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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}} | {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}} | ||
{{Use British English|date=January 2016}} | {{Use British English|date=January 2016}} | ||
{{Systems of government}} | {{refimprove|date=February 2026}} | ||
{{Systems of government|upright=1.2}} | |||
{{Governance}} | {{Governance}} | ||
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A '''government''' is the system or group of people governing | A '''government''' is the system or group of people governing a [[country]] and its [[Administrative division|administrative divisions]] which is generally called as a [[State (polity)|state]] and as such the term is a [[Metonymy|metonym]] for it in governmental topics. | ||
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of [[legislature]], [[executive (government)|executive]], and [[judiciary]]. Government is a means by which organizational [[policies]] are enforced, as well as a mechanism for determining policy. In many countries, the government has a kind of [[constitution]], a statement of its governing principles and philosophy. | In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of [[legislature]], [[executive (government)|executive]], and [[judiciary]]. Government is a means by which organizational [[policies]] are enforced, as well as a mechanism for determining policy. In many countries, the government has a kind of [[constitution]], a statement of its governing principles and philosophy. | ||
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While all types of organizations have [[governance]], the term ''government'' is often used more specifically to refer to the approximately 200 [[list of sovereign states|independent national governments]] and [[government agency|subsidiary organizations]]. | While all types of organizations have [[governance]], the term ''government'' is often used more specifically to refer to the approximately 200 [[list of sovereign states|independent national governments]] and [[government agency|subsidiary organizations]]. | ||
The main types of modern [[political system]]s recognized are [[democracy|democracies]], [[totalitarian regime]]s, and, sitting between these two, [[authoritarianism|authoritarian regimes]] with a variety of [[hybrid regime]]s.<ref name="Dobratz 2015 p. 47">{{Cite book |last=Dobratz |first=B.A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RoK9CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA47 |title=Power, Politics, and Society: An Introduction to Political Sociology |date=2015 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-317-34529-9 |page=47 |access-date=Apr 30, 2023 |archive-date=30 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230430083243/https://books.google.com/books?id=RoK9CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA47 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="LinzLinz2000">{{Cite book |last=Linz |first=Juan José |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8cYk_ABfMJIC&pg=PA143 |title=Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes |date=2000 |publisher=Lynne Rienner Publisher |isbn=978-1-55587-890-0 | | The main types of modern [[political system]]s recognized are [[democracy|democracies]], [[totalitarian regime]]s, and, sitting between these two, [[authoritarianism|authoritarian regimes]] with a variety of [[hybrid regime]]s.<ref name="Dobratz 2015 p. 47">{{Cite book |last=Dobratz |first=B.A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RoK9CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA47 |title=Power, Politics, and Society: An Introduction to Political Sociology |date=2015 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-317-34529-9 |page=47 |access-date=Apr 30, 2023 |archive-date=30 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230430083243/https://books.google.com/books?id=RoK9CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA47 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="LinzLinz2000">{{Cite book |last=Linz |first=Juan José |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8cYk_ABfMJIC&pg=PA143 |title=Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes |date=2000 |publisher=Lynne Rienner Publisher |isbn=978-1-55587-890-0 |page=143 |oclc=1172052725 |author-link=Juan José Linz |access-date=20 October 2022 |archive-date=22 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422130238/https://books.google.com/books?id=8cYk_ABfMJIC&pg=PA143 |url-status=live }}</ref> Modern classification systems also include [[monarchy|monarchies]] as a standalone entity or as a hybrid system of the main three.<ref name="Garcia-AlexanderWooCarlson2017">{{Cite book |last1=Garcia-Alexander |first1=Ginny |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y-M8DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA137 |title=Social Foundations of Behavior for the Health Sciences |last2=Woo |first2=Hyeyoung |last3=Carlson |first3=Matthew J. |date=2017 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-64950-4 |pages=137– |oclc=1013825392}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=8 April 2016 |title=14.2 Types of Political Systems |url=https://opentextbooks.uregina.ca/sociology/chapter/14-2-types-of-political-systems/#:~:text=The%20major%20types%20of%20political,and%20instead%20rule%20through%20fear |access-date=20 October 2022 |archive-date=22 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221022061920/https://opentextbooks.uregina.ca/sociology/chapter/14-2-types-of-political-systems/#:~:text=The%20major%20types%20of%20political,and%20instead%20rule%20through%20fear }}</ref> Historically prevalent forms of government include monarchy, [[aristocracy]], [[timocracy]], [[oligarchy]], democracy, [[theocracy]], and [[tyrant|tyranny]]. These forms are not always mutually exclusive, and [[mixed government]]s are common. The main aspect of any philosophy of government is how political power is obtained, with the two main forms being [[election|electoral contest]] and [[order of succession|hereditary succession]]. | ||
==Definitions and etymology== | ==Definitions and etymology== | ||
