Forms of government by power structure

Term Definition
A society without a publicly enforced government or political authority.[1][2] Sometimes said to be
non-governance; it is a structure which strives for non-hierarchical, voluntary associations among
agents. Anarchy is a situation where there is no state.
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
Anarchy
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 avoid the use of coercion, violence, force and authority,
while still producing a productive and desirable society.[5][6]
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
Confederation
support for all its members. Confederalism represents a main form of inter-governmentalism, 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.
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
Federation 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.
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
Unitary State
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.
Forms of government by power source
Term Description
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
Autocracy
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, 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
Democracy 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.
 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
Oligarchy 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.
Types of democracy
In democracies, large proportions of the population are provided the means to either to make decisions or to
choose representatives to make decisions. Usually, though not necessarily (see Demarchy), this means is voting.
Significant in most vote-based democracies are political parties, which are groups of people with similar ideas
about how a country or region should be governed. Different political parties have different ideas about how the
government should handle different problems.
Note: These categories are not exclusive.
Term Definition
Variant of democracy; government in which the state is governed by randomly selected decision
makers who have been selected by sortition (lot) 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
Demarchy 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 Variant of democracy; government in which the people represent themselves and vote directly for
democracy new laws and public policy.
Variant of democracy; a form of representative democracy where citizens are able to vote for their
Electocracy government but cannot participate directly in governmental decision making and where the
government does not share any power almost as the government has absolute power
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
Liberal
a constitution, either formally written or uncodified, to delineate the powers of government and
democracy
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 the United States; or a constitutional monarchy, such as Japan or Spain. It may have a presidential
system (Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, or the United States), a semi-presidential system (France,
 Term Definition
or Portugal), or a parliamentary system (Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, India, Italy, or New
Zealand).
Liquid Variant of democracy; government in which the people represent themselves or choose to
democracy temporarily delegate their vote to another voter to vote for new laws and public policy.
Representative Variant of democracy; wherein the people or citizens of a country elect representatives to create and
democracy implement public policy in place of active participation by the people.
Variant of democracy; social democracy rejects the "either/or" phobiocratic/polarization
interpretation of capitalism versus socialism. It claims that fostering a progressive evolution of
capitalism will gradually result in the evolution of capitalist economy into socialist economy. Social
democracy argues that all citizens should be legally entitled to certain social rights. These are made
Social up of universal access to public services such as: education, health care, workers' compensation,
democracy 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.
Variant of democracy; The citizens are governing by directly elected councils. The councils are
directly responsible to their electors and are bound by their instructions. Such an imperative
Soviet
mandate is in contrast to a free mandate, in which the elected delegates are only responsible to their
democracy
conscience. Delegates may accordingly be dismissed from their post at any time or be voted out
(recall).
Variant of democracy; a form of electocracy in which lawfully elected representatives maintain the
Totalitarian
integrity of a nation state whose citizens, while granted the right to vote, have little or no
democracy
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
Rule by the nobility; a system of governance where political power is in the hands of a small class of
Aristocracy
privileged individuals who claim a higher birth than the rest of society.
 Term Definition
Rule by the proletariat, the workers, or the working class. Examples of ergatocracy include
Ergatocracy communist revolutionaries and rebels which control most of society and create an alternative
economy for people and workers. See Dictatorship of the proletariat.
Rule by the intelligent; a system of governance where creativity, innovation, intelligence and wisdom
Geniocracy
are required for those who wish to govern. Comparable to noocracy.
Rule by the strong; a system of governance where those who are strong enough to seize power
Kraterocracy
through physical force, social maneuvering or political cunning.
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
Kritarchy
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,[7] as well as the Islamic Courts Union, is a historical example.[8]
Rule by the meritorious; a system of governance where groups are selected on the basis of people's
Meritocracy
ability, knowledge in a given area, and contributions to society.
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,
Netocracy 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.
Rule by the wise; a system of governance in which decision making is in the hands of philosophers.
Noocracy
(advocated by Plato)
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
Plutocracy
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).
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.
Stratocracy (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.
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
Technocracy
decision making. Doctors, engineers, scientists, professionals and technologists who have knowledge,
expertise, or skills would compose the governing body instead of politicians, businessmen and
 Term Definition
economists.[9] In a technocracy, decision makers would be selected based upon how knowledgeable
and skillful they are in their field.
Rule by a religious elite; a system of governance composed of religious institutions in which the state
Theocracy 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.
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
Timocracy 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, Nazi Germany and Soviet Union.
