What is Political System?

 A political system is a system of politics and government.

It is usually compared to the legal system, economic system, cultural system, and other
social systems. However, this is a very simplified view of a much more complex system of
categories involving the views: who should have authority, how religious questions should
be handled, and what the government's influence on its people and economy should be.
 A political system is a complete set of institutions, interest groups (such as political
parties, trade unions, lobby groups), the relationships between those institutions and the
political norms and rules that govern their functions (constitution, election law).
 A political system is a concept in which theoretically regarded as a way of the government
makes a policy and also to make them more organized in their administration.
 A political system is one that ensures the maintaining of order and rationality in the
society and at the same time makes it possible for some other institutions to also have
their grievances and complaints put across in the course of social existence.
POLOITICAL SYSTEMS IN THE WORLD
 Democracy
- Democracy is a system of government that bases its legitimacy on the participation of
the people.
Types of democracy
1. Direct Democracy
- is a system of government in which public decisions are made by the people directly,
rather than by elected representatives.
2. Indirect Democracy
- is a form of government in which representatives are elected to make policy and
enforce laws while representing the citizens. All modern democratic countries are
representative, not direct, democracies. A representative democracy is also known as
a republic.
3. Constitutional Democracy
- is a system of government based on popular sovereignty in which the structures,
powers, and limits of government are set forth in a constitution.
4. Non- constitutional Democracy
- is a form of government that does not have, or follow, constitutional rules. The
government does whatever those currently in power choose to do. For a citizen, such
governments are unpredictable and they may violate a person's rights with impunity.
5. Presidential Democracy
- A presidential democracy is a form of government in which the executive branch is
elected separately from the legislative branch. The chief executive, the president, is
elected for a fixed term and cannot be removed except by extraordinary measures.
The powers vested in the president are usually balanced against those vested in the
legislature. In the American presidential system, the legislature must debate and pass
bills. The president has the power to veto a bill, preventing its adoption. However, the
legislature may override the president's veto if it can muster enough votes.

6. Parliamentary Democracy
- is a form of representative democracy in which political power is vested in an elected
legislature, but the executive and legislative branches are not separate. The elected
legislature (parliament) chooses the chief executive (prime minister). The legislature
 may remove the prime minister at any time by a vote of no confidence and often
approves the prime minister's cabinet members. The fusion of the legislative and
executive branches in the parliamentary system leads to party members voting along
party lines.

 FEDERALISM
- mode of political organization that unites separate states or other polities within an
overarching political system in a way that allows each to maintain its own integrity.
Federal systems do this by requiring that basic policies be made and implemented
through negotiation in some form, so that all the members can share in making and
executing decisions.
 ARISTOCRACY
- An aristocracy is a form of government where a small group of elites rule. Aristocrats,
or the ruling elites, tend to enjoy both social and economic prestige as well as political
power. They usually have a specific honorary title, such as Duke, Duchess, Baron,
Baroness, etc. In addition, children usually inherit aristocratic status from their
parents. In some cases, one can be promoted into the aristocracy through service to
a monarch.

 MONARCHY
- political system based upon the undivided sovereignty or rule of a single person. The
term applies to states in which supreme authority is vested in the monarch, an
individual ruler who functions as the head of state and who achieves his or her
position through heredity. Most monarchies allow only male succession, usually from
father to son.
TYPES OF MONARCHY
However, as with other political systems, there are different types of monarchies. The
type that many of us think of as common is the absolute monarchy, in which the monarch truly
has the ultimate say in matters of government. However, most monarchies in political systems
today do not follow this method. Many of them, especially in the developed world, have limits.
Constitutional monarchies fall into this category (and are sometimes considered republics as
well). In this type of monarchy, the ruler is the head of state, but a constitution limits the power,
and others make laws. The U.K., Denmark, Kuwait, Spain, Sweden, Tuvalu, and many more are
examples of constitutional monarchies.
Other types of monarchies include duchies, grand duchies, elective monarchy (where the
monarch is actually elected), and non-sovereign monarchy.

 AUTOCRACY
- Autocracy is “rule by one.” In an autocratic government, one person -- the autocrat -
- has all the power and makes all the decisions. There are no laws or constitution that
restrain the authority of the autocrat. The people who are governed have no
processes, such as elections, through which they can express their desires for how
their government operates. The advantages of an autocratic government are that
decisions can be made and implemented quickly. However, individual rights are
usually ignored and power is often maintained by force. Some autocracies are
 theocratic governments, in which the ruler claims to have been put in power by a
deity.
 DICTATORSHIP
- form of government in which one person or a small group possesses absolute power
without effective constitutional limitations.
 THEOCRACY
- government by divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided. In
many theocracies, government leaders are members of the clergy, and the state’s
legal system is based on religious law. Theocratic rule was typical of early civilizations.
 AUTORITARIANISM
- principle of blind submission to authority, as opposed to individual freedom of
thought and action. In government, authoritarianism denotes any political system
that concentrates power in the hands of a leader or a small elite that is not
constitutionally responsible to the body of the people. Authoritarian leaders often
exercise power arbitrarily and without regard to existing bodies of law, and they
usually cannot be replaced by citizens choosing freely among various competitors in
elections. The freedom to create opposition political parties or other alternative
political groupings with which to compete for power with the ruling group is either
limited or nonexistent in authoritarian regimes.
 TOTALITARIANISM
- Totalitarianism refers to an authoritarian political system or state that regulates and
controls nearly every aspect of the public and private sectors. Totalitarian regimes
establish complete political, social, and cultural control over their subjects, and are
usually headed by a charismatic leader. In general, Totalitarianism involves a single
mass party, typically led by a dictator; an attempt to mobilize the entire population in
support of the official state ideology; and an intolerance of activities which are not
directed towards the goals of the state, usually entailing repression and state control
of business, labor unions, churches and political parties. A totalitarian regime is
essentially a modern form of authoritarian state, requiring as it does an advanced
technology of social control.