A government is the [[system]] to [[governance|govern]] a [[state (polity)|state]] or community. The ''[[Cambridge Dictionary]]'' defines government as, "the system used for controlling a country, city, or group of people", or "an organization that officially manages and controls a country or region, creating laws, collecting taxes, providing public services".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/government|title=GOVERNMENT | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary}}</ref> While all types of organizations have | A government is the [[system]] to [[governance|govern]] a [[state (polity)|state]] or community. The ''[[Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary|Cambridge Dictionary]]'' defines government as, "the system used for controlling a country, city, or group of people", or "an organization that officially manages and controls a country or region, creating laws, collecting taxes, providing public services".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/government|title=GOVERNMENT | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary}}</ref> While all types of organizations have governance, the word ''government'' is often used more specifically to refer to the approximately 200 [[List of sovereign states|independent national governments]] on Earth, as well as their subsidiary organizations, such as [[State government|state and provincial governments]] as well as [[local government]]s.{{sfn|Smelser|Baltes|2001|p={{page needed|date=July 2022}}}} | ||
The word ''government'' derives from the Greek verb {{lang|grc|κυβερνάω}} [{{transliteration|grc|kubernáo}}] meaning ''to steer'' with a [[Gubernaculum (classical)|gubernaculum]] (rudder), the metaphorical sense being attested in the literature of [[classical antiquity]], including [[Plato]]'s [[Ship of State]].{{sfn|Brock|2013|p=53–62}} In [[British English]], "government" sometimes refers to what is also known as a "[[Ministry (collective executive)|ministry]]" or an "[[administration (government)|administration]]", i.e., the policies and government officials of a particular executive or governing [[Coalition government|coalition]]. Finally, ''government'' is also sometimes used in English as a [[synonym]] for rule or governance.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Government English Definition and Meaning |url=https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/government |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717193211/https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/government |archive-date=17 July 2022 |access-date=17 July 2022 |website=Lexico |language=en}}</ref> | |||
In other languages, [[cognate]]s may have a narrower scope, such as the [[government of Portugal]], which is more similar to the concept of [[Administration (government)|"administration"]]. | In other languages, [[cognate]]s may have a narrower scope, such as the [[government of Portugal]], which is more similar to the concept of [[Administration (government)|"administration"]]. | ||
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The moment and place that the phenomenon of human government developed is lost in time; however, history does record the formations of early governments. About 5,000 years ago, the first small city-states appeared.{{sfn|Christian|2004|p=245}} By the third to second millenniums BC, some of these had developed into larger governed areas: [[Sumer]], [[ancient Egypt]], the [[Indus Valley civilization]], and the [[List of Neolithic cultures of China|Yellow River civilization]].{{sfn|Christian|2004|p=294}} | The moment and place that the phenomenon of human government developed is lost in time; however, history does record the formations of early governments. About 5,000 years ago, the first small city-states appeared.{{sfn|Christian|2004|p=245}} By the third to second millenniums BC, some of these had developed into larger governed areas: [[Sumer]], [[ancient Egypt]], the [[Indus Valley civilization]], and the [[List of Neolithic cultures of China|Yellow River civilization]].{{sfn|Christian|2004|p=294}} | ||
One reason that explains the emergence of governments includes agriculture. Since the [[Neolithic Revolution]], agriculture has been an efficient method to create food surplus. This enabled people to specialize in non-agricultural activities. Some of them included being able to rule over others as an external authority. Others included social experimentation with diverse governance models. Both these activities formed the basis of governments.<ref name="Eagly99">{{cite journal |author1=Eagly, Alice H. |author2=Wood, Wendy |date=June 1999 |title=The Origins of Sex Differences in Human Behavior: Evolved Dispositions Versus Social Roles |url=http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/anthro/faculty/fiske/facets/eagly | One reason that explains the emergence of governments includes agriculture. Since the [[Neolithic Revolution]], agriculture has been an efficient method to create food surplus. This enabled people to specialize in non-agricultural activities. Some of them included being able to rule over others as an external authority. Others included social experimentation with diverse governance models. Both these activities formed the basis of governments.<ref name="Eagly99">{{cite journal |author1=Eagly, Alice H. |author2=Wood, Wendy |date=June 1999 |title=The Origins of Sex Differences in Human Behavior: Evolved Dispositions Versus Social Roles |url=http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/anthro/faculty/fiske/facets/eagly%26wood.htm |journal=American Psychologist |volume=54 |issue=6 |pages=408–423 |doi=10.1037/0003-066x.54.6.408 |bibcode=1999AmPsy..54..408E |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000817071347/http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/anthro/faculty/fiske/facets/eagly%26wood.htm |archive-date=17 August 2000 |url-access=subscription |access-date=1 September 2023 }}</ref> These governments gradually became more complex as agriculture supported larger and denser populations, creating new [[Culture|interactions]] and [[Social issue|social pressures]] that the government needed to control. [[David Christian (historian)|David Christian]] explains | ||
