Government

A government is the system or group of people which lead a state. As such, it is responsible for directing the only entity whose use of force is socially acceptable. Governments have come in many forms, whether dominated by one person (autocracy) a small ruling class (oligarchy), or the masses (democracy).

The main types of modern political systems recognized are democracies, totalitarian regimes, and, sitting between these two, authoritarian regimes with a variety of hybrid regimes. Modern classification systems also include monarchies as a standalone entity or as a hybrid system of the main three.