This article lists forms of government and political systems, according to a series of different ways of categorising them. The systems listed are of course not mutually exclusive, and often have overlapping definitions (for example autocracy, despotism, totalitarianism, monarchy and tyranny). A political system is a social system of politics and government. ... An Autocracy is a form of government in which unlimited power is held by a single individual. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... Totalitarianism is a term employed by political scientists, especially those in the field of comparative politics, to describe modern regimes in which the state regulates nearly every aspect of public and private behavior. ... Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A monarchy, from the Greek μονος, one, and αρχειν, to rule, is a form of government that has a monarch as head of state. ... This page is about the religious concept of Tyranny. ...

Alphabetical list with hierarchy

The following list groups major political systems (recognized by political science) in alphabetical order. The various subtype political systems are listed below the main system of government. Political science is the field of the social sciences concerning the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior. ...

• Anarchism (perhaps better defined as a system of non-hierarchical governance)
  • Anarcho-communism
  • Anarcho-capitalism
  • Eco-anarchism
  • Anarcho-socialism
  • Anarcho-syndicalism
  • Tribalism

• Authoritarianism (Autocracy or Oligarchy)
  • Absolutism
    • Enlightened absolutism
  • Aristocracy
  • Corporatism
  • Despotism
  • Dictatorship (not all dictatorships are autocracies)
    • Military dictatorship
    • Benevolent dictatorship
  • Gynecocracy
  • Gerontocracy
  • Kleptocracy
  • Matriarchy
  • Meritocracy
  • Monarchy
    • Absolute monarchy
    • Constitutional monarchy
    • Despotate
    • Duchy
      • Grand Duchy
    • Elective monarchy
    • Emirate
    • Hereditary monarchy
    • Popular monarchy
    • Principality
    • New Monarchs
    • Self-proclaimed monarchy
    • Viceroyalty
  • Patriarchy
    • Patrimonalism
  • Plutocracy
    • Timocracy
  • Police state
    • Corporate police state
  • Robocracy
  • Theocracy (hierocracy)
    • Caliphate
    • Halachic state
    • Holy See
    • Islamic republic
    • Sultanate
  • Totalitarianism
    • Fascism (extreme nationalism)
    • Communist state
    • Single-party state
  • Tyranny
  • Technocracy (bureaucratic)

• Democracy
  • Deliberative democracy
  • Democratic republic
  • Direct democracy
  • Participatory democracy
  • Representative democracy
    • Westminster system
    • Parliamentary system
      • Consensus government
    • Presidential system (Congressional system)
    • Semi-presidential system
  • Republicanism (Republic)
    • Presidential republic
    • Parliamentary republic
    • Constitutional republic
  • Democratic political movements
    • Liberal democracy
    • Social democracy

