political regimes
States and their rulers
Political regimes are the systems of government that determine how power is organized and exercised in a state—who rules, by what authority, and through what institutions.
The term encompasses democracies, autocracies, monarchies, and everything between.
Regime often carries negative connotations in casual use, implying authoritarian rule: The regime cracked down on dissent.
But in political science, regime is neutral, describing any governing arrangement: a democratic regime, a transitional regime.
- republicState with elected leaders
- voteFormal choice expression
- dictatorshipUnchecked single-ruler government
- democracyRule by the people
- free electionsUncoerced public choosing of representatives
federalism · totalitarianism · social contract · ideal state · monarchy · philosopher king · oligarchy · leader · communism · authoritarianism · iron fist · statecraft · power grab · tyranny · one-party state · civic engagement · civil liberties · confederation
political regimesanarchy
Disorder from absent authority
statelessness · failed states · power vacuums · democracies · autocracies
political regimestribal governance
Self-rule by native peoples
civil society · grassroots movements · non-state actors · warlordism · shadow governments
political regimespopular sovereignty
Populace holds ultimate authority
direct democracy · grassroots movements · civil society · self-determination · revolution
political, politics, politic, politicize, politicized, politicization, politician, politicians, politicking