(Wikipedia) source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_forms_of_government
This article lists forms of government and political systems, according to a series of different ways of categorizing them. The systems listed are not mutually exclusive, and often have overlapping definitions.
| Term | Definition | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Anarchy | A place where there are no laws.[1][2] Sometimes said to be non-governance; it is a structure which strives for non-hierarchical, voluntary associations among agents.This can be a natural, temporary result of civil war in a country, when an established state has been destroyed and the region is in a transitional period without definitive leadership.[3] Alternatively, it has been presented as a viable long term choice by individuals known as anarchists who oppose the state and other forms of coercive hierarchies. These individuals typically think people should organize in non-hierarchical, voluntary associations where people voluntarily help each other.[4] There are a variety of forms of anarchy that attempt to discourage the use of coercion, violence, force and authority, while still producing a productive and desirable society.[5][6] |
|
| Confederation | A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign states, united for purposes of common action often in relation to other states. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issues, such as defense, foreign relations, internal trade or currency, with the general government being required to provide support for all its members. Confederation represents a main form of inter-governmental-ism, this being defined as ‘any form of interaction between states which takes place on the basis of sovereign independence or government. Confederation is almost as a Federation with the Federal Government being as a combination or alliance of all the states. |
|
| Unitary state | A unitary state is a state governed as a single power in which the central government is ultimately supreme and any administrative divisions (sub-national units) exercise only the powers that the central government chooses to delegate. The majority of states in the world have a unitary system of government. Of the 193 UN member states, 165 are governed as unitary states. | |
| Federation | A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions under a central (federal) government. In a federation, the self-governing status of the component states, as well as the division of power between them and the central government, is typically constitutionally entrenched and may not be altered by a unilateral decision of either party, the states or the federal political body. Alternatively, federation is a form of government in which sovereign power is formally divided between a central authority and a number of constituent regions so that each region retains some degree of control over its internal affairs. |
| Term | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Autocracy | Autocracy is a system of government in which supreme power (social and political) is concentrated in the hands of one person or polity, whose decisions are subject to neither external legal restraints nor regularized mechanisms of popular control (except perhaps for the implicit threat of a coup d’état or mass insurrection). Absolute monarchy (such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Brunei and Eswatini) and dictatorships (also including North Korea) are the main modern day forms of autocracy. | |
| Democracy | Democracy, meaning “rule of the people”, is a system of government in which the citizens exercise power directly or elect representatives from among themselves to form a governing body, such as a parliament. Democracy is sometimes referred to as “rule of the majority”. Democracy is a system of processing conflicts in which outcomes depend on what participants do, but no single force controls what occurs and its outcomes. This does include citizens being able to vote for different laws and leaders. | |
| Oligarchy | Oligarchy, meaning “rule of the few”, is a form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people might be distinguished by nobility, wealth, family ties, education or corporate, religious or military control. Such states are often controlled by families who typically pass their influence from one generation to the next, but inheritance is not a necessary condition for the application of this term. | |
| Demarchy | Variant of democracy; government in which the state is governed by randomly selected decision from a broadly inclusive pool of eligible citizens. These groups, sometimes termed “policy juries”, “citizens’ juries”, or “consensus conferences”, deliberately make decisions about public policies in much the same way that juries decide criminal cases. Demarchy, in theory, could overcome some of the functional problems of conventional representative democracy, which is widely subject to manipulation by special interests and a division between professional policymakers (politicians and lobbyists) vs. a largely passive, uninvolved and often uninformed electorate. According to Australian philosopher John Burnheim, random selection of policymakers would make it easier for everyday citizens to meaningfully participate, and harder for special interests to corrupt the process.More generally, random selection of decision makers from a larger group is known as sortition (from the Latin base for lottery). The Athenian democracy made much use of sortition, with nearly all government offices filled by lottery (of full citizens) rather than by election. Candidates were almost always male, Greek, educated citizens holding a minimum of wealth and status. | |
| Direct democracy | Variant of democracy; government in which the people represent themselves and vote directly for new laws and public policy. |  Switzerland |
| Electocracy | Variant of democracy; a form of representative democracy where citizens are able to vote for their government but cannot participate directly in governmental decision making. The government has almost absolute power. |
|
