Vocabulary to Describe Governing Systems
compiled by Thor May
Democracy - "government of the people, by the people, for the people". Usually this means some kind of government by freely elected representatives. Western democracies also emphasise the "separation of powers" : the executive (e.g. a president or prime minister), the legislature (which makes laws) and the judiciary (which applies the laws through judges) are independent of each other. Note that the word "democracy" has been given many meanings in various countries.
Autocracy - government by one individual, or a small group of individuals who have seized power, usually by force or terror, and keep power, usually by force. Citizens must obey the autocracy without protest. It is quite common for autocracies to have fake elections to put a respectable face on the government. Another name for autocracy is "dictatorship". An especially harsh autocracy may be called a "tyranny".
Monarchy - government by a king or a queen. As tribes combined and became countries, tribal chiefs often became kings. Emperor is another name for king. There are still quite a few kingdoms in the world (e.g. England, Japan, Spain), but in most cases the king⁄queen now has only ceremonial duties. Real power is usually with a Prime Minister, his cabinet and the parliament.
Theocracy - governnment by a religious group. Theocracies have been fairly common in history, and are usually repressive of anyone who does not share their religious beliefs. Iran is a theocracy at the moment. The Taliban government in Afghanistan was a theocracy.
Military Cabal - government by military officers. The military forces (the army, navy, air force) and also the police, are known as "disciplined forces". Unless corrupt, military forces always work by strict rules. In developing countries especially, military forces often have great influence on the government, and may seize power for a short or a long time. However, rule by military forces is rarely good for a country and it's people, especially over a long period.
Tribalism - government by tribal groups. Many undeveloped countries, and even some "advanced" countries are greatly influenced by traditional tribal groups. For example, in a country with several tribes, people might automatically vote for leaders from their own tribe. Often the strongest tribe tries to seize control over all the other tribes.
Meritocracy - government by the most capable. It is difficult to formally make the laws of a country require government by meritocracy, but in practice some countries and cultures come much closer to it than others.
Plutocracy - government by the rich. No government describes itself as a plutocracy, but it is a fairly common reality. For example, the United States, which is very democratic at local and state government levels, is arguably a plutocracy at federal level. It is impossible to become president in the USA without having and spending many millions of dollars.
Kleptocracy - government by thieves. No government describes itself as a kleptocracy, but unfortunately many governments in practice come close to being kleptocracies.
Cryptocracy - government by secret officials and secret rules. All governments must have some secrets, but generally the more secrets a government claims over time, the more corrupt it becomes. Individuals must give some information to the government, but in general, the more secrets (privacy) an individual is allowed, the more free he is.
Bureaucracy - government by unelected officials. Although it is rare for a government to be headed by a bureaucracy, the daily reality for citizens in most countries is government by officials and their regulations. Unless they are carefully managed, bureaucracies can kill any kind of initiative or change. They can also be very corrupt, unless carefully controlled. On the other hand, an efficient bureaucracy is absolutely necessary for any kind of good government.
Ideologies - The leaders of most governments claim to be ruled themselves by some guiding principles. They may be religious principles, or they may depend upon philosophical, economic or other ideas. Some common ideologies in governments have been socialism (belief that the government should assist with the welfare of all citizens), communism (many meanings, but basically the idea that all property and labour should be shared for the common good), capitalism (belief that market economics are the best way for the competing interests of all citizens to find a balance), fascism (the belief that the strong have an automatic right to rule those who are weaker), Christianity⁄ Islam⁄ Buddhism etc (the belief that governments and individuals should govern their behaviour according to the rules of these various religions).
Ideology and Practice - the rules of most cultures require people to follow certain public behaviours. This public (overt) behaviour might be quite different from the private (covert) beliefs and behaviours of an individual. For example, a culture might require a young person to show respect for the old, but privately he might not respect old people at all. In the same way, the public (overt) statements leaders and goverments all over the world are often quite different from their private beliefs and actions. Where the conflict between overt and covert belief is too great, the result is usually hypocrisy. Hypocrisy leads to cynicism and a breakdown of trust. Effective government is almost impossible without some public trust.
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