{{blockquote|As farming populations gathered in larger and denser communities, interactions between different groups increased and the social pressure rose until, in a striking parallel with star formation, new structures suddenly appeared, together with a new level of complexity. Like stars, cities and states reorganize and energize the smaller objects within their gravitational field.{{sfn|Christian|2004|p=245}}}} | {{blockquote|As farming populations gathered in larger and denser communities, interactions between different groups increased and the social pressure rose until, in a striking parallel with star formation, new structures suddenly appeared, together with a new level of complexity. Like stars, cities and states reorganize and energize the smaller objects within their gravitational field.{{sfn|Christian|2004|p=245}}}} | ||
Another explanation includes the need to properly manage infrastructure projects such as water infrastructure. Historically, this required centralized administration and complex social organisation, as seen in regions like Mesopotamia.<ref name="Fukuyama-2012">{{Cite book |last=Fukuyama |first=Francis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i9xRAQAAMAAJ&q=origins+of+political+order+amazon |title=The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution |date=2012-03-27 |publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux |isbn=978-0-374-53322-9 | | Another explanation includes the need to properly manage infrastructure projects such as water infrastructure. Historically, this required centralized administration and complex social organisation, as seen in regions like Mesopotamia.<ref name="Fukuyama-2012">{{Cite book |last=Fukuyama |first=Francis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i9xRAQAAMAAJ&q=origins+of+political+order+amazon |title=The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution |date=2012-03-27 |publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux |isbn=978-0-374-53322-9 |page=70 |language=en}}</ref> However, there is archaeological evidence that shows similar successes with more egalitarian and decentralized complex societies.<ref>{{cite book |author=Roosevelt, Anna C. |title=Cambridge history of the Native peoples of the Americas: South America, Volume 3 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-521-63075-7 |editor=Salomon, Frank |pages=266–267 |chapter=The Maritime, Highland, Forest Dynamic and the Origins of Complex Culture |editor2=Schwartz, Stuart B. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hxqgDcCrzjkC&pg=PA266 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624045250/https://books.google.com/books?id=hxqgDcCrzjkC&pg=PA266 |archive-date=24 June 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> | ||
=== Modern governments === | === Modern governments === | ||
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In political science, it has long been a goal to create a typology or taxonomy of [[polities]], as typologies of political systems are not obvious.{{sfn|Lewellen|2003|p={{page needed|date=July 2022}}}} It is especially important in the [[political science]] fields of [[comparative politics]] and [[international relations]]. Like all categories discerned within forms of government, the boundaries of government classifications are either fluid or ill-defined. | In political science, it has long been a goal to create a typology or taxonomy of [[polities]], as typologies of political systems are not obvious.{{sfn|Lewellen|2003|p={{page needed|date=July 2022}}}} It is especially important in the [[political science]] fields of [[comparative politics]] and [[international relations]]. Like all categories discerned within forms of government, the boundaries of government classifications are either fluid or ill-defined. | ||
Superficially, all governments have an official ''[[de jure]]'' or ideal form. The United States is a federal constitutional republic, while the former [[Soviet Union]] was a federal [[Socialist state|socialist republic]]. However, self-identification is not objective, and as Kopstein and Lichbach argue, defining | Superficially, all governments have an official ''[[de jure]]'' or ideal form. The United States is a federal constitutional republic, while the former [[Soviet Union]] was a federal [[Socialist state|socialist republic]]. However, self-identification is not objective, and as Kopstein and Lichbach argue, defining [[regime]]s can be tricky, especially ''[[de facto]]'', when both its government and its economy deviate in practice.{{sfn|Kopstein|Lichbach|2005|p=4}} For example, [[Voltaire]] argued that "the [[Holy Roman Empire]] is neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire".{{sfn|Renna|2015}} In practice, the Soviet Union was a centralized autocratic one-party state under [[Joseph Stalin]]. | ||
Identifying a form of government can be challenging because many [[political system]]s originate from socio-economic movements, and the parties that carry those movements into power often name themselves after those ideologies. These parties may have competing political ideologies and strong ties to particular forms of government. As a result, the movements themselves can sometimes be mistakenly considered as forms of government, rather than the ideologies that influence the governing system.<ref>Hague, R., & Harrop, M. (2013). Comparative government and politics: An introduction (9th ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.</ref> | Identifying a form of government can be challenging because many [[political system]]s originate from socio-economic movements, and the parties that carry those movements into power often name themselves after those ideologies. These parties may have competing political ideologies and strong ties to particular forms of government. As a result, the movements themselves can sometimes be mistakenly considered as forms of government, rather than the ideologies that influence the governing system.<ref>Hague, R., & Harrop, M. (2013). Comparative government and politics: An introduction (9th ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.</ref> | ||
