List of forms of government
This article lists forms of government and political systems, according to a series of different ways of categorising them. The systems listed are of course not mutually exclusive, and often have overlappping definitions (for example autocracy, despotism, totalitarism and tyranny).
Alphabetical list with hierarchy
The following list groups major political systems (recognized by political science) in alphabetical order. The various subtype political systems are listed below the main system of government.
- Anarchism (perhaps better defined as a system of non-government)
- Authoritarianism
- Police state
- Single-party state
- Communist states (their relationship with the communist movement is disputed)
- Fascism
- Totalitarianism
- Autocracy
- Absolutism
- Despotism
- Enlightened Despotism, and the modern equivalent Benevolent Dictatorship
- Dictatorship (not all dictatorships are autocracies)
- Monarchy
- Patriarchy
- Tyranny
- Democracy
- Oligarchy (note: the various oligarchies have never totally identified themselves as such)
- Republic
- Theocracy (Hierocracy)
- Tribalism
By approach to regional autonomy
This list focuses on differing approaches that political systems take to the distribution of sovereignty, and the autonomy of regions within the state.
- Sovereignty located exclusively at the centre
- Sovereignty located at the centre and in peripheral areas
By political franchise
This list shows a division based on differences in political franchise (suffrage).
According to Weber's tripartite classification of authority
Max Weber in his tripartite classification of authority distinguished three ideal types of political leadership, domination and authority:
- charismatic domination (familial and religious)
- traditional domination (patriarchs, patrimonalism, feudalism)
- legal domination (modern law and state, bureaucracy)
According to an etymologist approach
Finally, the list below present an etymologist's approach to forms of government: the following are real, possible or imaginary forms of government, all made different by the prefix and suffix combination. Nearly all use one of two suffixes: -archy meaning "leadership" (eg. anarchy - no leadership), and -cracy suffix from Greek "kratos" and means "strength" and "power" (e.g., democracy - people's power). The major exception is the Republic, which is derived from the Latin res publicae, which means "the public matter" or, more literally, "the thing of the people", i.e. socio-political affairs. For various extant terms, an example or annotation is juxtaposed.
- adhocracy government in an unstructured fashion; an unstructured organization
- anarchy absence of government
- andrarchy/androcracy government by men
- aristocracy government by the nobility (aristo="the best")
- autarchy government by an absolute ruler
- autocracy government by one individual, autarchy
- bureaucracy government by civil servants; also the civil servants themselves
- confederacy a union of sovereign states
- corpocracy government by corporations (industry)
- demarchy government by the people by lot
- democracy government by the people, either direct (through referendum or popular assembly) or via elections (representative form)
- ethnocracy government by a particular ethnic group
- geniocracy government by those of a high average intelligence
- gerontocracy government by the aged - see the Spartan gerousia
- gynarchy government by women
- gynocracy government by women; gynarchy
- hierarchy government by a ranked body; government by priests
- hierocracy government by priests or religious ministers
- kakistocracy government by the worst
- kleptocracy government by thieves - not an existing form, but a negative appreciation of any regime where corruption is excessive
- klerostocracy government by all, by sortition (random selection, lot)
- krytocracy government by judges
- matriarchy government by women or mothers
- meritocracy government by those with merit
- minarchy government with the smallest possible bureaucracy or size
- monarchy government by one individual
- ochlocracy government by mobs
- oligarchy government by the few; sometimes specified after their fixed number :
- dyarchy government by two, as in a dual monarchy
- heptarchy government by seven people
- triumvirate government by three people
- tetrarchy government by four people
- panarchy universal rule or dominion
- particracy government by political parties
- patriarchy government by fathers - the original Roman Senate, styling itself Patres ('fathers'), came close; usually just said of rule by men
- plantocracy government by plantation owners
- plutocracy government by the wealthy
- polyarchy government by many people, a vague antonym to monarchy and oligarchy
- pornocracy government by prostitutes
- republic government by professional politicans elected by the populace
- stratocracy government by the armed forces - usually termed military dictatorship or junta
- synarchy joint sovereignty, just as the condominium of Andorra
- technocracy government by technical experts
- thalassocracy sovereignty of the seas
- theocracy government by a deity through clergy or by religious law
- timocracy government by the propertied class