| Liberal democracy | Variant of democracy; a form of government in which representative democracy operates under the principles of liberalism. It is characterised by fair, free, and competitive elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into different branches of government, the rule of law in everyday life as part of an open society, and the protection of human rights and civil liberties for all persons. To define the system in practice, liberal democracies often draw upon a constitution, either formally written or uncodified, to delineate the powers of government and enshrine the social contract. After a period of sustained expansion throughout the 20th century, liberal democracy became the predominant political system in the world. A liberal democracy may take various constitutional forms: it may be a republic, such as France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy; or a constitutional monarchy, such as the United Kingdom, Japan or Spain. It may have a presidential system (Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, or the United States), a semi-presidential system (France, or Portugal), or a parliamentary system (Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Italy, or New Zealand). | |
| Liquid democracy | Variant of democracy; government in which the people represent themselves or choose to temporarily delegate their vote to another voter to vote for new laws and public policy. | Experiments have mostly been conducted on a local-level or exclusively through online platforms |
| Representative democracy | Variant of democracy; wherein the people or citizens of a country elect representatives to create and implement public policy in place of active participation by the people. | Almost all of the democratic systems there are. Most notable is the  United States. |
| Social democracy | Variant of democracy; social democracy rejects the “either/or” phobiocratic/polarization interpretation of capitalism versus socialism. Social democracy argues that all citizens should be legally entitled to certain social rights. These are made up of universal access to public services such as: education, health care, workers’ compensation, public transportation, and other services including child care and care for the elderly. Social democracy is connected with the trade union labour movement and supports collective bargaining rights for workers. Contemporary social democracy advocates freedom from discrimination based on differences of: ability/disability, age, ethnicity, sex, gender, language, race, religion, sexual orientation, and social class. | |
| Soviet democracy | Variant of democracy; The citizens are governed by directly elected councils. The councils are directly responsible to their electors and are bound by their instructions. Such an imperative mandate is in contrast to a free mandate, in which the elected delegates are only responsible to their conscience. Delegates may accordingly be dismissed from their post at any time or be voted out (recall). | In some degree the final years of the  Russian Empire
|
| Totalitarian democracy | Variant of democracy; a form of electocracy in which lawfully elected representatives maintain the integrity of a nation state whose citizens, while granted the right to vote, have little or no participation in the decision-making process of the government. |
Types of oligarchy
Oligarchies are societies controlled and organised by a small class of privileged people, with no intervention from the most part of society; this small elite is defined as sharing some common trait.
De jure democratic governments with a de facto oligarchy are ruled by a small group of segregated, powerful or influential people who usually share similar interests or family relations. These people may spread power and elect candidates equally or not equally. An oligarchy is different from a true democracy because very few people are given the chance to change things. An oligarchy does not have to be hereditary or monarchic. An oligarchy does not have one clear ruler but several rulers.
Some historical examples of oligarchy are the Roman Republic, in which only males of the nobility could run for office and only wealthy males could vote, and the Athenian democracy, which used sortition to elect candidates, almost always male, Greek, educated citizens holding a minimum of land, wealth and status. Some critics of capitalism and/or representative democracy think of the United States and the United Kingdom as oligarchies.
Note: These categories are not exclusive.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Aristocracy | Rule by the nobility; a system of governance where political power is in the hands of a small class of privileged individuals who claim a higher birth than the rest of society. |
| Demoperiatic Oligarchy | Rule by a governing body called the Rutancia; the Rutancia constitutionally consists of an unelected Dictator and a Council that consists of two Advisors elected by the people who must agree between themselves to allow the Dictator to break a law or infringe on a right upon the former’s request in a Dure rucine fe (request for infraction). The Dictator’s power is bound by the Constitution, the Council, and therefore indirectly the people. The Dictator in a Demoperiatic Oligarchy is able to enact any law, right, or policy he sees fit with the permission of one Advisor. |
| Ergatocracy | Rule by the proletariat, the workers, or the working class. Examples of ergatocracy include communist revolutionaries and rebels which control most of society and create an alternative economy for people and workers. See Dictatorship of the proletariat. |
| Geniocracy | Rule by the intelligent; a system of governance where creativity, innovation, intelligence and wisdom are required for those who wish to govern. Comparable to noocracy. |
| Kraterocracy | Rule by the strong; a system of governance where those who are strong enough to seize power through physical force, social maneuvering or political cunning. |