Other complications include general non-consensus or deliberate "[[Disinformation|distortion or bias]]" of reasonable technical definitions of political ideologies and associated forms of governing, due to the nature of politics in the modern era. For example: The meaning of "conservatism" in the United States has little in common with the way the word's definition is used elsewhere. As Ribuffo notes, "what Americans now call conservatism much of the world calls liberalism or [[neoliberalism]]"; a "conservative" in Finland would be | Other complications include general non-consensus or deliberate "[[Disinformation|distortion or bias]]" of reasonable technical definitions of political ideologies and associated forms of governing, due to the nature of politics in the modern era. For example: The meaning of "conservatism" in the United States has little in common with the way the word's definition is used elsewhere. As Ribuffo notes, "what Americans now call conservatism much of the world calls liberalism or [[neoliberalism]]"; a "conservative" in Finland would be labelled a "[[socialist]]" in the United States.{{sfn|Ribuffo|2011|pp=2–6|loc=quote on p. 6}} Since the 1950s, conservatism in the United States has been chiefly associated with [[right-wing politics]] and the [[History of the Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]]. However, during the era of [[Racial segregation in the United States|segregation]] many [[Southern Democrats]] were conservatives, and they played a key role in the [[conservative coalition]] that controlled Congress from 1937 to 1963.{{sfn|Frederickson|2000|p=12}}{{efn|{{harvnb|Frederickson|2000|p=12}}, quote: "...conservative southern Democrats viewed warily the potential of New Deal programs to threaten the region's economic dependence on cheap labor while stirring the democratic ambitions of the disfranchised and undermining white supremacy."}} | ||
===Social-political ambiguity=== | ===Social-political ambiguity=== | ||
Opinions vary by individuals concerning the types and properties of governments that exist. "Shades of gray" are commonplace in any government and its corresponding classification. Even the most liberal democracies limit rival political activity to one extent or another while the most tyrannical dictatorships must organize a broad base of support thereby creating difficulties for "[[pigeonholing]]" governments into narrow categories. Examples include the claims of the [[Plutocracy#United States|United States as being a plutocracy]] rather than a democracy since some American voters believe elections are being manipulated by wealthy [[Super PACs]].{{sfn|Freeland|2012}} Some consider that government is to be reconceptualised where in times of climatic change the needs and desires of the individual are reshaped to generate sufficiency for all.<ref>"[http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:839526/FULLTEXT01.pdf Governing the "Enough" in a Warming World The Discourse of "Sufficiency" from a Climate Governmentality Perspective]". Deflorian, Michel (2015). Retrieved 2 October 2023</ref> | Opinions vary by individuals concerning the types and properties of governments that exist. "Shades of gray" are commonplace in any government and its corresponding classification. Even the most liberal democracies limit rival political activity to one extent or another while the most tyrannical dictatorships must organize a broad base of support thereby creating difficulties for "[[pigeonholing]]" governments into narrow categories. Examples include the claims of the [[Plutocracy#United States|United States as being a plutocracy]] rather than a democracy since some American voters believe elections are being manipulated by wealthy [[Super PACs]].{{sfn|Freeland|2012}} Some consider that government is to be reconceptualised where in times of climatic change the needs and desires of the individual are reshaped to generate sufficiency for all.<ref>"[http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:839526/FULLTEXT01.pdf Governing the "Enough" in a Warming World The Discourse of "Sufficiency" from a Climate Governmentality Perspective]". Deflorian, Michel (2015). Retrieved 2 October 2023.</ref> | ||
==Measurement of governing== | ==Measurement of governing== | ||
The quality of a government can be measured by [[Government effectiveness index]], which relates to [[political efficacy]] and [[state capacity]].<ref name=Guisan>{{cite journal |last1=Guisan |first1=Maria-Carmen |title=Government effectiveness, education, economic development and well-being: analysis of European countries in comparison with the United States and Canada, 2000-2007 |journal=Applied Econometrics and International Development |date=2009 |volume=9 |issue=1 |page=1 |url=http://www.usc.es/economet/reviews/aeid914.pdf |access-date=25 April 2019}}</ref> | The quality of a government can be measured by [[Government effectiveness index]], which relates to [[political efficacy]] and [[state capacity]].<ref name=Guisan>{{cite journal |last1=Guisan |first1=Maria-Carmen |title=Government effectiveness, education, economic development and well-being: analysis of European countries in comparison with the United States and Canada, 2000-2007 |journal=Applied Econometrics and International Development |date=2009 |volume=9 |issue=1 |page=1 |url=http://www.usc.es/economet/reviews/aeid914.pdf |access-date=25 April 2019}}</ref> The [[political bias]] of a government can be measured relative to the [[median voter theorem|median voter]].<ref name="m117">{{cite journal | last1=Turnbull | first1=Geoffrey K. | last2=Mitias | first2=Peter M. | title=The median voter model across levels of government | journal=Public Choice | volume=99 | issue=1-2 | date=1999 | issn=0048-5829 | doi=10.1023/A:1018364416730 | pages=119–138 | url=https://link.springer.com/10.1023/A:1018364416730 | access-date=2026-03-15| url-access=subscription }}</ref> The [[fiscal sustainability]] of a government measures the [[sustainability]] of [[Fiscal policy|fiscal policies]], [[government budget balance]]s and the [[fiscal gap]] in the long-term.<ref name = "Bohn Sustainability of Fiscal Policy">{{cite book |doi=10.7551/mitpress/7756.003.0003 |ssrn=708173 |id={{CORE output|6408927}} |chapter=The Sustainability of Fiscal Policy in the United States |title=Sustainability of Public Debt |date=2008 |last1=Bohn |first1=Henning |pages=15–50 |isbn=978-0-262-28049-5 |url=https://www.cesifo.org/DocDL/cesifo1_wp1446.pdf }}</ref> For some countries the current government budget balances and [[unfunded mandate]]s were found unsustainable.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Beqiraj |first1=Elton |last2=Fedeli |first2=Silvia |last3=Forte |first3=Francesco |title=Public debt sustainability: An empirical study on OECD countries |journal=Journal of Macroeconomics |date=December 2018 |volume=58 |pages=238–248 |doi=10.1016/j.jmacro.2018.10.002 |hdl=11573/1195132 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> | ||
