Why "king"? Just because Assad inherited his post from his father, that doesn't mean that he's a king. Being a king usually requires some sort of formal institution of kingship. Did the fact that Lurleen Wallace inherited the governorship of Alabama from her husband George make her a "queen" and him a "king"? In the case of both the Assads and the Wallaces, there was some sort of election (however bogus) for handing down the leadership role, so at least on paper, we're talking about (small-r) republicanism. Of course, there's no point in arguing about definitions. If Assad is a king, Kim Jong-un is one too.
(I've always preferred the Ace or the Joker.) -- Jim Devine / If you're going to support the lesser of two evils, you should at least know the nature of that evil. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
