Government

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

For the executive power referred to as "the government", see Executive (government). For other uses, see Government (disambiguation).

World's states colored by systems of government:

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  Parliamentary systems: Head of government is elected or nominated by and accountable to the legislature.
    Constitutional monarchy with a ceremonial monarch
    Semi-constitutional monarchy: Monarch holds significant executive or legislative power but is still restricted by the constitution.
    Parliamentary republic with a ceremonial president
    Parliamentary republic with an executive president

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  Presidential system: Head of government (president) is popularly elected and independent of the legislature.
    Presidential republic
    Theocratic presidential republic: Supreme leader is highest authority; popularly elected president still exists.

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  Hybrid systems:
    Semi-presidential republic: Executive president is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature.
    Assembly-independent republic: Head of government (president or directory) is elected by the legislature, but is not accountable to it.

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  Other systems:
    Islamic theocracy: Supreme leader holds unlimited political and religious power; state and faith are a single institution.
    Absolute monarchy: Monarch has unlimited power.
    One-party state: Power is constitutionally linked to a single political party.
    Provisional government: Current regime is temporary or transitional; no permanent constitution.
    Military junta: Committee of military leaders controls the government; constitutional provisions are suspended.
    Places without governments.

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  Note: this chart represents the de jure systems of government, not the de facto degree of democracy.

A government is the system or group of people which lead a state. As such, it is responsible for directing the only entity whose use of force is socially acceptable. Governments have come in many forms, whether dominated by one person (autocracy) a small ruling class (oligarchy), or the masses (democracy).

The main types of modern political systems recognized are democracies, totalitarian regimes, and, sitting between these two, authoritarian regimes with a variety of hybrid regimes. Modern classification systems also include monarchies as a standalone entity or as a hybrid system of the main three.