political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

, a political system means the type of political organization that can be recognized, observed or otherwise declared by a state. It defines the process for making official

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

decisions. It usually comprizes the governmental legal and

economic system An economic system, or economic order, is a system of Production (economics), production, resource allocation and Distribution (economics), distribution of goods and services within a society or a given geographic area. It includes the combinati ...

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

and

cultural system A cultural system is the interaction of different elements in culture. While a cultural system is very different from a social system, sometimes both systems together are referred to as the sociocultural system. Social theory A major concern in ...

, and other state and government specific systems. However, this is a very simplified view of a much more complex system of categories involving the questions of who should have authority and what the government influence on its people and economy should be. The major types of political systems are democracies, monarchies, and

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...

and

totalitarian Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and regul ...

regimes with varying

hybrid systems A hybrid system is a dynamical system that exhibits both continuous and discrete dynamic behavior – a system that can both ''flow'' (described by a differential equation) and ''jump'' (described by a state machine or automaton). Often, the te ...

Definition

According to David Easton, "A political system can be designated as the interactions through which values are authoritatively allocated for a society".

Social political science

The sociological interest in political systems is figuring out who holds power within the relationship between the government and its people and how the government’s power is used. According to

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

professor Juan José Linz there a three main types of political systems today: democracies,

totalitarian regimes Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and regul ...

and, sitting between these two,

authoritarian regimes Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...

(with

hybrid regimes A hybrid regime is a mixed type of political system often created as a result of an incomplete Democratic transition, transition from an authoritarian regime to a Democracy, democratic one (or vice versa). Hybrid regimes are categorized as combin ...

). Another modern classification system includes monarchies as a standalone entity or as a hybrid system of the main three. Scholars generally refer to a

dictatorship A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship are ...

as either a form of authoritarianism or totalitarianism.

Democracy

Authoritarianism

Totalitarian

Monarchy

Hybrid

Sociological and socioanthropological classification

Social anthropologists generally recognize four kinds of political systems, two of which are uncentralized and two of which are centralized. * Uncentralized systems **

Band society A band society, sometimes called a camp, or in older usage, a horde, is the simplest form of human society. A band generally consists of a small kin group, no larger than an extended family or clan. The general consensus of modern anthropology ...

*** Small family group, no larger than an extended family or clan; it has been defined as consisting of no more than 30 to 50 individuals. *** A band can cease to exist if only a small group walks out. **

Tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

*** Generally larger, consisting of many families. Tribes have more social institutions, such as a chief or elders. *** More permanent than bands. Many tribes are sub-divided into bands. *

Centralized government A centralized government (also united government) is one in which both executive and legislative power is concentrated centrally at the higher level as opposed to it being more distributed at various lower level governments. In a national contex ...

s ** Chiefdom *** More complex than a tribe or a band society, and less complex than a state or a civilization *** Characterized by pervasive inequality and centralization of authority. *** A single lineage/family of the elite class becomes the ruling elite of the chiefdom *** Complex chiefdoms have two or even three tiers of political hierarchy. *** "An autonomous political unit comprising a number of villages or communities under the permanent control of a paramount chief" **

Sovereign state A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a polity, political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defin ...

*** A sovereign state is a state with a permanent population, a defined territory, a government and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. * Supranational political systems ** Supranational political systems are created by independent nations to reach a common goal or gain strength from forming an alliance. *

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

s ** Empires are widespread states or communities under a single rule. They are characterized by the ruler's desire for unanimous religious affiliation or posing as a threat to other empires in times of war. Empires - such as the Romans, or British - often made considerable progress in ways of democratic structures, creating and building city infrastructures, and maintaining civility within the diverse communities. Because of the intricate organization of the empires, they were often able to hold a large majority of power on a universal level. * Leagues ** Leagues are international organizations composed of states coming together for a single common purpose. In this way, leagues are different from empires, as they only seek to fulfill a single goal. Often leagues are formed on the brink of a military or economic downfall. Meetings and hearings are conducted in a neutral location with representatives of all involved nations present.

Notes

References

External links

Topic guide on political systems
at Governance and Social Development Resource Centre {{Authority control Political terminology