defence of religion. Constantine (r.306-337) and Charlemagne (r.768-774) might be
two such examples. Pursuing this line of enquiry, however, we may find ourselves
International panel discussion they simply use religion as a convenient unifying ideology for their empires? In some
bogged down in the historical detail of claim and counterclaim. For example, in their
adoption of Christianity were these kings motivated by religious commitment or did

cases shallower personal motives may be suspected. In the early part of his reign,
King Henry VIII of England may have been thought worthy of the title of
‘Dhammaraja.’ He was awarded the title ‘Defender of the Faith’ by Pope Leo X in
1521, but the title was subsequently revoked and the king was excommunicated when

Fukuyama, Francis.
The
End
of
History
and
the
Last
Man. New Ed edition. Penguin, 1993.
2

Nguyen, Betty. “Bad Buddhist Kings: An Examination of the Ideal Social Order.” Rian
Thai.
in order to legitimize his divorce from his first wife he switched sides and began to
3
International
Journal
of
Thai
Studies
4 (2011): 27–45.