==Forms== | ==Forms== | ||
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[[Plato]] in his book ''[[Republic (Plato)|The Republic]]'' (375 BC) divided governments into five basic types (four being existing forms and one being Plato's ideal form, which exists "only in speech"):<ref name="Abjorensen2019">{{Cite book |last=Abjorensen |first=Norman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cNSSDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA288 |title=Historical Dictionary of Democracy |date=2019 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |isbn=978-1-5381-2074-3 |pages=288– |oclc=1081354236}}</ref> | [[Plato]] in his book ''[[Republic (Plato)|The Republic]]'' (375 BC) divided governments into five basic types (four being existing forms and one being Plato's ideal form, which exists "only in speech"):<ref name="Abjorensen2019">{{Cite book |last=Abjorensen |first=Norman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cNSSDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA288 |title=Historical Dictionary of Democracy |date=2019 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |isbn=978-1-5381-2074-3 |pages=288– |oclc=1081354236}}</ref> | ||
* [[Aristocracy]] (rule by [[ | * [[Aristocracy]] (rule by [[Rule of law|law and order]], like ideal traditional "benevolent" kingdoms that are not tyrannical) | ||
* [[Timocracy]] (rule by honor and duty, like a "benevolent" military; Sparta as an example) | |||
* [[Oligarchy]] (rule by wealth and market-based-ethics, like a [[laissez-faire]] capitalist state) | |||
* [[Democracy]] (rule by pure [[liberty]] and [[Social equality|equality]], like a [[freedom|free]] citizen) | * [[Democracy]] (rule by pure [[liberty]] and [[Social equality|equality]], like a [[freedom|free]] citizen) | ||
* [[Tyrant|Tyranny]] ([[rule by fear]], like a [[Despotism|despot]]) | * [[Tyrant|Tyranny]] ([[rule by fear]], like a [[Despotism|despot]]) | ||
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===Modern basic political systems=== | ===Modern basic political systems=== | ||
According to [[Yale]] professor [[Juan José Linz]], there a three main types of [[political system]]s today: [[democracy|democracies]], | According to [[Yale]] professor [[Juan José Linz]], there a three main types of [[political system]]s today: [[democracy|democracies]], | ||
[[totalitarian regime]]s and, sitting between these two, [[authoritarianism|authoritarian regimes]] with [[hybrid regime]]s.<ref name="LinzLinz2000" /><ref name="Michie2014">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ip_IAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA95 |title=Reader's Guide to the Social Sciences |date=3 February 2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-93226-8 |editor-last=Jonathan Michie |page=95 |access-date=20 October 2022 |archive-date=22 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422130238/https://books.google.com/books?id=ip_IAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA95 |url-status=live }}</ref> Another modern classification system includes [[monarchies]] as a standalone entity or as a hybrid system of the main three.<ref name="Garcia-AlexanderWooCarlson2017" /> Scholars generally refer to a [[dictatorship]] as either a form of authoritarianism or totalitarianism.<ref name="ToddWaller2015">{{Cite book |last1=Todd |first1=Allan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y_pfCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA10 |title=History for the IB Diploma Paper 2 AuthoritariaAuthoritarian States (20th Century) |last2=Waller |first2=Sally |date=10 September 2015 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-55889-2 |editor-last=Todd |editor-first=Allan |pages=10– |editor-last2=Waller |editor-first2=Sally |access-date=20 October 2022 |archive-date=22 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422130238/https://books.google.com/books?id=y_pfCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA10 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="LinzLinz2000" /><ref name="Sondrol">{{Cite journal |last=Sondrol |first=P. C. |date=2009 |title=Totalitarian and Authoritarian Dictators: A Comparison of Fidel Castro and Alfredo Stroessner | [[totalitarian regime]]s and, sitting between these two, [[authoritarianism|authoritarian regimes]] with [[hybrid regime]]s.<ref name="LinzLinz2000" /><ref name="Michie2014">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ip_IAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA95 |title=Reader's Guide to the Social Sciences |date=3 February 2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-93226-8 |editor-last=Jonathan Michie |page=95 |access-date=20 October 2022 |archive-date=22 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422130238/https://books.google.com/books?id=ip_IAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA95 |url-status=live }}</ref> Another modern classification system includes [[monarchies]] as a standalone entity or as a hybrid system of the main three.<ref name="Garcia-AlexanderWooCarlson2017" /> Scholars generally refer to a [[dictatorship]] as either a form of authoritarianism or totalitarianism.<ref name="ToddWaller2015">{{Cite book |last1=Todd |first1=Allan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y_pfCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA10 |title=History for the IB Diploma Paper 2 AuthoritariaAuthoritarian States (20th Century) |last2=Waller |first2=Sally |date=10 September 2015 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-55889-2 |editor-last=Todd |editor-first=Allan |pages=10– |editor-last2=Waller |editor-first2=Sally |access-date=20 October 2022 |archive-date=22 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422130238/https://books.google.com/books?id=y_pfCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA10 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="LinzLinz2000" /><ref name="Sondrol">{{Cite journal |last=Sondrol |first=P. C. |date=2009 |title=Totalitarian and Authoritarian Dictators: A Comparison of Fidel Castro and Alfredo Stroessner |journal=Journal of Latin American Studies |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=599–620 |doi=10.1017/S0022216X00015868 |jstor=157386 |s2cid=144333167 |issn=0022-216X }}</ref> | ||
===Autocracy=== | ===Autocracy=== | ||
