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It's been on my mind for some time now and I would like to hear other people's thoughts on this subject:
Where do we draw the line between a political actor who is a puppet and one who isn't, between one who is a figurehead and one who isn't?
Lately there's been lots of research arguing the pre-Edo Japanese Emperor and the Sengoku ShÅgun were not puppets, because though they were not as powerful and their orders were not followed as much, they still had their own political responsibilities, their influence, and their orders were still sometimes followed. They were independent actors who influenced and were influenced by events, not just a robber stamp that would have had no effect if you took them out of the question.
Which is, I think, a fair stance to take.
But then what's the line to draw? What makes someone a puppet or a figurehead? Does he have to say yes to everything? Or just to 90% of the things?
What if he still perform important functions and make important decisions, but just that those functions are not legislative, judiciary, or bureaucratic, like the British Monarch?
What if he's saying yes because after close consideration he actually believes the proposal put forward by his chancellor/general/prime minister is a sound one? Is he then a puppet for saying yes to everything?