It has been suggested that Origins of anarchism and History of anarchism be merged into this article or section. ... Anarcho-Communism, or Libertarian Communism, is a political ideology related to Libertarian socialism. ... Anarcho-capitalism refers to an anti-statist philosophy that embraces capitalism as one of its foundational principles. ... Eco-anarchism argues that small eco-villages (of no more than a few hundred people) are a scale of human living preferable to civilization, and that infrastructure and political systems should be re-organized to ensure that these are created. ... Libertarian socialism is a political philosophy dedicated to opposing coercive forms of authority and social hierarchy, in particular the institutions of capitalism and the state. ... Anarcho-syndicalism is a branch of anarchism which focuses on the labour movement. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Bold text:This article applies to political ideologies. ... An Autocracy is a form of government in which unlimited power is held by a single individual. ... Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      Oligarchy (Greek , Oligarkhía) is a form of government where political power effectively rests with a small, elite segment of society (whether distinguished by wealth, family or military prowess). ... Absolutism is a political theory which argues that one person, who is often generally a monarch, should hold all power. ... Enlightened Absolutism (also known as benevolent despotism or enlightened despotism) is a term used to describe the actions of absolute rulers who were influenced by the Enlightenment, a historical period of the 18th and early 19th centuries. ... The Ancient Greek term aristocracy originally meant a system of government with rule by the best. The word is derived from two words, aristos meaning the best and kratein to rule. Aristocracies have most often been hereditary plutocracies (see below), where a sense of historical gravitas and noblesse oblige demands... ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by a dictator. ... General Augusto Pinochet (sitting) as head of the newly established military junta in Chile, September 1973. ... The benevolent dictator is a more modern version of the classical enlightened despot, being an undemocratic or authoritarian leader who exercises his or her political power for the benefit of the people rather than exclusively for his or her own self-interest or benefit, or for the benefit of only... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... A gerontocracy is a form of oligarchical rule in which an entity is ruled by a small clique of leaders, in which the oldest hold the most power. ... Kleptocracy (sometimes Cleptocracy) (root: Klepto+cracy = rule by thieves) is a pejorative, informal term for a government that is primarily designed to sustain the personal wealth and political power of government officials and their cronies (collectively, kleptocrats). ... Matriarchy is a form of society in which power is with the women and especially with the mothers of a community. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A monarchy, from the Greek μονος, one, and αρχειν, to rule, is a form of government that has a monarch as head of state. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... A Despotate is a State ruled under a Despot/Despoina (in this context it should not be confused with Despotism). ... A duchy is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess. ... A grand duchy is a territory whose head of state is a Grand Duke or Grand Duchess. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Etymologically an emirate or amirate (Arabic: إمارة Imarah, plural: إمارات Imarat) is the quality, dignity, office or territorial competence of any Emir (prince, governor etc. ... A hereditary monarchy is the most common style of monarchy and is the form that is used by almost all of the worlds existing monarchies. ... Popular Monarchy is a system of monarchical governance in which the monarchs title is linked with the people rather than a unitary state. ... A principality is a monarchical feudatory or sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a Monarch with the title of prince or princess (a synonym is princedom) or (in the widest sense) a Monarch with another title within the generic use of the term prince. ... New Monarchs were the rulers of European nations during the 15th century who unified their nations, creating a stable and centralized government. ... A self-proclaimed monarchy is a monarchy that is proclaimed into existence, often by a single individual, rather than occurring as part of a longstanding tradition. ... A viceroy is somebody who governs a country or province as a substitute for the monarch. ... For other uses, see Patriarch (disambiguation). ... A patriarch (from Greek: patria means father; arché means rule, beginning, origin) is a male head of an extended family exercising autocratic authority, or, by extension, a member of the ruling class or government of a society controlled by senior men. ... A plutocracy is a form of government where the states power is centralized in an affluent social class. ... Constitutional theory defines a timocracy as either: a state where only property owners may participate in government; or a government where rulers are selected and perpetuated based on the degree of honour they hold relative to others in their society, peers and the ruling class. ... A police state is a political condition where the government maintains strict control over society, particularly through suspension of civil rights and often with the use of a force of secret police. ... A Corporate police state is a pejorative term for the kind of transnational system of government that transcends geographic boundaries to regulate the conduct of employees, outsource contractors and markets, via a form of business practices known as vertical integration. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Cybernetic revolt. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Caliphate (Arabic خلافة) is the theoretical federal government that would govern the Islamic world under Islamic law, ruled by a Caliph as head of state. ... // A Halachic state in Israel would be governed by Jewish religious law much the same as Saudi-Arabia and Iran are governed by Islamic law. ... An Islamic republic in its modern context has come to mean several different things, some contradictory to others. ... A sultan (Arabic: سلطان) is an Islamic monarch ruling under the terms of shariah. ... Totalitarianism is a term employed by political scientists, especially those in the field of comparative politics, to describe modern regimes in which the state regulates nearly every aspect of public and private behavior. ... Fascism is an authoritarian political ideology and mass movement that seeks to place the nation, defined in exclusive biological, cultural, and historical terms, above all other loyalties, and to create a mobilized national community. ... Eugène Delacroixs Liberty Leading the People, symbolising French nationalism during the July Revolution. ... This article is about a form of government in which the state operates under the control of a Communist Party. ... States in which a single party is constitutionally linked to power are coloured in brown. ... This page is about the religious concept of Tyranny. ... Technocracy (techno for technology and cracy for power) is an organizational system in which decision makers and political leaders are selected on the basis of technological knowledge —often because of some conflict or competition where technological escalation is a constant feature. ... Deliberative democracy, also sometimes called discursive democracy, is a term used by political theorists, e. ... The term Democratic Republic has formed part of several governments official names. ... Direct democracy, classically termed pure democracy,[1] comprises a form of democracy and theory of civics wherein sovereignty is lodged in the assembly of all citizens who choose to participate. ... Participatory democracy is a broadly inclusive term for many kinds of consultative decision making which require consultation on important decisions by those who will carry out the decision. ... Representative democracy is a form of democracy founded on the exercise of popular sovereignty by the peoples representatives. ... The Houses of Parliament in London The Westminster system is a democratic parliamentary system of government modeled after that of the United Kingdom system, as used in the Palace of Westminster, the location of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... A parliamentary system, also known as parliamentarianism (and parliamentarism in U.S. English), is distinguished by the executive branch of government being dependent on the direct or indirect support of the parliament, often expressed through a vote of confidence. ... Consensus government is a system of government which does not elect members of political parties but rather rule based on consensus. ... A presidential system, also called a congressional system, is a system of government where the executive branch exists and presides (hence the term) separate from the legislature, to which it is not accountable, and which cannot in normal circumstances dismiss it. ... A presidential system, or a congressional system, is a system of government of a republic where the executive branch is elected separately from the legislative. ... States with semi-presidential systems are shown in yellow The semi-presidential system is a system of government in which a prime minister and a president are both active participants in the day-to-day functioning of the administration of a country. ... Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, with an emphasis on Liberty and ruled by the people. ... For other uses, see Republic (disambiguation). ... Republics with presidential systems are shown in blue A presidential system, or a congressional system, is a system of government of a republic where the executive branch is elected separately from the legislative. ... A parliamentary republic is a republic, meaning the head of state is elected, but unlike in a presidential republic the head of state does not have broad executive power because much of those powers have been granted to a head of government (usually called a prime minister). ... A constitutional republic is a state where the head of state and other officials are elected as representatives of the people and must govern according to existing constitutional law that limits the governments power over citizens. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into List of types of democracy. ... Liberal democracy is a form of government. ... Social democracy is a political ideology emerging in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from supporters of Marxism who believed that the transition to a socialist society could be achieved through democratic evolutionary rather than revolutionary means. ...

