Government

System or group of people governing an organized community, often a state

For the executive of parliamentary systems referred to as the government, see Executive (government).

"Gov" redirects here. For other uses, see Gov (disambiguation).

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File:Forms of government.svg

World's states colored by form of government1

* Map legend

|  Full presidential republics2 |  Semi-presidential republics2

|

Republics with an executive president elected by or nominated by the legislature that may or may not be subject to parliamentary confidence |  Parliamentary republics2
Parliamentary constitutional monarchies where royalty does not hold significant power |  Parliamentary constitutional monarchies which have a separate head of government but where royalty holds significant executive and/or legislative power
Absolute monarchies |  One-party states
Countries where constitutional provisions for government have been suspended (e.g. military juntas) |  Countries that do not fit any of the above systems (e.g. provisional governments/unclear political situations)
No government |

1 This map was compiled according to the Justapedia list of countries by system of government. See there for sources.
2 This map presents only the de jure form of government, and not the de facto degree of democracy.

* v
* t
* e

Part of the Politics series

Politics

* Outline
* Index
* Category

Primary topics

* Outline of political science
* Index of politics articles
* Politics by country
* Politics by subdivision
* Political economy
* Political history
* Political history of the world
* Political philosophy

Political systems

* Anarchy
* City-state
* Democracy
* Dictatorship
* Directory
* Federacy
* Feudalism
* Meritocracy
* Monarchy
* Parliamentary
* Presidential
* Republic
* Semi-parliamentary
* Semi-presidential
* Theocracy

Academic disciplines

* Political science (political scientists)

* International relations (theory)

* Comparative politics
* Political analysis
* Political theory
* Policy studies
* Political psychology
* Political sociology

Public administration

* Bureaucracy (street-level)
* Technocracy
* Adhocracy

Policy

* Public policy (doctrine)
* Domestic policy
* Foreign policy
* Civil society
* Public interest

Branches of government

* Separation of powers

* Legislature
* Executive
* Judiciary
* Election commission

Related topics

* Sovereignty
* Theories of political behavior
* Biology and political orientation
* Political organisations
* Critique of political economy

Subseries

* Electoral systems
* Elections
* voting
* Unitarism
* Federalism
* Government
* forms
* Ideology
* Political campaigning
* Political parties

* v
* t
* e

A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.

In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, 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.

While all types of organizations have governance, the term government is often used more specifically to refer to the approximately 200 independent national governments and subsidiary organizations.

The major types of political systems in the modern era are democracies, monarchies, and authoritarian and totalitarian regimes.[1] Historically prevalent forms of government include monarchy, aristocracy, timocracy, oligarchy, democracy, theocracy, and tyranny. These forms are not always mutually exclusive, and mixed governments are common. The main aspect of any philosophy of government is how political power is obtained, with the two main forms being electoral contest and hereditary succession.

## Contents

* 1 Definitions and etymology
* 2 History
* 2.1 Earliest governments
* 2.2 Modern governments
* 3 Political science
* 3.1 Classification
* 3.2 Social-political ambiguity
* 4 Forms
* 4.1 Basic political systems
* 4.2 Autocracy
* 4.3 Aristocracy
* 4.4 Democracy
* 4.4.1 Republics
* 4.4.2 Federalism
* 5 Branches
* 6 Party system
* 7 Maps
* 8 See also
* 9 Notes
* 10 References
* 10.1 Bibliography
* 11 Further reading

## Definitions and etymology[edit | edit source]

A government is the system to govern a state or community. The Columbia Encyclopedia defines government as "a system of social control under which the right to make laws, and the right to enforce them, is vested in a particular group in society".[2] While all types of organizations have governance, the word government is often used more specifically to refer to the approximately 200 independent national governments on Earth, as well as their subsidiary organizations, such as state and provincial governments as well as local governments.[3]

The word government derives from the Greek verb κυβερνάω [kubernáo] meaning to steer with a gubernaculum (rudder), the metaphorical sense being attested in the literature of classical antiquity, including Plato's Ship of State.[4] In British English, "government" sometimes refers to what's also known as a "ministry" or an "administration", i.e., the policies and government officials of a particular executive or governing coalition. Finally, government is also sometimes used in English as a synonym for rule or governance.[5]

## History[edit | edit source]

Main articles: Political history of the world and Political philosophy

### Earliest governments[edit | edit source]

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.[6] 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 Yellow River civilization.[7]

The development of agriculture and water control projects were a catalyst for the development of governments.[8] On occasion a chief of a tribe was elected by various rituals or tests of strength to govern his tribe, sometimes with a group of elder tribesmen as a council. The human ability to precisely communicate abstract, learned information allowed humans to become ever more effective at agriculture,[9] and that allowed for ever increasing population densities.[6] David Christian explains how this resulted in states with laws and governments.