Term Definition

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
Civilian
small time. In modern times, an autocrat's rule is one that not stopped by any rules of
Dictatorship
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: Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Idi Amin, Muammar Gaddafi, and Gamal Abdul Nasser.

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
Military nation from the corrupt or myopic civilian politicians, a military dictatorship justifies its position as
Dictatorship “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.
Forms of government by power ideology
Term Definition
A constitutional government is a government which powers are limited by a constitution. A
Constitutional
constititution is normally used so the people of that government has civil and ethical rights.
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
Monarchy 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.
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
Republic
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, known elsewhere 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
A traditional and historical system where the monarch exercises ultimate governing authority
Absolute as head of state and head of government. Many nations of Europe during the Middle Ages were
monarchy absolute monarchies. Modern examples include mainly Islamic countries such as Saudi
Arabia, UAE, Oman, Brunei and one African country, Eswatini.
Also called parliamentary monarchy, the monarch's powers are limited by law or by a
formal constitution,[17][18] usually assigning them to those of the head of state. Many modern
Constitutional
developed countries, including the United
monarchy
Kingdom, Norway, Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Spain and Japan, are constitutional monarchy
systems.
A form of government where the monarch (and family) is an official ceremonial entity with no
Crowned political power. The royal family and the monarch are intended to represent the country and may
republic 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.
A form of government where the monarch is elected, a modern example being the King of
Elective
Cambodia, who is chosen by the Royal Council of the Throne; Vatican City is also often considered a
monarchy
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.[19][20] A common
simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of state is not a
 monarch.[21][22] 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.[23]
Note: These categories are not exclusive.
Term Definition
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
Constitutional and its government), and chosen by a vote amongst the populace. Typically, laws cannot be
republic 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 the United States, South Africa, India, etc.
Republics where the laws are ultimately decided by popular vote, whether by a body of
Democratic elected representatives or directly by the public, and there is no restriction on which laws are
republic passed so long as they have majority support. Constitutional law is either non-existent or poses
little obstacle to legislation.
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
Federal
enforce its own laws and affairs so long as they don't conflict with federal law. Examples
republic
include United States, Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Germany, India, Mexico, Russia,
and Switzerland.
Islamic Republics governed in accordance with Islamic law. Examples
Republic include Afghanistan, Iran, Mauritania, and Pakistan.
Republics, like Germany, India or Singapore, with an elected head of state, but where the head
Parliamentary of state and head of government are kept separate with the head of government retaining
republic most executive powers, or a head of state akin to a head of government, elected by a
parliament.
Presidential Republics with an elected head of state, where the head of state is also the head of the
Republic government. Examples include United States, Mexico, Brazil, and Indonesia.
Republics that include countries like China and Vietnam that are de jure governed for and by
People's the people, but with no direct elections. The term People's Republic is used to differentiate
republic themselves from the earlier republic of their countries before the people's revolution, like the
Republic of China.
Forms of government by socio-political attributes
By socio-economic attributes
Further information: Economic system
Historically, most political systems originated as socioeconomic 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.
Note: These categories are not exclusive.
Term Definition
A system that advocates self-governed societies based on voluntary institutions. These are often
Anarchism described as stateless societies, although several authors have defined them more specifically as
institutions based on non-hierarchical or free associations, while others have advocated for stateless
 Term Definition
societies with the inclusion of private property, property rights and hierarchical groups, so long as
membership and association with those groups are entirely voluntary. Anarchism holds the state to
be undesirable, unnecessary and/or harmful.
A system in which the means of production (machines, tools, factories, etc.) are owned by private
individuals, workers then negotiate with those individuals to use those means of production in
Capitalism exchange for a portion of what they produce, usually in the form of capital (money). The owners of
the means of production are entitled to whatever portion of the products of the workers' labor that
is agreed upon by the two parties.
A system in which a native group (or their lands and resources) is subjugated by an external political
Colonialism
power for their own economic and/or political benefit.
A socialist system in which the means of production are commonly owned (either by the people
directly, through the commune, or by a communist state or society), and production is
Communism undertaken for use, rather than for profit.[24][25] Communist society is thus, in
theory, stateless, classless, moneyless, and democratic— it is usually regarded as the "final form" of a
socialist or anarchist society.
A system in which the laws and resources of a nation are controlled by one individual, usually
a monarch or dictator, who holds absolute political power. Examples include the pharaohs of Ancient
Egypt and the Roman emperors.