By approach to regional autonomy

This list focuses on differing approaches that political systems take to the distribution of sovereignty, and the autonomy of regions within the state. Sovereignty is the exclusive right to exercise supreme political (e. ... An autonomous (subnational) entity is a subnational entity that has a certain amount of autonomy. ...

• Sovereignty located exclusively at the centre
  • Empire
  • Unitary state
• Sovereignty located at the centre and in peripheral areas
  • Federation and Federal republic
  • Confederation
  • Supranational union
  • Federacy

What exactly constitutes an Empire (from the Latin imperium, denoting military command within the ancient Roman government) is a topic of intense debate within the scholarly community. ... A map showing the unitary states. ... A map displaying todays federations. ... The Federal Republic of Germany and its sixteen Bundesländer (federal states) A federal republic is a federation of states with a republican form of government. ... A confederation is an association of sovereign states or communities, usually created by treaty but often later adopting a common constitution. ... A supranational union, sometimes called also a supranational state, is a group of countries that has: some of the traits of a regional international organization and some of the traits of a federal state, In other words, it is a hybrid or transitional institution. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Federation. ...

By political franchise

This list shows a division based on differences in political franchise (suffrage). Suffrage is the civil right to vote, or the exercise of that right. ...

• anarchy - rule by no one
• democracy - rule by majority
• oligarchy - rule by minority
• autocracy - rule by one
• republic - rule by law

It has been suggested that Origins of anarchism and History of anarchism be merged into this article or section. ... A majority is a subset of a group that is more than half of the entire group. ... Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      Oligarchy (Greek , Oligarkhía) is a form of government where political power effectively rests with a small, elite segment of society (whether distinguished by wealth, family or military prowess). ... The definition of a minority group can vary, depending on specific context, but generally refers to either a sociological sub-group that does not form either a majority or a plurality of the total population, or a group that, while not necessarily a numerical minority, is disadvantaged or otherwise has... An Autocracy is a form of government in which unlimited power is held by a single individual. ... Dictator was the title of a magistrate in ancient Rome appointed by the Senate to rule the state in times of emergency. ... For other uses, see Republic (disambiguation). ... Lady Justice is a personification of the law. ...

According to Weber's tripartite classification of authority

Max Weber in his tripartite classification of authority distinguished three ideal types of political leadership, domination and authority: For other persons named Max Weber, see Max Weber (disambiguation). ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Ideal type, also known as pure type, or idealtyp (in the original German), is a typological term invented by sociologist Max Weber (1864-1920). ...

• charismatic domination (familial and religious)
• traditional domination (patriarchs, patrimonalism, feudalism)
• legal domination (modern law and state, bureaucracy)

This article needs cleanup. ... Traditional authority (also known as traditional domination) is a form of leadership in which the authority of an organization or a ruling regime is largely tied to the tradition. ... Rational-legal authority (also known as rational authority, legal authority, rational domination, legal domination) is a form of leadership in which the authority of an organization or a ruling regime is largely tied to legal rationality, legal legitimacy and bureaucracy. ...

