Have England become absolutist and remain absolutist to modern day. How would you go about this?
Well, there is one problem with you're challenge. It certainly isn't the first half; there are possibly hundreds of PODs that would net an absolutist England. However, the problem with the challenge as a whole lies within the solution to the first half of the challenge. Most of these PODs would need to be before the English Civil War, with a few before the Hanoverian succession. In other words, regardless of the POD, every plausible POD is too far back to logically have an absolutist regime lasting to the present day. Those are quite difficult to sustain for a long period of time. If you look at history, all absolutist regimes tend to crumble well within the time period between any of the PODs that would plausibly result in an absolutist England.Have England become absolutist and remain absolutist to modern day. How would you go about this?
Democracy winning isn't inevitable. Coups, Military rule, dictatorships or any combination of the above can quite easily fill the void of absolutism.
Exactly. This isn't Fukuyama's fantasy 'end of history.' There's no reason to believe that absolutism couldn't survive to the present day - it's only a less technologically enabled version of totalitarianism.
Speaking of the Hanoverian succession I was actually going to mention that. As I understand things it was George I not speaking English which meant that he left governing pretty much to other people leading to a large loss of monarchical power and the rise of cabinet government and proto-prime ministers. The obvious point of departure is that George I either speaks English well enough or is interested in government that he gets some very good interpreters and royal power remains undiminished. That in itself would seriously impede progress towards parliamentary supremacy.Most of these PODs would need to be before the English Civil War, with a few before the Hanoverian succession.
Not even Tsarist Russia?Maybe we should define absolutism: IMHO none of the pre-WW1 governments in Europe would be recognised as "absolutist" by someone from say 17th or 18th century.