Youth Incorporated Magazine

The world is a home to 195 countries, each having a government system of its own. While we all know that India runs on democracy, we must also know which form of government exists in other countries. Even though you must have studied the various forms of government existing in the world when in school, you have most likely forgotten what they actually mean. 

With widespread protests that keep erupting in various countries demanding the change of government and resignation of rulers, which include Hongkong, Sudan, Egypt, Haiti, Lebanon, Iraq, and many more, it is extremely important to be aware of the forms of government that run these nations. 

We being the generation who is going to carry forward the functioning of the world, must know the various forms of government existing in the world. Scroll down to educate yourself: 

Democracy

Out of the various forms of government, Democracy is the most common. It is a form of government/political system where citizens of the nations have the right and power to elect the representative to run their country. In such form of a government, no single individual has the right to exercise authority and control over the citizens of the country. Elections are conducted in a democratic nation, where each citizen elects a representative of their choice. The one who wins the maximum votes takes over the charge of the country. 

Countries: There are around 99 democracies in the world. Norway, Iceland, New Zealand, Sweden, Finland, Canada, USA, Germany, France, UK, India, Japan, Singapore, and Australia are some of the countries that have a democratic setup. 

Communism

Communism is an ideology that was formed and taught by Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin (political philosophers and revolutionaries). It is a form of government where a country is governed by a single communist party running on the principles of Marxism and Leninism. Under communism form of government, the economy, property, factories, industries, are all owned by the public. A communist government leaves no place for class divisions. It, however, inclines towards authoritarianism since it is ruled by only one party with very restricted opposition from other political parties. 

Countries:  China is a perfect example of a communist nation. Vietnam, Cuba, Cuba, and Laos are other communist nations. 

Federalism

Federalism is a combined form of government where the ruling power is shared between the national government and the states of the nation. This form of government ensures balanced governance with states and local authorities having independent power to rule regions and also be equally answerable to the central government. Under this form of governance, the citizens of the nations are expected to abide by the set of laws and regulations. 

Countries: United States, India, Brazil, Mexico, Russia, Germany, Canada, Switzerland, Argentina, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Australia are among the many countries having a Federal structure of government. 

Dictatorship

This form of government is absolutely opposite to democracy. Under the dictatorship, complete power of ruling the country is vested in the hands of just one individual (a dictator) who also has the power to even impose force on the citizens if they fail to abide by the instructions given by the dictator. Similarly, dictatorship form of government does recognize any form of opposition to the leader or the government. The dictatorship government usually runs on the dictator’s propaganda. Two great examples of dictators are Adolf Hitler of Germany and Benito Mussolini of Italy. 

Countries: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan,  Bahrain, Yemen, North Korea, Syria, Sudan are some of the countries ruled by dictators. 

Capitalism

It is an economic form of government wherein the private businesses, industries, and companies own properties. This form of government encourages open competition and a free-market economy. This kind has very little and limited interference from the government.  

Countries: Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland, Australia, Ireland, Estonia, United Arab Emirates are some of the nations having a capitalist form of government 

Apart from these, there are other forms of government as well which the countries use. These include Aristocracy, Socialism, Feudalism, Meritocracy, Theocracy, etc.