According to an etymologist approach

Finally, the list below present an etymologist's approach to forms of government: the following are real, possible or imaginary forms of government, all made different by the prefix and suffix combination. Nearly all use one of two suffixes: -archy meaning "leadership" (eg. anarchy - no leadership), and -cracy suffix from Greek "kratos" and means "strength" and "power" (e.g., democracy - people's power). The major exception is the Republic, which is derived from the Latin res publicae, which means "the public matter" or, more literally, "the thing of the people", i.e. socio-political affairs. For various extant terms, an example or annotation is juxtaposed. Headline text --67. ... The English suffix -archy (from Greek αρχή, rule) denotes leadership and government. ... The English suffix -cracy means a form of government or a state having such government. ...

• adhocracy government in an unstructured fashion; an unstructured organization
• anarchy absence of government
• andrarchy/androcracy government by men
• aristocracy government by the nobility (aristo="the best")
• atheocracy government where religion is forbidden
• autarchy government by an absolute ruler
• autocracy government by one individual, autarchy
• bureaucracy government by civil servants; also the civil servants themselves
• confederacy a union of sovereign states
• corporatocracy government by corporations (industry)
• demarchy government by the people by lot
• democracy government by the people, either direct (through referendum or popular assembly) or via elections (representative form)
• ethnocracy government by a particular ethnic group
• geniocracy government by those of a higher than average intelligence
• gerontocracy government by the aged - see the Spartan gerousia
• gynarchy government by women; gynocracy
• hierarchy government by a ranked body; government by priests
• hierocracy government by priests or religious ministers
• judiciocracy government by judges
• kakistocracy government by the worst
• kleptocracy government by thieves - not an existing form, but a negative appreciation of any regime where corruption is excessive
• kritarchy government by equal freedoms
• krytocracy government by judges
• magocracy government by the magically adept (fictional)
• malarchy government by bad leaders
• matriarchy government by women or mothers
• meritocracy government by those with merit
• minarchy government with the smallest possible bureaucracy or size
• monarchy government by one (usu. by hereditary rule)
• ochlocracy government by mobs
• oligarchy government by the few; sometimes specified after their fixed number :
  • dyarchy government by two, as in a dual monarchy
  • heptarchy government by seven people
  • triumvirate government by three people
  • tetrarchy government by four people
• omniarchy government by all
• panarchy universal rule or dominion
• pantarchy (literally) rule by all
• particracy government by political parties
• patriarchy government by fathers - the original Roman Senate, styling itself Patres ('fathers'), came close; usually just said of rule by men
• plantocracy government by plantation owners
• plutocracy government by the wealthy
• polyarchy government by many people, a vague antonym to monarchy and oligarchy
• pornocracy government by prostitution - none has yet to exist, although there is a period of the papacy known as the pornocracy.
• republic government by elected politicians
• robocracy government by robots or other artificial intelligences (fictional)
• sociocracy government by equal individuals, based on consent
• stratocracy government by the armed forces - usually termed military dictatorship or junta
• synarchy joint sovereignty, just as the condominium of Andorra
• technocracy government by technical experts
• thalassocracy sovereignty of the seas
• theocracy government by a deity through clergy or by religious law
• timocracy government by the propertied class

