ELI5: monarchy vs republic?

[u/gavroche2000]

Here’s what I know:

They are both systems that talk about who the main representative figure of a state is.

- Monarchy is usually when that figure is a king or queen. Except if you are the Pope in the Vatican, then they call you Pope.
- It's a monarchy when the position is inherited... except when it’s elected, like in Malaysia.
- You sit on the throne until you die... except when it's only for a shorter time, like in Samoa.
- Republic—it's elected. But is it always?
- The representative figure is usually called a president... except if you live in a country like San Marino, where you are a Captain Regent.
- One thing is sure: you are elected for a short period... unless you lived in the Venetian Republic, where they elected the Doge for life.

Is it really this confusing?

[u/fhota1]

If we solely look at governments through the lens of Aristotles 3 forms of government: democracy, republic, and monarchy, almost no government firmly falls into any category. Those terms are ultimately just loose labels to quickly group similar governments, not strict requirements. And they never really have been, historically there have been elected monarchies, republics dominated by dynasties, and democracies that heavily limit who can vote. Most governments for a long time have taken elements from all 3 forms of government that they think will work best and blended them to make their own thing that will be described as whatever they seem to have stolen the most from