> 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.[6]

### Modern governments[edit | edit source]

Starting at the end of the 17th century, the prevalence of republican forms of government grew. The English Civil War and Glorious Revolution in England, the American Revolution, and the French Revolution contributed to the growth of representative forms of government. The Soviet Union was the first large country to have a Communist government.[3] Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, liberal democracy has become an even more prevalent form of government.[10]

In the nineteenth and twentieth century, there was a significant increase in the size and scale of government at the national level.[11] This included the regulation of corporations and the development of the welfare state.[10]

## Political science[edit | edit source]

Main article: Political science

### Classification[edit | edit source]

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.[12] 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 or ideal form. The United States is a constitutional republic, while the former Soviet Union was a socialist republic. However self-identification is not objective, and as Kopstein and Lichbach argue, defining regimes can be tricky.[13] For example, Voltaire argued that "the Holy Roman Empire is neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire".[14]

Identifying a form of government is also difficult because many political systems originate as socio-economic movements and are then carried into governments by parties naming themselves after those movements; all with competing political-ideologies. Experience with those movements in power, and the strong ties they may have to particular forms of government, can cause them to be considered as forms of government in themselves.

Other complications include general non-consensus or deliberate "distortion or bias" of reasonable technical definitions to 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 labeled a "socialist" in the United States.[15] Since the 1950s conservatism in the United States has been chiefly associated with the Republican Party. However, during the era of segregation many Southern Democrats were conservatives, and they played a key role in the conservative coalition that controlled Congress from 1937 to 1963.[16][a]

### Social-political ambiguity[edit | edit source]

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 United States as being a plutocracy rather than a democracy since some American voters believe elections are being manipulated by wealthy Super PACs.[17]

## Forms[edit | edit source]

Main article: List of forms of government

Further information: Mixed government

Part of the Politics series

Basic forms of government
List of forms of government

Source of power

|  Democracy (rule by many)

* Demarchy
* Direct
* Liberal
* Representative
* Social
* Socialist
* Others

* * *

Oligarchy (rule by few)

* Anocracy
* Aristocracy
* Gerontocracy
* Kleptocracy
* Kritarchy
* Meritocracy
* Noocracy
* Particracy
* Plutocracy
* Stratocracy
* Technocracy
* Theocracy

* * *

Autocracy (rule by one)

* Despotism
* Dictatorship
* Military dictatorship
* Tyranny

* * *

Anarchism (rule by none)

* Anarchy
* Free association
* Stateless

* * *

Power ideology

* Monarchy
* Republic

(socio-political ideologies)

* Absolute
* Constitutional
* Directorial
* Legalist
* Parliamentary
* Presidential
* Semi-presidential
* Socialist

* * *

* Authoritarian
* Libertarian

(socio-economic ideologies)

* Anarchism
* Colonialism
* Communism
* Despotism
* Distributism
* Fascism
* Feudalism
* Socialism
* Totalitarianism
* Tribalism

* * *

* Religious
* Secular

* State religion
* Secular state

* * *

* Global
* Local

(geo-cultural ideologies)

* City-state
* Intergovernmental organisation
* National government
* World government
* Nationalism
* Internationalism
* Globalism

Power structure

|  Unitarism

* Unitary state
* Empire
* Principality

* * *

Client state

* Associated state
* Dependent territory
* Dominion
* Protectorate
* Puppet state
* Puppet monarch
* Satellite state
* Self-governing colony
* Tributary state
* Buffer State
* Vassal state
* Viceroyalty

* * *

Federalism

* Confederation
* Devolution
* Federation
* Superstate
* Supranational union

* * *

International relations

* Small power
* Regional power
* Middle power
* Great power
* Superpower
* Hyperpower

* * *

Administrative division

* v
* t
* e

Plato in his book The Republic divided governments into five basic types (four being existing forms and one being Plato's ideal form, which exists "only in speech"):[18]

* Aristocracy (rule by law and order, like ideal traditional “benevolent” kingdoms that aren’t 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 free-trading capitalist state)
* Democracy (rule by pure liberty and equality, like a free citizen)
* Tyranny (rule by fear, like a despot)

These five regimes progressively degenerate starting with aristocracy at the top and tyranny at the bottom.[19]

In his Politics, Aristotle elaborates on Plato's five regimes discussing them in relation to the government of one, of the few, and of the many.[20] From this follows the classification of forms of government according to which people have the authority to rule: either one person (an autocracy, such as monarchy), a select group of people (an aristocracy), or the people as a whole (a democracy, such as a republic).

