Anarchism

A form of government (or lack thereof) with no ruling hierarchy, instead decisions are made at a directly democratic level: laws are created by citizens alone, although they may be enforced by institutions that are not publicly controlled.

Anarcho-capitalism

A stateless society composed of sovereign individuals living within the constraints of a corporatist market

Anarchy

Anarchy is lack of a central government, as there is no one recognized governing authority; in anarchy there is no effective government (as opposed to an "ineffective government") and each (rugged) individualhas absolute liberty. It is important to note, however, that the lack of a government to enforce laws does not automatically imply that there are no laws; anarcho-capitalism in particular posits a form of anarchy with a body of explicit laws.

Aristocracy

A form of government in which a select few rule based on inherited hereditary right.

Autocracy

A form of government in which the political power is held by a single, self-appointed ruler.

Capracracy

Rule by goats.

Communist state

A hypothetical stateless entity that follows after socialism as according to Marxist theory.

Corporatocracy

A form of government where a corporation, a group of corporations, or government entities with private components control the direction and governance of a country. (See USA.)

Demarchy

A hypothetical political system run by randomly selected deciders decision makers who have been selected by sortition (drawing lots). Think selecting a legislature or executive in the same manner that a jury is presently selected.

Democracy

Refers to a broad range of types of government based upon the "consent of the governed." In its purest form it is the same thing as mobocracy, but it is usually practiced in the form of a republic, which provides checks and balances and an establishment that is able to tap an unruly mob on its collective head.

Despotism

Rule by an all-powerful individual. A less polite term for "autocracy."

Dictatorship

Rule by a dictator instead of a despot. Political science is very nuanced.

Epistemocracy

A utopian type of society and government in which people of rank, including those holding political office, are those who possess epistemic humility, whatever that is.

Ethnocracy

A form of government where representatives of a particular ethnic group hold a number of government posts disproportionately large to the percentage of the total population that the particular ethnic group(s) represents and use them to advance the position of their particular ethnic group(s) to the detriment of others. In Nazi Germany ethnic groups Hitler supported held all the power. Neo-Nazis often accuseJews of possessing an ethnocracy in the person of the U.S. government, which they call the Zionist Occupation Government.

Exilarchy

A form of government, usually theocratic or monarchic, that is established and constituted for rule over an ethnic or religious diasporarather than over the place of origin whence the diaspora originated.

Fascism

Rule by a totalitarian and corporatist government. It has also gone by the names Nazism, Baathism, Corporatism, and Falangism.

Feudalism

Government by a usually hereditary class of military landowners, who exact goods and services from a peasant class in exchange for protection. Usually features complex webs of loyalties and ranks.

Futarchy

System of government proposed by economist Robin Hanson based on the idea of voting on a certain outcome and then figuring out how to achieve it.

Geniocracy

A system of government first proposed by Rael (leader of the International Raëlian Movement) in 1977, which advocates problem-solving and creative intelligence as criteria for regional governance.

Holacracy

a specific social technology or system of organisational governance developed by HolacracyOne, LLC in which authority and decision making are distributed throughout a holarchy of self organising teams rather than being vested in a management hierarchy. (from Wikipedia)

Kakistocracy

Government by the least qualified or most unprincipled citizens, "Government by the worst."

Kleptocracy

A term applied to a government that extends the personal wealth and political power of government officials and the ruling class (collectively, kleptocrats) at the expense of the population.

Kratocracy

Rule by those who are strong enough to seize power through force or cunning.

Kritocracy or Krytocracy

Rule by judges. See also judicial activism.

Matriarchy

Rule by women, or a government which regards female humans as entitled to rule and to exercise power over men.

Meritocracy

A government wherein appointments are made and responsibilities are given based on demonstrated talent and ability, usually incentivising "merit".

Minarchy

A political ideology which maintains that the state's only legitimate function is the protection of individuals from aggression.

Mobocracy or Ochlocracy

Rule by mob or a mass of people, or the intimidation of constitutional authorities; think Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail"witch/duck" mob.

Monarchy

Rule by an individual for life or until abdication, often hereditary. On a positive note, a monarchy usually possesses more checks and balances than an autocracy or dictatorship.

Oligarchy

A form of government in which power effectively rests with a small elite segment of society distinguished by royal, wealth, intellectual, family, military or religious hegemony.

Panarchracy

A political philosophy emphasizing each individual's right to freely join and leave the jurisdiction of any governments they choose, without being forced to move from their current locale.

Patriarchy

Rule by men, or a government which regards male humans as entitled to rule and to exercise power over women.

Plutocracy

Rule by the wealthy, or power provided by wealth.

Republic

Historical definition: Any of a wide variety of non-monarchical governments where eligibility to rule is determined by law. US definition: Rule by elected individuals representing the citizen body and exercising power according to the rule of law.

Socialist republic or people's republic

A state run by a communist party, or worker representative democracy, with a centrally controlled economy and resources distributed by need and produced by ability, where workers, or the Party, control the means of production.

Stratocracy

A system of government in which there is no distinction between the military and the civil power.

Technocracy

A form of government in which engineers, scientists, and other technical experts are in control of decision making in their respective fields.

Theocracy

A form of government in which a god or deity is recognized as the state's supreme civil ruler. Since said god or deity is usually absent from decision making, a self-appointed or elected leader or leaders of the religion of said god or deity will rule instead through personal interpretation of the laws commanded by the god in that religion's written law.

Theodemocracy

A political system theorized by Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement (Mormons). As the name implies, theodemocracy was meant to be a fusion of traditional republican democratic rights under the US Constitution combined with theocratic elements.

Timocracy

Either a state where only property owners may participate in government or where rulers are selected and perpetuated based on the degree of honor they hold relative to others in their society, peer group or class.

Tyranny

Rule by a selfish or otherwise bad single ruler