In the modern world, most countries are led by governments. A government makes decisions on behalf of the population to organize public services, maintain law and order and manage the economy. It is also responsible for the defence of the country. A government raises taxes from its people to finance its activities. In a democracy, the people choose the government by voting for candidates in an election. An autocratic government is not elected by its people and is normally ruled by one person.
The most common type of government in the Western world is called democracy. In democracies, people in a country can vote during elections for representatives or political parties that they prefer. The people in democracies can elect representatives who will sit on legislatures such as the Parliament or Congress. Political parties are organizations of people with similar ideas about how a country or region should be governed. Different political parties have different ideas about how the government should handle different problems. Democracy is the government of the people, by the people and for the people.
However, many countries have forms of democracy which limit freedom of choice by the voters. One of the most common ways is to limit which parties who can for parliament, or limit the parties’ access to mass media such as television. Another way is to rig the voting system by removing votes from opposition voters and substituting votes for the party in power. Few countries are textbook democracies, and the differences between them has been much studied.
A government is a group of people that have the power to rule in a territory, according to the law. This territory may be a country, a state or province within a country, or a region.
- Governments make laws, rules, and regulations, collect taxes and print money.
- Governments have systems of justice that list the acts or activities that are against the law and describe the punishments for breaking the law.
- Governments have a police force to make sure people follow the laws.
- Governments have diplomats who communicate with the governments of other countries by having meetings. Diplomats try to solve problems or disagreements between two countries, which can help countries to avoid war, make commercial agreements, and exchange cultural or social experiences and knowledge.
- Governments have a military force such as an army that protects the country from terrorists and other major threats that attack or which can be used to attack and invade other countries.
- The leader of a government and his or her advisors are called the administration.
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