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Presently, most governments are administered by members of an explicitly constituted [[political party]] which coordinates the activities of associated government [[official]]s and [[candidate]]s for office. In a [[multiparty system]] of government, multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government offices, typically by competing in [[election]]s, although the [[effective number of parties]] may be limited. | Presently, most governments are administered by members of an explicitly constituted [[political party]] which coordinates the activities of associated government [[official]]s and [[candidate]]s for office. In a [[multiparty system]] of government, multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government offices, typically by competing in [[election]]s, although the [[effective number of parties]] may be limited. | ||
A [[majority government]] is a government by one or more [[ | A [[majority government]] is a government by one or more [[governing parties]] together holding an absolute majority of seats in the parliament, in contrast to a [[minority government]] in which they have only a plurality of seats and often depend on a [[confidence-and-supply]] arrangement with other parties. A [[coalition government]] is one in which multiple parties cooperate to form a government as part of a [[coalition agreement]]. In a single-party government, a single party forms a government without the support of a coalition, as is typically the case with majority governments,{{sfn|Gallagher|Laver|Mair|2006}}{{sfn|Kettle|2015}} but even a minority government may consist of just one party unable to find a willing coalition partner at the moment.{{sfn|Duxbury|2021}} | ||
A state that continuously maintains a single-party government within a (nominally) multiparty system possesses a [[dominant-party system]]. In a (nondemocratic) [[one-party system]] a single [[ruling party]] has the (more-or-less) exclusive right to form the government, and the formation of other parties may be obstructed or illegal. In some cases, a government may have a [[ | A state that continuously maintains a single-party government within a (nominally) multiparty system possesses a [[dominant-party system]]. In a (nondemocratic) [[one-party system]] a single [[ruling party]] has the (more-or-less) exclusive right to form the government, and the formation of other parties may be obstructed or illegal. In some cases, a government may have a [[non-partisan system]], as is the case with [[absolute monarchy]] or [[non-partisan democracy]]. | ||
== Maps == | == Maps == | ||
{{see also|List of countries by system of government}} | {{see also|List of countries by system of government}} | ||
Democracy is the most popular form of government. More than half of the nations in the world are democracies—97 of 167, as of 2021.<ref name=IDEA/> However, the world is becoming more authoritarian with a quarter of the world's population under [[Democratic backsliding|democratically backsliding]] governments.<ref name="IDEA">[https://www.idea.int/gsod/sites/default/files/2021-11/the-global-state-of-democracy-2021_0.pdf The Global State of Democracy 2021] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809193024/https://www.idea.int/gsod/sites/default/files/2021-11/the-global-state-of-democracy-2021_0.pdf |date=9 August 2022 }}, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance</ref> | Democracy is the most popular form of government. More than half of the nations in the world are democracies—97 of 167, as of 2021.<ref name=IDEA/> However, the world is becoming more authoritarian with a quarter of the world's population under [[Democratic backsliding|democratically backsliding]] governments.<ref name="IDEA">[https://www.idea.int/gsod/sites/default/files/2021-11/the-global-state-of-democracy-2021_0.pdf The Global State of Democracy 2021] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809193024/https://www.idea.int/gsod/sites/default/files/2021-11/the-global-state-of-democracy-2021_0.pdf|date=9 August 2022}}, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance.</ref> | ||
[[File:EIU Democracy Index 2017.svg|left|upright=2.75|thumb|[[Democracy Index]] by the [[Economist Intelligence Unit]], 2017<ref>{{Cite web |title=Democracy Index 2017 – Economist Intelligence Unit |url=http://pages.eiu.com/rs/753-RIQ-438/images/Democracy_Index_2017.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221004840/http://pages.eiu.com/rs/753-RIQ-438/images/Democracy_Index_2017.pdf |archive-date=21 December 2020 |access-date=17 February 2018 |website=EIU.com}}</ref> | [[File:EIU Democracy Index 2017.svg|left|upright=2.75|thumb|[[Democracy Index]] by the [[Economist Intelligence Unit]], 2017<ref>{{Cite web |title=Democracy Index 2017 – Economist Intelligence Unit |url=http://pages.eiu.com/rs/753-RIQ-438/images/Democracy_Index_2017.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221004840/http://pages.eiu.com/rs/753-RIQ-438/images/Democracy_Index_2017.pdf |archive-date=21 December 2020 |access-date=17 February 2018 |website=EIU.com}}</ref> | ||
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{{legend|#00e000|[[Federations]]}}]] | {{legend|#00e000|[[Federations]]}}]] | ||
{{Clear}} | {{Clear}} | ||
== Public administration == | |||
{{main|Public administration}} | |||
[[File:People at Tax Office 1945 (8335C; JOKAHBL3C F10-1).tif|thumb|300px|Tax office in [[Finland]], 1945]] | |||
[[File:Primeiro Ofício de Registro Civil de Santo André.jpg|thumb|300px|1st [[vital records|Vital Records]] Office of [[Santo André, São Paulo]], [[Brazil]], 2019]] | |||
[[Governmental property]], [[state-owned enterprise]]s, [[public services]], [[civil servants]] and employees of the government together compose the [[public sector]] of the economy. In modern [[Developed country|developed countries]], public services (or services of general interest) often include:<ref>{{Cite web|date=2012-07-09|title=Services of general interest|url=https://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/policies/policy-areas/services-general-interest|access-date=2020-06-16|website=European Economic and Social Committee|language=en}}</ref> | |||
{{div col|colwidth=30em}} | |||
* [[Court|Courts]] | |||
* [[Education]] | |||
* [[Electricity]] | |||
* [[Emergency service|Emergency services]] | |||
* [[Environmental protection]] | |||
* [[Health care]] | |||
* [[Mail]] | |||