| Kritarchy | Rule by various judges, the kritarchs; a system of governance composed of law enforcement institutions in which the state and the legal systems are traditionally or constitutionally the same entity. The kritarchs, magistrates and other adjudicators have the legal power to legislate and administer the enforcement of government laws in addition to the interposition of laws and the resolution of disputes. (Not to be confused with “judiciary“ or “judicial system“.) Somalia, ruled by judges with the tradition of xeer,[11] as well as the Islamic Courts Union, is a historical example.[12] |
| Meritocracy | Rule by the meritorious; a system of governance where groups are selected on the basis of people’s ability, knowledge in a given area, and contributions to society. |
| Netocracy | Rule by social connections; a term invented by the editorial board of the American technology magazine Wired in the early 1990s. A portmanteau of Internet and aristocracy, netocracy refers to a perceived global upper-class that bases its power on a technological advantage and networking skills, in comparison to what is portrayed as a bourgeoisie of a gradually diminishing importance. The netocracy concept has been compared with Richard Florida‘s concept of the creative class. Bard and Söderqvist have also defined an under-class in opposition to the netocracy, which they refer to as the consumitariat. |
| Noocracy | Rule by the wise; a system of governance in which decision making is in the hands of philosophers. (advocated by Plato) |
| Plutocracy | Rule by the wealthy; a system wherein governance is indebted to, dependent upon or heavily influenced by the desires of the rich. Plutocratic influence can alter any form of government. For instance, in a republic, if a significant number of elected representative positions are dependent upon financial support from wealthy sources, it is a plutocratic republic. |
| Particracy | Rule by a dominant political party (or parties). |
| Stratocracy | Rule by military service; a system of governance composed of military government in which the state and the military are traditionally or constitutionally the same entity. Citizens with mandatory or voluntary active military service or who have been honorably discharged have the right to govern. (Therefore, stratocracy is not to be confused with “military junta” or “military dictatorship“.) The Spartan city-state is a historical example; its social system and constitution were completely focused on military training and excellence. Stratocratic ideology often attaches to the honor-oriented timocracy. |
| Technocracy | Rule by the educated or technical experts; a system of governance where people who are skilled or proficient govern in their respective areas of expertise in technology would be in control of all decision making. Doctors, engineers, scientists, professionals and technologists who have knowledge, expertise, or skills would compose the governing body instead of politicians, businessmen and economists.[13] In a technocracy, decision makers would be selected based upon how knowledgeable and skillful they are in their field. Technocracy is today represented by global algorithmic governance by Silicon Valley engineers. This recent form of technocracy has been called ‘digitocracy’.[14] |
| Theocracy | Rule by a religious elite; a system of governance composed of religious institutions in which the state and the church are traditionally or constitutionally the same entity. The Vatican‘s (see Pope), Iran‘s (see Supreme Leader), Caliphates and other Islamic states are historically considered theocracies. |
| Timocracy | Rule by the honourable; a system of governance ruled by honorable citizens and property owners. Socrates defines a timocracy as a government ruled by people who love honour and are selected according to the degree of honour they hold in society. This form of timocracy is very similar to meritocracy, in the sense that individuals of outstanding character or faculty are placed in the seat of power. |
Types of autocracy
Autocracies are ruled by a single entity with absolute power, whose decisions are subject to neither external legal restraints nor regular mechanisms of popular control (except perhaps for implicit threat). That entity may be an individual, as in a dictatorship or it may be a group, as in a one-party state. The word despotism means to “rule in the fashion of despots” and is often used to describe autocracy.
Historical examples of autocracy include the Roman Empire and Nazi Germany.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Civilian Dictatorship | A dictatorship where power resides in the hands of one single person or polity. That person may be, for example, an absolute monarch or a dictator, but can also be an elected president. The Roman Republic made dictators to lead during times of war; but the Roman dictators only held power for a small time. In modern times, an autocrat’s rule is one that is not stopped by any rules of law, constitutions, or other social and political institutions. After World War II, many governments in Latin America, Asia, and Africa were ruled by autocratic governments. Examples of dictators include: Idi Amin, Muammar Gaddafi, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and Gamal Abdul Nasser. |
| Military Dictatorship | A dictatorship primarily enforced by the military. Military dictators are different from civilian dictators for a number of reasons: their motivations for seizing power, the institutions through which they organize their rule, and the ways in which they leave power. Often viewing itself as saving the nation from the corrupt or myopic civilian politicians, a military dictatorship justifies its position as “neutral” arbiters on the basis of their membership within the armed forces. For example, many juntas adopt titles, such as “National Redemption Council”, “Committee of National Restoration”, or “National Liberation Committee”. Military leaders often rule as a junta, selecting one of them as the head. |
Pejorative attributes
