Politics, Law & Government
The world today is divided territorially into more than 190 countries, each of which possesses a national government that claims to exercise sovereignty and seeks to compel obedience to its will by its citizens. Governments can be classified in any number of ways. For example, they might be classified by the number of rulers, thus distinguishing government by one (as in a monarchy or a tyranny) from government by the few (in an aristocracy or oligarchy) and from government by the many (as in a democracy). Governments can also be classified by mode of succession; for example, ascension to governmental leadership may follow the rules of hereditary succession, or it may be determined through elections or by force. Governments also vary in terms of the laws and rules of conduct that each political entity follows.
Browse Subcategories
Featured content, March 08, 2021
The Surprisingly Disorderly History of the U.S. Presidential Succession Order
Who takes over and when?
#WTFact / Politics, Law & Government

How Does the U.S. Government Define the Difference Between a Protest and a Riot?
How does the U.S. government define the difference between a protest and a riot? A protest is “a[n]…organized public demonstration...
Companion / Politics, Law & Government

What’s the Difference Between a President and a Prime Minister?
It depends on where you’re standing.
Demystified / Politics, Law & Government

11 Memorable Quotes from U.S. Presidential Debates
We admit it. We’re no Jack Kennedy.
List / Politics, Law & Government

Political system
Political system, the set of formal legal institutions that constitute a “government” or a “state.” This is the definition...
Encyclopedia / Politics, Law & Government

Political philosophy
Political philosophy, branch of philosophy that is concerned, at the most abstract level, with the concepts and arguments...
Encyclopedia / Politics, Law & Government

Industrial relations
Industrial relations, the behaviour of workers in organizations in which they earn their living. Scholars of industrial relations...
Encyclopedia / Politics, Law & Government

Democracy
Democracy, literally, rule by the people. The term is derived from the Greek dēmokratia, which was coined from dēmos (“people”)...
Encyclopedia / Politics, Law & Government

Politics, Law & Government Quizzes
Politics, Law & Government Videos
Politics, Law & Government Subcategories

This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
-
International payment and exchange
economics
-
Art market
economics
- Organized labour

This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
-
Ursula Burns
American executive
-
Marc Ravalomanana
president of Madagascar
-
George M. Pullman
American industrialist and inventor

Economic system, any of the ways in which humankind has arranged for its material provisioning. One would think that there would be a great variety of such systems, corresponding to the many cultural arrangements that have characterized human society.
Articles
- Organized labour
- Industrial relations
-
Art market
economics

International relations, the study of the relations of states with each other and with international organizations and certain subnational entities (e.g., bureaucracies, political parties, and interest groups). It is related to a number of other academic disciplines, including political science, geography, history, economics, law, sociology, psychology, and philosophy.
Articles
- Human rights
-
International relations
politics
-
Functionalism
international organizations

This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
-
Inheritance
law
- Constitutional law
-
Commercial transaction
economics

This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
-
Don't Ask, Don't Tell
United States policy
-
Kosovo Liberation Army
Kosovar militant group
-
French Foreign Legion
military organization

This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
-
League of Nations
international organization
-
Presidency of the United States of America
United States government
- Government

This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
-
John F. Kennedy
president of United States
-
Charles de Gaulle
president of France
-
Benito Mussolini
Italian dictator