* [[Military]] | |||
*[[Policing]] | |||
* [[Building|Public buildings]] | |||
* [[Public broadcasting]] | |||
* [[Public library|Public libraries]] | |||
* [[Urban park|Public parks]] | |||
* [[Public utility|Public utilities]] | |||
* [[Public transport|Public transportation]] | |||
* [[Social services]] | |||
* [[State school]] | |||
* [[Telecommunications]] | |||
* [[Transportation infrastructure]] | |||
* [[Urban planning]] | |||
* [[Waste management]] | |||
* [[Water supply network]] | |||
{{div col end}} | |||
In [[developing country|developing countries]], public services tend to be much less well developed.{{cn|date=July 2025}} For example, water services might only be available to the [[wealth]]y [[middle class]]. For political reasons, the service is often [[Subsidy|subsidized]], which reduces the finance potentially available for expansion to poorer communities.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}} The United Nations [[Sustainable Development Goal 5]] is a global initiative that aims to influence the provision of public services and infrastructure to marginalized demographics.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender equality|url=https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/women-and-the-sdgs/sdg-5-gender-equality|access-date=2020-09-23|website=UN Women|language=en|archive-date=26 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126102330/https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/women-and-the-sdgs/sdg-5-gender-equality}}</ref> | |||
The mid-twentieth century saw the rise of German [[Sociology|sociologist]] [[Max Weber]]'s theory of [[bureaucracy]], bringing about a substantive interest in the theoretical aspects of public administration. | |||
==Public policy== | |||
{{main|Public policy}} | |||
[[File:Government-spending-by-function.png|thumb|upright=1.3|Government spending composition by country (2023)<ref name="v504"/>]] | |||
Public policy can be considered the sum of a government's direct and indirect activities.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Peters |first1=B. Guy |title=American Public Policy: Promise and Performance |date=2018 |publisher=CQ Press |isbn=978-1-5063-9957-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pBxcDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT15 |language=en |access-date=22 October 2022 |archive-date=27 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230127124342/https://books.google.com/books?id=pBxcDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT15 |url-status=live }}</ref> It includes various aspects of life such as education, health care, employment, finance, economics, transportation, and all over elements of society.<ref>Hoffman-Miller, Patricia. "Public Policy". ''Salem Press Encyclopedia'', 2022.</ref> Public policy making can be characterized as a dynamic, complex, and interactive system through which public problems are identified and resolved through the creation of new policy or reform of existing policy.<ref name="Analysing Public Policy">{{cite book|last=John|first=Peter|title=Analysing Public Policy|year=1998|publisher=Continuum}}</ref> [[Government spending]] includes [[social protection]], [[publicly funded health care]], [[Public service|general public services]], education, economic affairs, [[public security]], defense, recreation and culture.<ref name="v504">{{cite journal | last1=Ortiz-Ospina | first1=Esteban | last2=Rohenkohl | first2=Bertha | last3=Arriagada | first3=Pablo | last4=Roser | first4=Max | title=Government Spending | journal=Our World in Data | date=2016 | url=https://ourworldindata.org/government-spending | access-date=2026-05-10 | page=}}</ref> The [[government budget balance]] affects the [[government bond]] yields.<ref name="l377">{{cite journal | last1=Ciżkowicz | first1=Piotr | last2=Ledóchowski | first2=Michał | last3=Rzońca | first3=Andrzej | title=Fiscal policy and government bond yields: New evidence from the EU | journal=Economic Modelling | volume=147 | date=2025 | doi=10.1016/j.econmod.2025.107054 | article-number=107054 | url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0264999325000495 | access-date=2026-05-19| url-access=subscription }}</ref> | |||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
| Line 183: | Line 223: | ||
{{columnslist|colwidth=20em| | {{columnslist|colwidth=20em| | ||
* [[List of forms of government]] | * [[List of forms of government]] | ||
* [[Cabinet crisis]] | |||
* [[Central government]] | * [[Central government]] | ||
* [[Civics]] | * [[Civics]] | ||
| Line 218: | Line 259: | ||
* {{Cite book |last=Frederickson |first=Kari |title=The Dixiecrat Revolt and the End of the Solid South, 1932–1968 |date=2000 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |isbn=978-0-8078-4910-1 |location=Chapel Hill |oclc=475254808}} | * {{Cite book |last=Frederickson |first=Kari |title=The Dixiecrat Revolt and the End of the Solid South, 1932–1968 |date=2000 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |isbn=978-0-8078-4910-1 |location=Chapel Hill |oclc=475254808}} | ||
* {{Cite book |last=Freeland |first=Chrystia |title=Plutocrats: the Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else |title-link=Plutocrats (book) |date=2012 |publisher=Allen Lane |isbn=978-1-84614-252-9 |location=London |oclc=795857028 |author-link=Chrystia Freeland}} | * {{Cite book |last=Freeland |first=Chrystia |title=Plutocrats: the Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else |title-link=Plutocrats (book) |date=2012 |publisher=Allen Lane |isbn=978-1-84614-252-9 |location=London |oclc=795857028 |author-link=Chrystia Freeland}} | ||
* {{Cite book |last1=Gallagher |first1=Michael |title=Representative Government in Western Europe |last2=Laver |first2=M. |last3=Mair |first3=P. |date=2006 |publisher=McGraw-Hill |isbn=978- | * {{Cite book |last1=Gallagher |first1=Michael |title=Representative Government in Western Europe |last2=Laver |first2=M. |last3=Mair |first3=P. |date=2006 |publisher=McGraw-Hill |isbn=978-0-07-036684-8 |edition=4th |location=New York |oclc=906939909}} | ||
* {{Cite book |last=Haider-Markel |first=Donald P. |title=The Oxford Handbook of State and Local Government |date=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-957967-9 |location=Oxford, UK |oclc=904484428}} | * {{Cite book |last=Haider-Markel |first=Donald P. |title=The Oxford Handbook of State and Local Government |date=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-957967-9 |location=Oxford, UK |oclc=904484428}} | ||