Regardless of the form of government, the actual governance may be influenced by sectors with political power which are not part of the formal government. These are terms that highlight certain actions of the governors, such as corruption, demagoguery, or fear mongering that may disrupt the intended way of working of the government if they are widespread enough.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Banana republic | A politically unstable and kleptocratic government that economically depends upon the exports of a limited resource (fruits, minerals), and usually features a society composed of stratified social classes, such as a great, impoverished ergatocracy and a ruling plutocracy, composed of the aristocracy of business, politics, and the military.[15] In political science, the term banana republic denotes a country dependent upon limited primary-sector productions, which is ruled by a plutocracy who exploit the national economy by means of a politico-economic oligarchy.[16] In American literature, the term banana republic originally denoted the fictional Republic of Anchuria, a servile dictatorship that abetted, or supported for kickbacks, the exploitation of large-scale plantation agriculture, especially banana cultivation.[16] In U.S. politics, the term banana republic is a pejorative political descriptor coined by the American writer O. Henry in Cabbages and Kings (1904), a book of thematically related short stories derived from his 1896–1897 residence in Honduras, where he was hiding from U.S. law for bank embezzlement.[17] |
| Bankocracy | Rule by banks;[18] a system of governance with excessive power or influence of banks and other financial authorities on public policy-making. It can also refer to a form of government where financial institutions rule society. |
| Corporatocracy | Rule by corporations; a system of governance where an economic and political system is controlled by corporations or corporate interests.[19] Its use is generally pejorative. Examples include company rule in India, United States and business voters for the City of London Corporation. |
| Kakistocracy | Rule by the stupid; a system of governance where the worst or least-qualified citizens govern or dictate policies. Due to human nature being inherently flawed, it has been suggested that every government which has ever existed has been a prime example of kakistocracy.[citation needed] |
| Kleptocracy | Rule by thieves; a system of governance where its officials and the ruling class in general pursue personal wealth and political power at the expense of the wider population. In strict terms kleptocracy is not a form of government but a characteristic of a government engaged in such behavior. Examples include Mexico as being considered a “narcokleptocracy”, (narco-state) since its democratic government is perceived to be corrupted by those who profit from trade in illegal drugs smuggled into the United States. |
| Nepotocracy | Rule by nephews; favouritism granted to relatives regardless of merit; a system of governance in which importance is given to the relatives of those already in power, like a nephew (where the word comes from). In such governments even if the relatives aren’t qualified they are given positions of authority just because they know someone who already has authority. Pope Alexander VI (Borgia) was accused of this. |
| Ochlocracy | Rule by the crowd; a system of governance where mob rule is government by mob or a mass of people, or the intimidation of legitimate authorities. As a pejorative for majoritarianism, it is akin to the Latin phrase mobile vulgus meaning “the fickle crowd”, from which the English term “mob” was originally derived in the 1680s. Ochlocratic governments are often a democracy spoiled by demagoguery, “tyranny of the majority” and the rule of passion over reason; such governments can be as oppressive as autocratic tyrants. Ochlocracy is synonymous in meaning and usage to the modern, informal term “mobocracy”. |
Other attributes
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Adhocracy | Rule by a government based on relatively disorganized principles and institutions as compared to a bureaucracy, its exact opposite. |
| Anocracy | A regime type where power is not vested in public institutions (as in a normal democracy) but spread amongst elite groups who are constantly competing with each other for power. Examples of anocracies in Africa include the warlords of Somalia and the shared governments in samaya and Zimbabwe. Anocracies are situated midway between an autocracy and a democracy.[20]The Polity IV dataset[clarification needed] recognized anocracy as a category. In that dataset, anocracies are exactly in the middle between autocracies and democracies.
Often the word is defined more broadly. For example, a 2010 International Alert publication defined anocracies as “countries that are neither autocratic nor democratic, most of which are making the risky transition between autocracy and democracy”.[21] Alert noted that the number of anocracies had increased substantially since the end of the Cold War. Anocracy is not surprisingly the least resilient political system to short-term shocks: it creates the promise but not yet the actuality of an inclusive and effective political economy, and threatens members of the established elite; and is therefore very vulnerable to disruption and armed violence. |
| Band society | Rule by a government based on small (usually family) unit with a semi-informal hierarchy, with strongest (either physical strength or strength of character) as leader. Very much like a pack seen in other animals, such as wolves. |
| Bureaucracy | Rule by a system of governance with many bureaus, administrators, and petty officials. |
| Cybersynacy | Ruled by a data fed group of secluded individuals that regulates aspects of public and private life using data feeds and technology having no interactivity with the citizens but using “facts only” to decide direction. |
| Nomocracy | Rule by a government under the sovereignty of rational laws and civic right as opposed to one under theocratic systems of government. In a nomocracy, ultimate and final authority (sovereignty) exists in the law. |
| Cyberocracy | Rule by a computer, which decides based on computer code. This is closely linked to Cybersynacy and could be the ‘solution’ to communism. This type of ruling appears in the short story “The Machine Stops” by E. M. Forster. |
| Algocracy | Rule by algorithms used in diverse levels of bureaucracy, which is also known as algorithmic regulation, regulation by algorithms, algorithmic governance, algorithmic legal order of government by algorithm. |
