political institutions
Structures of power
Political institutions are the formal structures and organizations through which governmental power is exercised and public decisions are made.
These include legislatures, courts, executive branches, regulatory agencies, and electoral systems.
The term encompasses both the organizations themselves and the established rules governing their operation: The framers designed political institutions to check concentrated power.
Political institutions shape how societies resolve conflicts, allocate resources, and enforce laws.
- legislatureLawmaking governmental branch
- rule of lawSupremacy of established laws
- United NationsInternational governmental organization
- lobbyingAdvocating to decision-makers
- executive branchGovernment's implementing arm
statutory law · proportional representation · World Trade Organization · suffrage · bureaucracy · patronage systems · judicial review · federalism · municipal government · town hall · electoral college · monarchy · first-past-the-post · common law · civil code · International Monetary Fund · civic engagement · European Union
- political philosophysocial contract, natural rights, natural law, sovereignty, legitimacy
- political sciencevoting behavior, international relations, authoritarianism, public opinion, constitutionalism
- German governmentBundestag, Bundesrat, executive, legislative, judicial
- constitutional lawBill of Rights, First Amendment, Second Amendment, Fourth Amendment, Fifth Amendment
- political literaturegovernment documents, white papers, executive orders, party platforms, voting records
political institutionsgrassroots movements
Citizen-led collective action
customary practices · civil society · folk traditions · social norms · cultural traditions
political institutionsprivate enterprise
Individually owned business operation
private life · corporate governance · business organizations · financial institutions · religious institutions
political institutionsanarchy
Disorder from absent authority
state of nature · failed states · lawlessness · power vacuum · statelessness
political, politic, politics, politically, politicize, politicized, politicization, politician, politicians