Forms of Government

Definition of Forms of Government

It's in the name: defining a form of government means to define the structure and organization of the government. How does it operate day to day? Who is in charge, and what happens if the public is unhappy with them? Can the government do what it wants to?

Humans have very early on realized that they must organize their societies in some ways, to prevent chaos and disorder. To this day, most people agree that one form of organized government is necessary to ensure social order and overall desirable living conditions for people.

There have always been a few who support the absence of organized government. This setup is referred to as anarchy by sociologists.

Types of Government in the World

History has witnessed many types of governments emerging all over the world. As conditions changed, so did the forms of government in different areas of the world. Some forms disappeared for a while, then emerged in other places, then transformed and returned to a previous form.

By analyzing these changes and the general characteristics of past and present governments, scholars identified four main forms of government.

Let us discuss these in detail.

What are the Different Forms of Government?

There are many different forms of government. We are going to look at the histories and characteristics of:

• monarchies
• oligarchies
• dictatorships (and totalitarian governments), and
• democracies.

Monarchy as a Form of Government

The title of the monarch is hereditary, this means one inherits the position. In some societies, the monarch was appointed by a divine power. The title is passed on through accession when the existing monarch dies or abdicates (voluntarily gives up the title).

Monarchies of most nations today are ingrained in tradition rather than modern politics.

Fig. 1 - Queen Elizabeth II. ruled as England's monarch for more than 70 years.

There are many monarchies around the world today. The list is so long that we can't include them all here. However, we will mention a few that you might have already heard of due to these royal families' engagements with the public and their regular appearances in media all over the world.

Present-day Monarchies

Let's look at a few present-day monarchies. Do any of these surprise you?

• United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth
• Kingdom of Thailand
• Kingdom of Sweden
• Kingdom of Belgium
• Kingdom of Bhutan
• Denmark
• Kingdom of Norway
• Kingdom of Spain
• Kingdom of Tonga
• Sultanate of Oman
• Kingdom of Morocco
• Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
• Japan
• Kingdom of Bahrain

Scholars differentiate between two forms of monarchies; absolute and constitutional.

Absolute monarchies

A ruler of an absolute monarchy has unmitigated power. The citizens of an absolute monarchy are often treated unfairly, and the reign of an absolute monarchy can often be oppressive.

Absolute monarchy was a common form of government in Europe in the Middle Ages. Today, most absolute monarchies are in the Middle East and Africa.

Constitutional monarchies

Nowadays, most monarchies are constitutional monarchies. This means that a nation recognizes a monarch, but expects the monarch to abide by laws and the nation’s constitution. Constitutional monarchies usually emerged from absolute monarchies as a result of changes in society and political climate.

In a constitutional monarchy, there is usually an elected leader and parliament, who are centrally involved in political matters. The monarch has a symbolic role in holding up tradition and customs, but holds no real authority.

Forms of Government: Oligarchy

In an oligarchy, the members of the ruling elite do not necessarily receive their titles by birth, like in a monarchy. The members are people in significant positions of power in business, in the military or in politics.

States don’t usually define themselves as oligarchies, as the term carries a negative connotation. It is often associated with corruption, unfair policymaking and the small elite group’s sole purpose of upholding their privilege and power.

There are some sociologists who argue that all democracies are in practice ‘elected oligarchies’ (Winters, 2011).

Is the US Actually an Oligarchy?

There are journalists and scholars who claim that the US is actually an oligarchy. Paul Krugman (2011), Nobel-prize-winner economist, argues that large American corporations and Wall Street executives rule the US as an oligarchy, and it’s not really a democracy as claimed.

This theory is supported by findings that the couple of hundred wealthiest American families possess more than the poorest of a hundred million US citizens together (Schultz, 2011). There is also further study on the income and wealth inequality and the resulting inequality of (political) representation in America.

Dictatorship as a Form of Government

Dictatorships are often corrupt and aim to limit the liberties of the general population in order to maintain their power.

Dictators take and keep absolute power and authority through economic and military means, and they often use even brutality and threat. They know that the people are easier to control if they are poor, starving and afraid. Dictators often start out as military leaders, so to them, violence is not necessarily an extreme form of control against opposition.

Some dictators also have a charismatic personality, according to Max Weber, which can make them appealing to citizens regardless of the force and violence they apply.

In history, there have been many dictators who based their rule on a belief system or ideology. There have been others, who just wanted to preserve their power and had no ideology behind their rule.

Most dictatorships today exist in Africa.

Totalitarian Governments in Dictatorships

This form of government restricts occupation, religious belief and the number of children a family can have, among other things. Citizens of a totalitarian dictatorship are publicly required to demonstrate their support for the government through attending marches and public celebrations.

There have been dictators in history, like Napoleon or Anwar Sadat, who arguably improved the standards of living of their citizens. However, there have been more who abused their power and have committed serious crimes against their people.

Examples of the latter are Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein and Robert Mugabe (dictator of Zimbabwe) to mention a few.

Fig. 2 - Napoleon was a dictator who arguably also improved the lives of his subjects.

Forms of Government: Democracy

It is a government in which all citizens have the equal right to have their voices heard and determine state policy through elected representatives. Laws passed by the state (ideally) reflect the will of the majority of the population.

In theory, the socioeconomic status, gender and race of citizens should not negatively impact their say in government matters: all voices are equal. Citizens must follow the country’s constitution and laws, which determines the rules and responsibilities of political leaders and citizens. Leaders are also limited in power and in the duration of their term in power.

In the past, there have been examples of democracies. Ancient Athens, a city-state in Greece, was a democracy in which all free men above a certain age had the right to vote and contribute to politics.

Similarly, some Native American tribes were also practicing democracy. The Iroquois, for example, elected their chiefs. In other tribes, women were also allowed to vote and even to become chiefs themselves.

What are Some Basic Rights of Citizens in a Democracy?

Citizens are granted some basic, fundamental rights in a democracy, some of which include:

• Freedom to organize parties and hold elections
• Freedom of speech
• Free press
• Free assembly
• Prohibition of unlawful imprisonment

Pure and Representative Democracies

The US, in theory, claims to be a pure democracy, where citizens vote on all proposed legislation before a law is passed. Sadly, this is not how the American government works in practice. The main reason for it is that a pure and direct democracy would be very difficult to adopt.

The United States is a representative democracy, in which citizens elect representatives to make legal and policy decisions on their behalf.

Americans elect a president every four years, who comes from one of the two major parties of Republicans and Democrats. Furthermore, citizens elect representatives on state and local levels as well. This way, it seems that all citizens have a say in all matters - small or large - in the United States.

In the US, the government has three branches - the executive, judicial and legislative branches - that must check on each other in order to make sure that no one branch abuses their power.