Published in 1651, Leviathan examines where kings get their authority to rule and what they must, in turn, do for their people. Hobbes argues that kings do not have a divine right to hold power; they must earn it by keeping a "social contract" with those they rule over and protect. Hobbes wrote Leviathan while exiled from England after the civil war that unseated King Charles I. Following England's radical rejection of its monarchy, Hobbes wanted to explain why society needs a strong state and justify allegiance to a central government. Without it, he argued, there is no order and "the war of all against all" will follow.