* {{Cite news |last=Kettle |first=Martin |date=17 April 2015 |title=Coalition and minority governments are not so unusual in UK elections; The first-past-the-post system has led to fewer one-party majority governments in Britain than might be expected -- only half of all those in the 20th century |work=Guardian |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A410102999/ITOF?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=fe0349d5 |url-status=live |access-date=2022-07-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730081416/https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&u=wikipedia&id=GALE%7CA410102999&v=2.1&it=r&sid=bookmark-ITOF&asid=fe0349d5 |archive-date=30 July 2022 |via=Gale General OneFile }} | * {{Cite news |last=Kettle |first=Martin |date=17 April 2015 |title=Coalition and minority governments are not so unusual in UK elections; The first-past-the-post system has led to fewer one-party majority governments in Britain than might be expected -- only half of all those in the 20th century |work=Guardian |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A410102999/ITOF?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=fe0349d5 |url-status=live |access-date=2022-07-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730081416/https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&u=wikipedia&id=GALE%7CA410102999&v=2.1&it=r&sid=bookmark-ITOF&asid=fe0349d5 |archive-date=30 July 2022 |via=Gale General OneFile }} | ||
* {{Cite book |title=Comparative politics: interests, identities, and institutions in a changing global order |date=2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn= | * {{Cite book |title=Comparative politics: interests, identities, and institutions in a changing global order |date=2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-70840-0 |editor-last=Kopstein |editor-first=Jeffrey |edition=2nd |location=Cambridge, UK |oclc=1293165230 |editor-last2=Lichbach |editor-first2=Mark}} | ||
* {{Cite book |title=The Social Science Encyclopedia |date=2008 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-47635-5 |editor-last=Kuper |editor-first=Adam |location=London |oclc=789658928 |editor-last2=Kuper |editor-first2=Jessica}} | * {{Cite book |title=The Social Science Encyclopedia |date=2008 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-47635-5 |editor-last=Kuper |editor-first=Adam |location=London |oclc=789658928 |editor-last2=Kuper |editor-first2=Jessica}} | ||
* {{Cite book |last=Lewellen |first=Ted C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gwJBNWbrXeIC |title=Political Anthropology: An Introduction |date=2003 |publisher=Praeger |isbn=978-0-89789-891-1 |edition=3rd |location=Westport, CT |oclc=936497371 |access-date=20 May 2020 |archive-date=9 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109175725/https://books.google.com/books?id=gwJBNWbrXeIC |url-status=live }} | * {{Cite book |last=Lewellen |first=Ted C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gwJBNWbrXeIC |title=Political Anthropology: An Introduction |date=2003 |publisher=Praeger |isbn=978-0-89789-891-1 |edition=3rd |location=Westport, CT |oclc=936497371 |access-date=20 May 2020 |archive-date=9 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109175725/https://books.google.com/books?id=gwJBNWbrXeIC |url-status=live }} | ||
| Line 232: | Line 273: | ||
== Further reading == | == Further reading == | ||
* {{Cite book |last1=de Mesquita |first1=Bruce Bueno |title=The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior Is Almost Always Good Politics |last2=Smith |first2=Alastair |date=2012 |publisher=[[PublicAffairs]] |isbn=978- | * {{Cite book |last1=de Mesquita |first1=Bruce Bueno |title=The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior Is Almost Always Good Politics |last2=Smith |first2=Alastair |date=2012 |publisher=[[PublicAffairs]] |isbn=978-1-61039-044-6 |location=New York |oclc=1026803822 |author-link=Bruce Bueno de Mesquita}} | ||
* {{Cite book |last1=de Mesquita |first1=Bruce Bueno |title=The Logic of Political Survival |title-link=The Logic of Political Survival |last2=Smith |first2=Alastair |last3=Siverson |first3=Randolph M. |last4=Morrow |first4=James D. |date=2003 |publisher=[[MIT Press]] |isbn=978- | * {{Cite book |last1=de Mesquita |first1=Bruce Bueno |title=The Logic of Political Survival |title-link=The Logic of Political Survival |last2=Smith |first2=Alastair |last3=Siverson |first3=Randolph M. |last4=Morrow |first4=James D. |date=2003 |publisher=[[MIT Press]] |isbn=978-0-262-02546-1 |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |oclc=475265120 |author-link=Bruce Bueno de Mesquita |author-link4=James D. Morrow}} | ||
* {{Cite book |last=Dobson |first=William J. |title=The Dictator's Learning Curve: Inside the Global Battle for Democracy |date=2013 |publisher=Anchor |isbn=978- | * {{Cite book |last=Dobson |first=William J. |title=The Dictator's Learning Curve: Inside the Global Battle for Democracy |date=2013 |publisher=Anchor |isbn=978-0-307-47755-2 |location=New York |oclc=849820048 |author-link=William J. Dobson}} | ||
* {{Cite book |last1=Friedrich |first1=Carl J. |url=https://archive.org/details/totalitariandict0000frie |title=Totalitarian Dictatorship and Autocracy |last2=Brzezinski |first2=Zbigniew K. |date=1966 |publisher=Frederick A. Praeger |isbn=978- | * {{Cite book |last1=Friedrich |first1=Carl J. |url=https://archive.org/details/totalitariandict0000frie |title=Totalitarian Dictatorship and Autocracy |last2=Brzezinski |first2=Zbigniew K. |date=1966 |publisher=Frederick A. Praeger |isbn=978-0-674-89565-2 |edition=2nd |location=New York |oclc=826626632 |author-link2=Zbigniew Brzezinski |orig-date=1965 |url-access=registration}} | ||
* {{Cite book |last=Krader |first=Lawrence |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rIyZAAAAIAAJ |title=Formation of the State |date=1968 |publisher=Prentice-Hall |isbn= | * {{Cite book |last=Krader |first=Lawrence |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rIyZAAAAIAAJ |title=Formation of the State |date=1968 |publisher=Prentice-Hall |isbn=0-13-329490-0 |series=Foundations of Modern Anthropology |location=Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey |oclc=266086412}} | ||
{{Navboxes | {{Navboxes | ||