Despotism
(Often used as a slur by republicans to refer to all monarchical systems, monarchists conversely use
the term to refer to systems in which monarchs have overstepped their boundaries, or to refer to
some of the more totalitarian republican systems)
A variant of capitalism which views widespread property ownership as fundamental
right;[26] the means of production are spread as widely as possible rather than being centralized
under the control of the state (as in state socialism), or a few individuals/corporations (as in what
Distributism proponents of distributism call "crony capitalism")[27] Distributism fundamentally
opposes socialism and capitalism,[28][29] which distributists view as equally flawed and exploitative. In
contrast, distributism seeks to subordinate economic activity to human life as a whole, to our
spiritual life, our intellectual life, our family life".[30]
A system of land ownership and duties common to medieval Europe. Under feudalism, all the land in
a kingdom belonged to the king. However, the king would give some of the land to the lords or
nobles who fought for him. These presents of land were called manors. Then the nobles gave some
of their land to vassals. The vassals then had to do duties for the nobles. The lands of vassals were
Feudalism called fiefs.
A similar system is the Iqta, used by medieval Islamic societies of the middle east and north Africa.
This functioned much like the feudal system but generally had titles that weren't granted to a family
dynasty but to individuals at the behest of the sultan and generally only required a tax from the lower
classes, instead of military service and/or manual labour like in the feudal system.
A variant of capitalism which advocates for the State to exist solely to provide a very small number of
Minarchism services. A popular model of the State proposed by minarchists is known as the night-watchman
state, in which the only governmental functions are to protect citizens from aggression, theft, breach
 Term Definition
of contract, and fraud as defined by property laws, limiting it to three institutions: the military,
the police, and courts.
A system in which the government is headed by an agreed upon head of the nobility who is known as
the monarch, usually in the form of a king or emperor (but also less commonly a queen or empress).
Monarchism In most monarchical systems the position of monarch is one inherited from a previous ruler
by bloodline or marriage, but in other cases it may be a position elected by the nobility themselves,
as was the case in the ancient Roman Kingdom and the medieval Holy Roman Empire.
A system in which the laws and governmental policies of the state are considered a "public matter"
Republicanism and decided by the citizens of the society, whoever they may be. Most modern nation-states are
examples of republics, but other examples include those of ancient Rome and Athens.
A system in which workers, democratically and/or socially own the means of production.[31] The
economic framework may be decentralized and self-managed in autonomous economic units, as
Socialism
in libertarian systems, or centrally planned, as in authoritarian systems.[32] Public services such
as healthcare and educationwould be commonly, collectively, and/or state owned.
A system in which the land and resources of a nation are controlled by a
Totalitarianism centralised authoritarian state that holds absolute political power, usually under
a dictatorship or single political party. Examples include the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.
A system based on a small complex society of varying degrees of centralisation that is led by an
Tribalism
individual known as a chief.
By geo-cultural attributes
Governments can also be categorized based on their size and scope of influence:
Term Definition
The government of a nation-state and is a characteristic of a unitary state. This is the same thing as
a federal government which may have distinct powers at various levels authorized or delegated to
it by its member states, though the adjective 'central' is sometimes used to describe it. The
structure of central governments varies. Many countries have created autonomous regions by
National
delegating powers from the central government to governments at a sub national level, such as a
Government
regional, state or local level. Based on a broad definition of a basic political system, there are two
or more levels of government that exist within an established territory and govern through
common institutions with overlapping or shared powers as prescribed by a constitution or other
law.
A sovereign state, also described as a type of small independent country, that usually consists of a
single city and its dependent territories. Historically, this included cities such
as Rome, Athens, Carthage, and the Italian city-states during the Renaissance. Today only a
City-State handful of sovereign city-states exist, with some disagreement as to which are city-states. A great
deal of consensus exists that the term properly applies currently to Singapore, Monaco,
and Vatican City. City states are also sometimes called micro-states which however also includes
other configurations of very small countries.
 From the Medieval Latin communia. An intentional community of people living together, sharing
Commune common interests, often having common values and beliefs, as well as shared property,
possessions, resources, and, in some communes, work, income or assets.
Also known as international governmental organizations (IGOs): the type of organization most
closely associated with the term 'international organization', these are organizations that are
made up primarily of sovereign states (referred to as member states). Notable examples include
Intergovernmenta
the United Nations (UN), Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Council of
l Organisations
Europe (COE), International Labour Organization (ILO) and International Police
Organization (INTERPOL). The UN has used the term "intergovernmental organization" instead of
"international organization" for clarity.
The notion of a common political authority for all of humanity, yielding a global government and a
World single state that exercises authority over the entire Earth. Such a government could come into
Government existence either through violent and compulsory world domination or through peaceful and
voluntary supranational union.

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_forms_of_government