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, July 24, 2024
An Interview with Jimmy Carter: Global Challenges to the United States in a New Millennium
In a 2003 interview with Encyclopædia Britannica, Jimmy Carter spoke frankly about what he learned from founding The Carter...
5 Remarkably Close U.S. Presidential Elections
How much can one vote matter? A lot.
The Time Albert Einstein Was Asked to be President of Israel
Albert Einstein for president?
What Is an Injunction?
What they do, what they’re for, and how you go about getting one.
political philosophy
Political philosophy, branch of philosophy that is concerned, at the most abstract level, with the concepts and arguments...
industrial relations
Industrial relations, the behaviour of workers in organizations in which they earn their living. Scholars of industrial relations...
democracy
Democracy, literally, rule by the people. The term is derived from the Greek dēmokratia, which was coined from dēmos (“people”)...
procedural law
Procedural law, the law governing the machinery of the courts and the methods by which both the state and the individual...
Politics, Law & Government Quizzes
Politics, Law & Government Videos
Politics, Law & Government Subcategories
![subcategory placeholder](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.britannica.com/mendel/resources/encyclopedia-placeholder.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)
This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
- industrial relations
- taxation
-
money market
economics
![J.P. Morgan](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.britannica.com/61/25261-050-9ED938CF/John-Pierpont-Morgan-1902.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)
This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
-
Walter P. Chrysler
American engineer and automobile manufacturer
-
Ursula Burns
American executive
-
Marc Ravalomanana
president of Madagascar
![Writers Guild of America strike](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.britannica.com/86/243986-050-EB0CDC20/Writers-Guild-of-America-Strike-demonstration-New-York-2023.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)
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
-
bank
finance
-
marketing
business
- government budget
![subcategory placeholder](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.britannica.com/mendel/resources/encyclopedia-placeholder.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)
International relations is 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
-
Liberal-Democratic Party of Japan
political party, Japan
- diplomacy
-
World Bank
international organization
![police officer: collecting fingerprints](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.britannica.com/43/102643-050-3ABC1916/Police-officer-fingerprints.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)
This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
-
commercial transaction
economics
- procedural law
-
court
law
![subcategory placeholder](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.britannica.com/mendel/resources/encyclopedia-placeholder.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)
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
![voting in the 2012 U.S. presidential election](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.britannica.com/59/193559-050-49214FA2/Voters-ballots-California-election-2012.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)
This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
![John F. Kennedy](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.britannica.com/34/94934-050-BBF93D08/John-F-Kennedy.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)
This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
-
David Cameron
prime minister of United Kingdom
-
Ronald Reagan
president of United States
-
Woodrow Wilson
president of United States