Forms of Government: A List of Options and Suggestions
Aristocracy
Refers to a form of government where power is held by a small number of individuals from an elite or from noble families. Only this elite is allowed to compete for power and to hold the most powerful positions in state. The transmission of power is often hereditary. In aristocratic government, power is thus confined to an elite drawn from a single caste, or social class. It is derived from two Ancient Greek words, "aristos" meaning the "best" and "kratein" "to rule" and so aristocracy originally meant "rule by the best". Aristocracies have most often been hereditary plutocracies, with a belief in their own superiority. Aristocracies often include a monarch who although a member of the aristocracy rules over the aristocracy as well as the rest of society. Aristocracy can also refer to the highest class in society even if they do not rule directly.
Authoritarianism
A form of social control characterized by strict obedience to the authority of a state or organization, often maintaining and enforcing control through the use of oppressive measures. Authoritarian regimes are strongly hierarchical. In an authoritarian form of government, citizens are subject to state authority in many aspects of their lives, including many matters that other political philosophies would see as erosion of civil liberties and freedom. There are various degrees of authoritarianism; even very democratic and liberal states will show authoritarianism to some extent, for example in areas of national security. Usually, an authoritarian government is undemocratic and has the power to govern without consent of those being governed.
Autocracy
A form of government in which a single person holds the political power. The autocrat needs some kind of power structure to rule. Historically, very few rulers were in the position to rule with only their personal charisma and skills without the help of others. Most historical autocrats depended on their nobles, the military, the priesthood or others, who could turn against the ruler and depose or murder him.
Communism
Communist state is a term used by many political scientists to describe a form of government in which the state operates under a one-party system and declares allegiance to Marxism-Leninism, Maoism or a derivative thereof. Communist states may have several legal political parties, but the Communist Party is constitutionally guaranteed a dominant role in government. Consequently, the institutions of the state and of the Communist Party become intimately entwined. What separates Communist states from other one-party systems is the fact that ruling authorities in a Communist state claim to be guided by Marxist-Leninist or Maoist ideology. For Marxist-Leninists, the state and the Communist Party claim to act in accordance with the wishes of the industrial working class; for Maoists, the state and party claim to act in accordance to the peasantry. Both systems claim to have implemented a democratic dictatorship of the proletariat, and both claim to be moving towards the gradual abolition of the state and the implementation of communism. Most Communist states adopted centrally planned economies. For this reason, Communist states are often associated with economic planning in both popular thought and scholarship.
Direct Democracy
Direct democracy comprises a form of democracy and theory of civics wherein sovereignty is lodged in the assembly of all citizens who choose to participate. Depending on the particular system, this assembly might pass executive motions (decrees), make law, elect and dismiss officials and conduct trials. Where the assembly elected officials, these were executive agents or direct representatives (bound to the will of the people).
Representative Democracy
Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principles of popular sovereignty by the people's representatives. The representatives form an independent ruling body (for an election period) charged with the responsibility of acting in the people's interest, but not as their proxy representatives—i.e., not necessarily always according to their wishes, but with enough authority to exercise swift and resolute initiative in the face of changing circumstances. It is often contrasted with direct democracy, where representatives are absent or are limited in power as proxy representatives. Representatives are chosen by the majority of the voters (as opposed to the majority of the population/eligible voters) in elections. Also, representatives sometimes hold the power to select other representatives, presidents, or other officers of government (indirect representation). A representative democracy that also protects liberties is called a liberal democracy.
Despotism
Despotism is a form of government by a single authority, either an individual or tightly knit group, which rules with absolute political power. In its classical form, despotism is a state where one single person, called a Despot, wields all the power and authority, and everyone else is considered his slave. This form of despotism was the first known form of statehood and civilization; the Pharaoh of Egypt is a hallmark of a classical Despot.
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by a dictator. In contemporary usage, dictatorship refers to an autocratic form of absolute rule by leadership unrestricted by law, constitutions, or other social and political factors within the state.
Absolute Monarchy
Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government where the monarch has the power to rule his or her land or country and its citizens freely, with no laws or legally organized direct opposition in force. Although some religious authority may be able to discourage the monarch from some acts and the sovereign is expected to act according to custom, in an absolute monarchy there is no constitution or body of law above what is decreed by the sovereign (king or queen). As a theory of civics, absolute monarchy puts total trust in well-bred and well-trained monarchs raised for the role from birth. In theory, an absolute monarch has total power over his or her people and land, including the aristocracy and sometimes the clergy. In practice, absolute monarchs have often found their power limited—generally by one or other of those groups.
Constitutional Monarchy
A constitutional monarchy is a form of government established under a constitutional system that acknowledges an elected or hereditary monarch as head of state, as opposed to an absolute monarchy, where the monarch is not bound by a constitution and is the sole source of political power. The process of government and law within a constitutional monarchy is usually very different from that in an absolute monarchy. Most constitutional monarchies take on a parliamentary form, like the United Kingdom, Canada, Spain or Japan, where the monarch may be regarded as the head of state but the prime minister, whose power derives directly or indirectly from elections, is head of government.
Theocracy
Theocracy means either government by divine guidance or, more commonly, government by or subject to religious institutions and leaders. Theocracies are either oligarchies or autocracies by the ruling priests. For believers, theocracy is a form of government in which divine power governs an earthly human state, either in a personal incarnation or, more often, via religious institutional representatives (i.e.: a church), replacing or dominating civil government.
Totalitarianism
Totalitarianism exists when the state regulates nearly every aspect of public and private behavior. The most influential scholars of totalitarianism have each described totalitarianism in a slightly different way. Common to all definitions is the attempt to mobilize entire populations in support of the official state ideology, and the intolerance of activities that are not directed towards the goals of the state, entailing repression or state control of business, labor unions, churches or political parties. Totalitarian regimes or movements maintain themselves in political power by means of secret police, propaganda disseminated through the state-controlled mass media, personality cult, regulation and restriction of free discussion and criticism, single-party state, the use of mass surveillance, and widespread use of terror tactics.
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