Adhocracy is a type of organization being an opposite of bureaucracy. ... Look up anarchy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Androcracy or andrarchy is a form of government in which the government rulers are men. ... Androcracy or andrarchy is a form of government in which the government rulers are men. ... The Ancient Greek term aristocracy originally meant a system of government with rule by the best. The word is derived from two words, aristos meaning the best and kratein to rule. Aristocracies have most often been hereditary plutocracies (see below), where a sense of historical gravitas and noblesse oblige demands... Look up Autarchy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An Autocracy is a form of government in which unlimited power is held by a single individual. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      Bureaucracy is a concept in sociology and political science referring to the way that the administrative execution and enforcement of legal rules are socially organized. ... A confederation is an association of sovereign states or communities, usually created by treaty but often later adopting a common constitution. ... Corporatocracy (sometimes corporocracy) is a neologism coined by proponents of the Global Justice Movement to describe a government bowing to pressure from corporate entities. ... Demarchy is a term coined by Australian philosopher John Burnheim to describe a political system without the state or bureaucracies, and based instead on randomly selected groups of decision makers. ... Ethnocracy is a form of government where all offices are held by a certain ethnic group purposefully and the other ethnic groups are subdued and sometimes killed by the state because of their race or cultural differences. ... Geniocracy is a system of government proposed by the Raëlian movement, that is designed to select for intelligence. ... A gerontocracy is a form of oligarchical rule in which an entity is ruled by a small clique of leaders, in which the oldest hold the most power. ... The Gerousia was the Spartan senate. ... Government by women see also Matriarchy Categories: Substubs ... A hierarchy (in Greek: , it is derived from -hieros, sacred, and -arkho, rule) is a system of ranking and organizing things or people, where each element of the system (except for the top element) is subordinate to a single other element. ... A hierocracy is a government ruled by priests or religious ministers. ... Government by the least qualified or most undesireble citizens. ... Kleptocracy (sometimes Cleptocracy) (root: Klepto+cracy = rule by thieves) is a pejorative, informal term for a government that is primarily designed to sustain the personal wealth and political power of government officials and their cronies (collectively, kleptocrats). ... Kritarchy is a form of government ruled by judges and is based on natural rights. ... A Krytocracy is a government ruled by judges. ... A magocracy is a fictional form of government that was created for use in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. ... Matriarchy is a form of society in which power is with the women and especially with the mothers of a community. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... In civics, Minarchism, sometimes called minimal statism, is the view that government should be as small as possible. ... Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A monarchy, from the Greek μονος, one, and αρχειν, to rule, is a form of government that has a monarch as head of state. ... Ochlocracy (Greek: οχλοκρατια; Latin: ochlocratia) is government by mob or a mass of people, or the intimidation of constitutional authorities. ... Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      Oligarchy (Greek , Oligarkhía) is a form of government where political power effectively rests with a small, elite segment of society (whether distinguished by wealth, family or military prowess). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A map showing the general locations of the Anglo-Saxon peoples around the year 600 Britain and Ireland around the year 802 Heptarchy (Greek: seven + realm) is a collective name applied to the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of the south and east of Great Britain during late antiquity and the early... The term triumvirate is commonly used to describe a political regime dominated by three powerful political and/or military leaders. ... The Tetrarchs, a porphyry sculpture sacked from a Byzantine palace in 1204, Treasury of St. ... Panarchy is a conceptual term invented by the Belgian political scientist Paul Emile de Puydt in 1860. ... The definition for pantarchy is: n. ... Particracy is a form of government where the will of political parties dominates over the will of individual politicians. ... For other uses, see Patriarch (disambiguation). ... A plantocracy, also known as a slavocracy,[1] is a ruling class, political order or government comprised of (or dominated by) plantation owners. ... A plutocracy is a form of government where the states power is centralized in an affluent social class. ... Polyarchy (Greek: poly many, arkhe rule) has long been used to mean the opposite of monarchy, i. ... A pornocracy is a form of government controlled by prostitutes, and is sexually orintated. ... A sex worker in Germany. ... The Pope is the Catholic Bishop and patriarch of Rome, and head of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches. ... Pornocracy is a term that has been used to mean government by or domination of government by prostitutes. ... For other uses, see Republic (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Cybernetic revolt. ... The word sociocracy was coined by the American sociologist Lester Frank Ward in a paper he wrote for the Penn Monthly in 1881. ... General Augusto Pinochet (sitting) as head of the newly established military junta in Chile, September 1973. ... General Augusto Pinochet (sitting) as head of the newly established military junta in Chile, September 1973. ... Synarchism (from Greek words meaning to rule together, in Spanish Sinarquismo), is the ideology of a political movement in Mexico dating from the 1930s. ... Technocracy (techno for technology and cracy for power) is an organizational system in which decision makers and political leaders are selected on the basis of technological knowledge —often because of some conflict or competition where technological escalation is a constant feature. ... The term thalassocracy (from the Greek Θαλασσο-κρατία) refers to a state with primarily maritime realms—an empire at sea, such as the Phoenician network of merchant cities. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. ... Constitutional theory defines a timocracy as either: a state where only property owners may participate in government; or a government where rulers are selected and perpetuated based on the degree of honour they hold relative to others in their society, peers and the ruling class. ...

See also

• Form of government

• Golden Liberty
• List of countries by system of government
• Separation of powers

A form of government is a colloquial term that refers to the set of political institutions by which a state is organized in order to exert its powers over a political community. ... Golden Liberty (latin: Aurea Libertas, Polish: Złota Wolność, sometimes used in plural form; this phenomena can be also reffered to as Golden Freedoms, Nobles Democracy or Nobles Commonwealth, Polish: Rzeczpospolita Szlachecka) refers to a unique democratic political system in the Kingdom of Poland and later, after... States by their systems of government as of April 2006. ... The separation of powers (or trias politica, a term coined by French political Enlightenment thinker Montesquieu) is a model for the governance of democratic states. ...

External links

• CBBC Newsround : types of government