NAME : ANSARI ZAID

QUAMRUDDIN

COURSE : BA.L.LB (S/F) 1st YEAR

SEMESTER : 2nd

ROLLNO. 11

1.
 The Concept and Classification of Governments with
Contemporary Examples

Introduction: Government is defined as the system to govern a state or a community or the

action or manner of controlling or regulating a state, organization or people1. To form a more
perfect union, to establish justice, to ensure domestic tranquillity, to provide for the common
defense, to promote the general welfare, to secure the blessings of liberty are the main
objectives of the government to perpetuate to the right use of people in the country2.

The main concept behind commendable and abominable form of the government is
determined by various distinct views of scholars like Aristotle is of the view of criticizing
democracy which in modern times is the best known form of the government. According to
Aristotle the classification must be based on

1. The number of persons who exercise supreme power.

2. The ends they seek to serve self-interest or benefit of the community.

According to Aristotle, if sovereignty resides in one person, it is Monarchy. Its perverted

form is Tyranny. If sovereignty resides in a small minority of the population, it is
Aristocracy. If this small minority uses the sovereignty for its own selfish ends, it is
Oligarchy. If the sovereign power resides in a large proportion of the population, it is polity.
Its perverted form is Democracy3.

The major classification of governments are :

Autocracy: An autocracy is a system of government in which supreme power is concentrated

in the hands of one person, whose decisions are subject to neither external legal restraints nor
regularized mechanisms of popular control (except perhaps for the implicit threat of a coup ď

1
Definitions of Government, available at: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/government (Last
Visited on March 21,2019).
2
Definition, Role & Functions, available at: https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-government-definition-
role-functions.html# (Last Visited on March 21,2019).
3
Classification of government, available at: http://www.politicalsciencenotes.com/articles/classification-
government-sccording-aristotle/308 (Last Visited on March 22,2019).
ètat or mass insurrection)4. This system of government is to a moderate extent is similar to
monarchical form of the government, like Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, etc.

Aristocracy: The word Aristocracy is derived from the Greek words ‘aristos’ meaning ‘the
best’ and ‘kratia’ meaning ‘power’. The political power is exercised by a small section of the
society. Aristocracy emphasizes not on the number, but on the character of the person who
exercises authority. Aristocracy is a stable form of the government because it pervasively
believes in moderation and the stability. Countries in modern era like United Kingdom,
Spain, Belgium, etc. The hereditary titles is still recognised. It is below the Monarchy in rank
but it regulates the society in similar to Monarchy.

Monarchy: A form of government where the monarch rules unhindered, i.e., without any
laws, constitution or legally organised opposition. The countries in modern era under absolute
monarchy is Saudi Arabia, Brunei, Oman, Eswatini, etc. Saudi Arabia's constitution is
adopted by a Royal decree of King Fahd which is under the monarchical laws5.

Authoritarian: Authoritarian is a form of government in which the state authority imposed

onto many aspects of citizens lives. In Contemporary era countries like Chad, Syria,
Equatorial Guinea, etc. Are the main examples of authoritarian forms of government.

Communist: A system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy and
a single often authoritarian party holds power; state controls are imposed with the elimination
of private ownership of property or capital while claiming to make progress towards a higher
social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people (i.e., a classless society). The
communist countries in modern era are China, Cuba, Laos, etc6.

Democracy: A form of government in which the supreme power is retained by the people,
but which is usually exercised indirectly through a system of representation and delegated
authority periodically renewed. A democratic republic form is similar to a democratic form
but in this the people is at the supreme authority and every representatives are responsible to
them. The country like India comes under democratic republic and countries like Norway,
Iceland, Sweden, etc. comes under democratic countries.

4
Paul M. Johnson, Autocracy: A Glossary of Political Economy Terms (Auburn University, Auburn)
5
Myneni, S.R, Political Science 287 (Allahabad Law Agency, 3rd edn., 2008).
6
Communist Form of Government, available at: https://www.chartsbin.com (Visited on March 26, 2019).
Dictatorship: Dictatorship is a form of government in which a ruler or small clique wield
absolute power (not restricted by a constitution or laws). The modern forms of dictatorial
governments are like North Korea, Afghanistan, Algeria, etc. are some examples of
dictatorial form of governments which still exists.

Parliamentary Government: A government in which members of an executive branch (the

cabinet and its leader – a prime minister, premier or chancellor) are nominated to their
positions by a legislature or parliament, and are directly responsible to it; this type of
government can be dissolved at will by the parliament (legislature) by means of a no-
confidence vote or the leader of the cabinet may dissolve the parliament if it no longer
function. The popular examples of this type of government are like India, United Kingdom,
Norway, Japan, etc7.

Presidential Government: A system of government where the executive branch exists

separately from the legislature (to which it is generally not accountable). President is the
main head of the government of which his orders will be cardinal. The modern examples of
Presidential form of government is the USA, Brazil, Burundi, etc.

Theocracy: Theocracy is a form of government in which priests rule in the name of God or a
god. A government of a state by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded
as divinely guided. The first known use of the word Theocracy was in 1622, it is derived
from the Greek word ‘theokratia’8. The countries belong to theocratic form are mainly
islamic and mainly based on Sharia law like Afghanistan, Yemen, Mauritania, etc. It is
invariable to Ecclesiastical form of government where the Church is the supreme authority
for the people, country like Vatican City (Holy See) is the extreme example of Ecclesiastical
form of government.

Totalitarian: A government that seeks to subordinate the individual to the state by

controlling not only all political and economic matters, but also the attitudes, values and
beliefs of it's population. The totalitarianism means that nothing in the lives of the citizens
should be outside the control of the state. Italian dictator Benito Mussolini coined the term

7
Different Types of Governments , available at: https://www.livescience.com (Last Modified February 14,
2011).
8
Definition of Theocracy, available at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/theocracy (Visited on
March 26, 2019).
totalitarian in the early 1920s. It theoretically permits no individual freedom. The modern
examples of totalitarian form of governments are Germany, Soviet Union (Russia), North
Korea, China, etc9.

Unitary & Federal Government: A Unitary state refers to a country or state where thee
central government holds supreme power. A Unitary state is contrary to federation where
powers are dispersed10. A good example of a unitary state includes the United Kingdom of
Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Wales, and Scotland. A Federal state is a political entity
characterised by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states or other regions under z
central (federal) government. The modern examples include the USA, Canada, Brazil. It also
includes India as a federal state but India can also be recognised as Quasi-federal that means
India is a centralised state i.e., it has a Unitary features but it also has a strong presence to
deal as a federal state like it has divided into states and has the governments in each state to
implement rules and laws.

Conclusion: Thus, there are many contemporary examples of government from classical to
modern. Governments of different types have ubiquitous presence, many countries adopts
different ideologies related to their forms of government and adaptation of distinct laws like
Parliamentary forms of government deals with different system of implementation whereas
Presidential form deals with different systems, Unitary and federal implements laws
according to the procedures of their own. So, there can be many examples relating these
governments and their implementations of laws.

9
Totalitarianism Government, available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/totalitarianism (Visited on
March 26, 2019).
10
What is a Unitary State, available at: https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-is-a-unitary-state.html
(Visited on March 27, 2019).