Thomas Hobbes stated on their classification:

> The difference of Commonwealths consisteth in the difference of the sovereign, or the person representative of all and every one of the multitude. And because the sovereignty is either in one man, or in an assembly of more than one; and into that assembly either every man hath right to enter, or not every one, but certain men distinguished from the rest; it is manifest there can be but three kinds of Commonwealth. For the representative must needs be one man, or more; and if more, then it is the assembly of all, or but of a part. When the representative is one man, then is the Commonwealth a monarchy; when an assembly of all that will come together, then it is a democracy, or popular Commonwealth; when an assembly of a part only, then it is called an aristocracy. Other kind of Commonwealth there can be none: for either one, or more, or all, must have the sovereign power (which I have shown to be indivisible) entire.[21]

### Basic political systems[edit | edit source]

According to Yale professor Juan José Linz there a three main types of political systems today: democracies, totalitarian regimes and, sitting between these two, authoritarian regimes with hybrid regimes.[22][23] Another modern classification system includes monarchies as a standalone entity or as a hybrid system of the main three.[24] Scholars generally refer to a dictatorship as either a form of authoritarianism or totalitarianism.[25][22][26]

### Autocracy[edit | edit source]

Main article: Autocracy

An autocracy is a system of government in which supreme power is concentrated in the hands of one person, 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).[27] Absolute monarchy is a historically prevalent form of autocracy, wherein a monarch governs as a singular sovereign with no limitation on royal prerogative. Most absolute monarchies are hereditary, however some, notably the Holy See, are elected by an electoral college (such as the college of cardinals, or prince-electors). Other forms of autocracy include tyranny, despotism, and dictatorship.

### Aristocracy[edit | edit source]

Main article: Aristocracy

Aristocracy[b] is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, elite ruling class,[28] such as a hereditary nobility or privileged caste. This class exercises minority rule, often as a landed timocracy, wealthy plutocracy, or oligarchy.

Many monarchies were aristocracies, although in modern constitutional monarchies the monarch may have little effective power. The term aristocracy could also refer to the non-peasant, non-servant, and non-city classes in the feudal system.[citation needed]

### Democracy[edit | edit source]

File:Democracy claims.svg

* National governments which self-identify as democracies

* National governments which do not self-identify as democracies

File:Electoral democracies.svg

Governments recognised as "electoral democracies" as of 2020[update] by the Freedom in the World survey[c]

Main articles: Democracy and Types of democracy

Democracy is a system of government where citizens exercise power by voting and deliberation. In a direct democracy, the citizenry as a whole directly forms a participatory governing body and vote directly on each issue. In indirect democracy, the citizenry governs indirectly through the selection of representatives or delegates from among themselves, typically by election or, less commonly, by sortition. These select citizens then meet to form a governing body, such as a legislature or jury.

Some governments combine both direct and indirect democratic governance, wherein the citizenry selects representatives to administer day-to-day governance, while also reserving the right govern directly through popular initiatives, referendums (plebiscites), and the right of recall. In a constitutional democracy the powers of the majority are exercised within the framework of a representative democracy, but the constitution limits majority rule, usually through the provision by all of certain universal rights, e.g. freedom of speech, or freedom of association.[29][30]

#### Republics[edit | edit source]

Main article: Republic

A republic is a form of government in which the country is considered a "public matter" (Latin: res publica), not the private concern or property of the rulers, and where offices of states are subsequently directly or indirectly elected or appointed rather than inherited. 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.[31][32]

A common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of state is not a monarch.[33][34] 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.[35]

Other terms used to describe different republics include democratic republic, parliamentary republic, semi-presidential republic, presidential republic, federal republic, people's republic, and Islamic republic.

#### Federalism[edit | edit source]

Main article: Federalism

Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and constituent political units, variously called states, provinces or otherwise. Federalism is a system based upon democratic principles and institutions in which the power to govern is shared between national and provincial/state governments, creating what is often called a federation.[citation needed] Proponents are often called federalists.

