civil authority
Secular ruling body
Civil authority is the power of government or its representatives to make and enforce laws, maintain order, and administer public affairs.
The term often appears in contexts distinguishing governmental power from military or religious authority: The military deferred to civil authority once the crisis passed.
Civil authorities are the officials who exercise this power—mayors, police, courts, and administrative agencies.
- police forceOfficial law enforcement body
- law and orderGovernance through enforced rules
- governmentAuthority over a state
- state powerGovernment's capacity to govern
- judiciaryLaw-interpreting government branch
citizenship · voting rights · public health · bureaucracy · legal code · treaty negotiation · social contract · court system · rule of law · foreign policy · municipality · town council · local government · regulatory agency · public office · public servant · city hall · penal system
- Secularismsecular humanism, secular state, separation of church and state, disestablishment, church and state
- Islamic governancecaliph, caliphate, sharia, sultanate, emirate
civil authoritymartial law
Armed forces governance
military rule · military authority · military government · military dictatorship · military regime
civil authorityreligious authority
Governing force in faith
theocracy · church authority · spiritual authority · papal authority · divine right
civil authorityanarchy
Disorder from absent authority
lawlessness · chaos · disorder · failed state · mob rule
civil, authority, civility, civilian, civilize, civilized, civilization, civics, civic