| Isocracy | A country where everyone has equal political power. |
Forms of government by power ideology
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Constitutional | A constitutional government is a government which powers are limited by a constitution. A constitution is normally used so the people of that government have civil and ethical rights. |
| Monarchy | A monarchy is a form of government in which a group, generally a family representing a dynasty, embodies the country’s national identity and its head, the monarch, exercises the role of sovereignty. The actual power of the monarch may vary from purely symbolic (crowned republic), to partial and restricted (constitutional monarchy), to completely autocratic (absolute monarchy). Traditionally the monarch’s post is inherited and lasts until death or abdication. In contrast, elective monarchies require the monarch to be elected. Both types have further variations as there are widely divergent structures and traditions defining monarchy. For example, in some[which?]elected monarchies only pedigrees are taken into account for eligibility of the next ruler, whereas many hereditary monarchies impose requirements regarding the religion, age, gender, mental capacity, etc. Occasionally this might create a situation of rival claimants whose legitimacy is subject to effective election. There have been cases where the term of a monarch’s reign is either fixed in years or continues until certain goals are achieved: an invasion being repulsed, for instance. |
| Republic | A republic (Latin: res publica) is a form of government in which the country is considered a “public matter”, not the private concern or property of the rulers. The primary positions of power within a republic are not inherited, but are attained through elections expressing the consent of the governed. Such leadership positions are therefore expected to fairly represent the citizen body. It is a form of government under which the head of state is not a monarch. In American English, the definition of a republic can also refer specifically to a government in which elected individuals represent the citizen body, also known as a representative democracy (a democratic republic) and exercise power according to the rule of law (a constitutional republic). |
Types of monarchy
Countries with monarchy attributes are those where a family or group of families (rarely another type of group), called the royalty, represents national identity, with power traditionally assigned to one of its individuals, called the monarch, who mostly rule kingdoms. The actual role of the monarch and other members of royalty varies from purely symbolical (crowned republic) to partial and restricted (constitutional monarchy) to completely despotic (absolute monarchy). Traditionally and in most cases, the post of the monarch is inherited, but there are also elective monarchies where the monarch is elected.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Absolute monarchy | A traditional and historical system where the monarch exercises ultimate governing authority as head of state and head of government. Many nations of Europe during the Middle Ages were absolute monarchies. Modern examples include mainly Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, Brunei and one African country, Eswatini. |
| Constitutional monarchy | Also called parliamentary monarchy, the monarch’s powers are limited by law or by a formal constitution,[22][23] usually assigning them to those of the head of state. Many modern developed countries, including the United Kingdom, Norway, Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Spain and Japan, are constitutional monarchy systems. |
| Crowned republic | A form of government where the monarch (and family) is an official ceremonial entity with no political power. The royal family and the monarch are intended to represent the country and may perform speeches or attend an important ceremonial events as a symbolical guide to the people, but hold no actual power in decision-making, appointments, et cetera. |
| Elective monarchy | A form of government where the monarch is elected, a modern example being the King of Cambodia, who is chosen by the Royal Council of the Throne; Vatican City is also often considered a modern elective monarchy. |
Types of republic
Rule by a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people.[24][25] A common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of state is not a monarch.[26][27] Montesquieu included both democracies, where all the people have a share in rule, and aristocracies or oligarchies, where only some of the people rule, as republican forms of government.[28]
Note: These categories are not exclusive.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Constitutional republic | Republics where there is rule by a government whose powers are limited by law or a formal constitution (an official document establishing the exact powers and restrictions of a nation and its government), and chosen by a vote amongst the populace. Typically, laws cannot be passed which violate said constitution, unless the constitution itself is altered by law. This theoretically serves to protect minority groups from being subjected to the tyranny of the majority, or mob rule. Examples include India, South Africa, United States, etc. |
| Democratic republic | Republics where the laws are ultimately decided by popular vote, whether by a body of elected representatives or directly by the public, and there is no restriction on which laws are passed so long as they have majority support. Constitutional law is either non-existent or poses little obstacle to legislation. |
| Federal republic | Republics that are a federation of states or provinces, where there is a national (federal) law encompassing the nation as a whole but where each state or province is free to legislate and enforce its own laws and affairs so long as they don’t conflict with federal law. Examples include Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Germany, India, Mexico, Russia, Switzerland and United States. |
| Islamic republic | Republics governed in accordance with Islamic law. Examples include Afghanistan, Iran, Mauritania, and Pakistan. |