## Branches[edit | edit source]

File:Separation of powers.png

Separation of powers in the US government, demonstrating the trias politica model

Further information: Separation of powers and Fusion of powers

Governments are typically organised into distinct institutions constituting branches of government each with particular powers, functions, duties, and responsibilities. The distribution of powers between these institutions differs between governments, as do the functions and number of branches. An independent, parallel distribution of powers between branches of government is the separation of powers. A shared, intersecting, or overlapping distribution of powers is the fusion of powers.

Governments are often organised into three branches with separate powers: a legislature, an executive, and a judiciary; this is sometimes called the trias politica model. However, in parliamentary and semi-presidential systems, branches of government often intersect, having shared membership and overlapping functions. Many governments have fewer or additional branches, such as an independent electoral commission or auditory branch.[36]

## Party system[edit | edit source]

Part of the Politics series

Party politics

Political spectrum

|  Left-wing

* Far-left
* Centre-left

Centre

* Centre-left
* Radical centre
* Centre-right

Right-wing

* Centre-right
* Far-right

Platforms/Ideologies

* Anarchist
* Christian democratic
* Communist
* Conservative
* Democratic
* Environmentalist
* Fascist
* Fundamentalist
* Globalist
* Green
* Internationalist
* Liberal
* Libertarian
* Nationalist
* Pirate Party
* Populist
* Progressive
* Regionalist
* Republican
* Social democratic
* Socialist
* Syncretic

Types

* Elite party
* Cartel party
* Catch-all party
* Entrepreneurial party
* Mass party
* Ruling party
* Opposition party
* Parliamentary opposition
* Official party status
* Single-issue party

Leaders and organization

* Backbencher
* Caucus
* Caucus chair
* Floor leader
* Frontbencher
* Lead candidate
* Leader of the Opposition
* Majority leader
* Minority leader
* Parliamentary group
* Parliamentary leader
* Party chair
* Party leader
* Party spokesperson
* Secretary
* Shadow cabinet
* Whip

Internal elections

* Primary election
* Leadership election
* Open list
* Party convention/conference
* Leadership convention

Party discipline

* Conscience vote
* Crossing the floor
* Party discipline
* Party line
* Party-line vote
* Party switching

Party systems

* One-party

* Dominant-party
* Two-party
* Multi-party

* Non-partisan

Coalitions between parties

* Political group
* Divided government
* Coalition government
* Confidence and supply
* Consensus government
* Grand coalition
* Hung parliament
* Majority government
* Minority government
* National unity government
* Rotation government

Lists of political parties

* Ruling parties by country
* Political parties by region
* Political ideologies

* Category:Banned political parties

* v
* t
* e

Further information: Political party and Party system

Presently, most governments are administered by members of an explicitly constituted political party which coordinates the activities of associated government officials and candidates for office. In a multiparty system of government, multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government offices, typically by competing in elections, although the effective number of parties may be limited.

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,[37][38] but even a minority government may consist of just one party unable to find a willing coalition partner at the moment.[39]

A party which continuously maintains a single-party government within a (nominally) multiparty system constitutes 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[edit | edit source]

See also: List of countries by system of government

Democracy is the most popular form of government with more than half of the nations in the world being democracies-97 of 167 nations as of 2021.[40] However the world is becoming more authoritarian with a quarter of the world's population under democratically backsliding governments.[40]

File:EIU Democracy Index 2017.svg

Democracy Index by the Economist Intelligence Unit, 2017.[41]

* * *

Full Democracies

9–10

8–9

|  Flawed Democracies

7–8

6–7

|  Hybrid Regimes

5–6

4–5

|  Authoritarian Regimes

3–4

2–3

0–2

|
|
|

File:Blank Map World Secondary Political Divisions.svg

World first-and-second degree administrative levels

File:Map of unitary and federal states.svg

A world map distinguishing countries of the world as federations (green) from unitary states (blue).

* * *

Unitary states

Federations

## See also[edit | edit source]

* List of forms of government
* Central government
* Civics
* Comparative government
* Constitutional economics
* Deep state
* Digital democracy
* E-Government
* Government effectiveness index
* History of politics
* Legal rights
* List of countries by system of government
* List of European Union member states by political system
* Local government
* Ministry
* Political economy
* Political history
* Prime ministerial government
* State (polity)
* Voting system
* World government

## Notes[edit | edit source]

1. ^ 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."
2. ^ Ancient Greek: ἀριστοκρατία aristokratía, from ἄριστος aristos "excellent", and κράτος kratos "power".
3. ^ Conducted by American think tank Freedom House, which is largely funded by the US government.

