Different Types of Government

There are different forms of government by which people are guided and live, in order to make their lives work in a unified manner. Some types of government are chosen by the group of people living in an area while other forms are chosen by a group of people in charge or by one person, as in a monarchy.

Different types of governments have different rules and restrictions by which the people of a place must follow. Usually a body of people act to enforce those rules and another body might work to interpret them. Sometimes people become frustrated by their governments and request change. Then the government may decide to change its rules or laws or decide not to. There are even times when the general populace have decided to revolt and overthrow those in power, or to change the type of government altogether.

Here we'll look at the different types of government and how they work, with examples of each.

• Monarchy--This type of government is led or ruled by a king or queen or what is known as an emperor or empress. Sometimes even a prince, princess or duke may reign over an area. Generally, only one monarch rules at a time (except in the case of a diarchy), and is replaced after death or abdication, by the next of kin in a bloodline, or is voted in or selected. Depending on the breadth of their power, a monarch may have absolute or limited power. There are few monarchs today, but one of them is the Queen of England, who is a constitutional monarch. There are three kinds of monarchy: absolute (where the monarch has full power of the state with no laws opposing him), constitutional (where a ruler and its people follow the rules of a constitution) and diarchy (where more than one ruler lead simultaneously).

• Aristocracy--In an aristocracy, a ruling body is made up of an elite class, consisting of a group of people, such as family members, soldiers, lawyers or priests. More often than not, the ruling body is hereditary. This form of government was frequently used in ancient Greece.

• Democracy--A democracy is a kind of government in which the rules and laws are carried out by the people, or a group of people is chosen to represent them. In a democracy, people hold elections in order to vote on the person or group of people they think is most suitable for leading. Sometimes, there is a constitution by which all of the people in a country or state live. This form of government originated in ancient Greece and spread to other European nations and to America. The United States practices a form of democracy.

• Oligarchy--This type of government features a small body of people that rule, with the group being elite in some way, whether financially, intellectually or militarily. Typically, oligarchies are run by tyrannic methods, in which power is not in the best Internet of the general populace, but rather for the ruling body. Power might be taken by force and many times, when it is seized, it may remain in the hands of the family for subsequent generations. An example of a current oligarchy would be in South Africa in the 20th century.

• Dictatorship--A dictatorship features a single person in command or ruling over the people. The leader has not inherited the position of leader typically, as with a monarchy. In this type of government, a dictator does not necessarily have the consent of its people to run. One of form of dictatorship is totalitarianism, in which the leader regulates all aspects of its peoples' lives, both public and private. One example of a dictatorship is Germany during World War II.

• Theocracy--This type of government is ruled by a religious body, and a god or goddess is recognized and the nation's ruler. For instance, in Ancient societies, when the people believed in gods and goddesses, their nation decided those were hte rulers of the state and acted to follow their wishes. Since gods and goddesses cannot technically rule, the religious bodies rules on behalf of the higher power. An example of this would be Byzantium, in which the emperor was the head of the church, or a Pharaoh in Ancient Egypt.

• Anarchy--In an anarchy, there is no ruling body. People have the power to live their lives without a governing body and without laws. Anarchy has existed only temporarily in nations and often between the revolutionary overthrow of a government. It existed in Somalia and in other nations temporarily, but anarchy has existed in a Danish community since 1971.

• Communism--This type of government features rule by a party, who set the ideology of the state. Typically, the ruling party decides upon and economic system. There are different types of communist state including Marxist, Leninist, and Maoist. Vietnam, North Korea and China are all examples of communist states.

• Ethnocracy--An ethnocracy is the rule of a nation or group of people by a certain ethnic group, generally in contrast to the ethnic make-up of the rest of the population. Latvia may be seen as a ethnocracy, as more than 90 percent of all officials are ethnic Latvians.

• Gerontocracy--This type of government is ruled by the elder persons of a state. The idea behind this type of government is that as a person ages, they gain valuable wisdom, and therefore, are more apt to make appropriate and intelligent decisions for its people. The oldest person living amongst the nation would act as the head or leader. The Samburu society, an ethnic group in northern Kenya has a gerontocracy.

• Technocracy--A technocracy does not exist as a true form of government, but the idea behind it is that experts in the field of sciences would be the rulers among the people. A ruling group of people would be selected to make the decisions, as they would be considered the most educated and knowledgeable of all the citizens.