The political systems result from the interplay of political forces within the institutional framework defined by the constitution or custom. In addition, other factors, such as history, ideologies and culture, influence the nature of political regimes.
All political regimes are not democratic. Democracies are distinguished by the existence of a plurality of political parties, the freedom of choice given to citizens and the separation of legislative, administrative and judicial powers.
In addition, the various types of democratic regimes can be classified according to whether they favor the collaboration of the different powers (assembly regime, parliamentary regime) or the strict separation of these powers (presidential regime). Some systems are also mixed, being both parliamentary and presidential.
This article will introduce 9 major political systems and forms of government. These notions refer to the configuration of a state to how a country is governed. We will not take an in-depth look into each of the systems presented. Still, this article aims to give the reader some elements of understanding to make him want to deepen his knowledge.
What is Republic? Republic is an ancient concept that we inherited from ancient Rome. The Romans formed a republic, the so-called Roman Republic, after having expelled their last king, Tarquillo the Magnificent (534 – 509 B.C.). Romans remained famous for their hatred of kingship, to such an extent that Roma remained a republic in spirit under the Empire. The roman emperor ruled a republic.
The concept of the republic has since been studied and enriched by many authors. It can usually be summarized as “government” or “community of mind”.
Today, the term “Republic” is used to describe a regime that is not a monarchy, that is to say, one in which the head of state, the individual who is theoretically at the top of the pyramid of powers, has been elected by the nation or its representatives. The Head of State is usually a president, although not always.
Taking Iran as an example, Iran is an Islamic republic. It is both a republic, as there is no longer a king, as the last king was deposed in 1979, and also a theocracy, as power is in the hands of clerics (the official leader of the country being an ayatollah, a religious dignitary of Shiite Islam). As another example, the French First Republic (1792 – 1804), which was proclaimed after the fall of Louis XVI (1774 – 1792), had no president.
A republic is not necessarily a democracy, that is, a state where the people run the country’s affairs or a system in which the government is accountable to the nation. China, for instance, may be a republic (a communist “people’s republic”) but is not a democracy.
The notion of a republic in many countries does not only mean that power is not monarchical. The concept of a republic often carries a particular ideology and is the rule of certain principles. The republics often follow archaic and authoritarian regimes and thus symbolize the advent of new freedom and autonomy of the nation in the eyes of citizens.