## References[edit | edit source]

1. ^ "14.2 Types of Political Systems". 8 April 2016.
2. ^ Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th edition. Columbia University Press. 2000.[full citation needed]
3. ^ a b Smelser & Baltes 2001, p. [page needed].
4. ^ Brock 2013, p. 53–62.
5. ^ "Government English Definition and Meaning". Lexico. Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
6. ^ a b c Christian 2004, p. 245.
7. ^ Christian 2004, p. 294.
8. ^ The New Encyclopædia Britannica (15th edition)[full citation needed]
9. ^ Christian 2004, pp. 146–147.
10. ^ a b Kuper & Kuper 2008, p. [page needed].
11. ^ Haider-Markel 2014, p. [page needed].
12. ^ Lewellen 2003, p. [page needed].
13. ^ Kopstein & Lichbach 2005, p. 4.
14. ^ Renna 2015.
15. ^ Ribuffo 2011, pp. 2–6, quote on p. 6.
16. ^ Frederickson 2000, p. 12.
17. ^ Freeland 2012.
18. ^ Norman Abjorensen (15 June 2019). Historical Dictionary of Democracy. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 288–. ISBN 978-1-5381-2074-3. OCLC 1081354236.
19. ^ Brill 2016.
20. ^ Ivan Jordović (2019). Taming Politics: Plato and the Democratic Roots of Tyrannical Man. Franz Steiner Verlag. p. intro. ISBN 978-3-515-12457-7. OCLC 1107421360.
21. ^ Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan - via Wikisource.
22. ^ a b Juan José Linz (2000). Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes. Lynne Rienner Publisher. p. 143\. ISBN 978-1-55587-890-0. OCLC 1172052725.
23. ^ Jonathan Michie, ed. (3 February 2014). Reader's Guide to the Social Sciences. Routledge. p. 95\. ISBN 978-1-135-93226-8.
24. ^ Ginny Garcia-Alexander; Hyeyoung Woo; Matthew J. Carlson (3 November 2017). Social Foundations of Behavior for the Health Sciences. Springer. pp. 137–. ISBN 978-3-319-64950-4. OCLC 1013825392.
25. ^ Allan Todd; Sally Waller (10 September 2015). Allan Todd; Sally Waller (eds.). History for the IB Diploma Paper 2 AuthoritariaAuthoritarian States (20th Century). Cambridge University Press. pp. 10–. ISBN 978-1-107-55889-2.
26. ^ Sondrol, P. C. (2009). "Totalitarian and Authoritarian Dictators: A Comparison of Fidel Castro and Alfredo Stroessner". Journal of Latin American Studies. 23 (3): 599–620. doi:10.1017/S0022216X00015868. JSTOR 157386. S2CID 144333167.
27. ^ Johnson, Paul M. "Autocracy: A Glossary of Political Economy Terms". Auburn.edu. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
28. ^ "aristocracy". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
29. ^ Oxford English Dictionary: "democracy".
30. ^ Watkins, Frederick (1970). "Democracy". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (Expo '70 hardcover ed.). William Benton. pp. 215–23. ISBN 978-0-85229-135-1.
31. ^ Montesquieu 1748, book 2, chapters 1.
32. ^ "Republic". Encyclopædia Britannica.[full citation needed]
33. ^ "republic". WordNet 3.0. Archived from the original on 12 March 2009. Retrieved 20 March 2009.
34. ^ "Republic". Merriam-Webster. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
35. ^ Montesquieu 1748, book 2, chapters 2–3.
36. ^ Needler 1991, pp. 116–118.
37. ^ Gallagher, Laver & Mair 2006.
38. ^ Kettle 2015.
39. ^ Duxbury 2021.
40. ^ a b The Global State of Democracy 2021, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance
41. ^ "Democracy Index 2017 – Economist Intelligence Unit" (PDF). EIU.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2018.

### Bibliography[edit | edit source]

* Brill, Sara (2016). "Political Pathology in Plato's Republic". Apeiron. 49 (2): 127–161. doi:10.1515/apeiron-2015-0003. ISSN 2156-7093. S2CID 148505083.
* Brock, Roger (2013). Greek Political Imagery from Homer to Aristotle. London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-4725-0218-6. OCLC 1040413173. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
* Christian, David (2004). Maps of Time: an Introduction to Big History. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-24476-4. OCLC 966003275.
* Duxbury, Charlie (29 November 2021). "Magdalena Andersson named Swedish prime minister (again)". Politico. Archived from the original on 15 April 2022. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
* Frederickson, Kari (2000). The Dixiecrat Revolt and the End of the Solid South, 1932–1968. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-4910-1. OCLC 475254808.
* Freeland, Chrystia (2012). Plutocrats: the Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else. London: Allen Lane. ISBN 978-1-84614-252-9. OCLC 795857028.
* Gallagher, Michael; Laver, M.; Mair, P. (2006). Representative Government in Western Europe (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 9780070366848. OCLC 906939909.
* Haider-Markel, Donald P. (2014). The Oxford Handbook of State and Local Government. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-957967-9. OCLC 904484428.
* Kettle, Martin (17 April 2015). "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". Guardian. Archived from the original on 30 July 2023. Retrieved 2022-07-14 - via Gale General OneFile.
* Kopstein, Jeffrey; Lichbach, Mark, eds. (2005). Comparative politics: interests, identities, and institutions in a changing global order (2nd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521708400. OCLC 1293165230.
* Kuper, Adam; Kuper, Jessica, eds. (2008). The Social Science Encyclopedia. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-47635-5. OCLC 789658928.
* Lewellen, Ted C. (2003). Political Anthropology: An Introduction (3rd ed.). Westport, CT: Praeger. ISBN 978-0-89789-891-1. OCLC 936497371. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
* Montesquieu (1748). The Spirit of the Laws.
* Needler, Martin C. (1991). The Concepts of Comparative Politics. New York: Praeger. ISBN 978-0-275-93653-2. OCLC 925042067.
* Renna, Thomas (September 2015). "The Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire". Michigan Academician. 42 (1): 60–75. doi:10.7245/0026-2005-42.1.60.
* Ribuffo, Leo P. (2011). "20 Suggestions for Studying the Right now that Studying the Right is Trendy". Historically Speaking. 12 (1): 2–6. doi:10.1353/hsp.2011.0013. S2CID 144367661.
* Smelser, Neil J.; Baltes, Paul B. (2001). International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences. New York: Elsevier Science. ISBN 978-0-08-043076-8. OCLC 43548228.

## Further reading[edit | edit source]

* de Mesquita, Bruce Bueno; Smith, Alastair (2012). The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics. New York: PublicAffairs. ISBN 9781610390446. OCLC 1026803822.
* de Mesquita, Bruce Bueno; Smith, Alastair; Siverson, Randolph M.; Morrow, James D. (2003). The Logic of Political Survival. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. ISBN 9780262025461. OCLC 475265120.
* Dobson, William J. (2013). The Dictator's Learning Curve: Inside the Global Battle for Democracy. New York: Anchor. ISBN 978-0307477552. OCLC 849820048.
* Friedrich, Carl J.; Brzezinski, Zbigniew K. (1966) [1965]. Totalitarian Dictatorship and Autocracy (2nd ed.). New York: Frederick A. Praeger. ISBN 9780674895652. OCLC 826626632.
* Krader, Lawrence (1968). Formation of the State. Foundations of Modern Anthropology. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0133294900. OCLC 266086412.

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Autonomous types of first-tier subdivision administration

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Unitary state|

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Development|

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See also|

* Autonomy
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* Tribal sovereignty

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Social theories|

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* Critique of political economy
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Political spectrum

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Political ideologies

* Anarchism
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Religious politics

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* Hindutva
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* Religious Zionism

Political pejoratives

* Baizuo
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* Social justice warrior
* Soft left
* Wingnut

Models

* Horseshoe theory
* Left–right political spectrum
* Nolan Chart
* Overton window
* Open–closed political spectrum
* Pournelle chart
* Right-wing authoritarianism

See also

* Anti-authoritarianism
* Libertarianism
* Syndicalism
* Progressivism
* Green politics
* Identity politics
* Corporatism
* Authoritarianism
* Totalitarianism
* Revolutionary
* Reactionary
* Anti-establishment
* Collectivism
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* The Establishment
* Individualism
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* Populism
* Radical politics
* Triangulation
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