Editing Politics (section)

== Political system ==
{{main|Political system}}
{{see also|Systems theory in political science}}
[[File:Map of European nationals coloured by percentage of vote governing party got in last election.svg|thumb|Map of European nations coloured by percentage of vote governing party got in last election as of 2022]]
[[File:Systems view of politics.png|thumb|Systems view of politics]]The political system defines the process for making official [[government]] decisions. It is usually compared to the [[legal system]], [[economic system]], [[cultural system]], and other [[social system]]s. According to [[David Easton]], "A political system can be designated as the interactions through which values are authoritatively allocated for a society."<ref name="Easton 1981"/> Each political system is embedded in a society with its own political culture, and they in turn shape their societies through [[public policy]]. The interactions between different political systems are the basis for [[global politics]].

=== Forms of government ===
[[File:Eduskuntatalo_2_corrected_2020-03-23.jpg|thumb|Legislatures are an important political institution. Pictured is the [[Parliament of Finland]].]]
Forms of government can be classified by several ways. In terms of the '''structure of power''', there are [[Monarchy|monarchies]] (including [[Constitutional monarchy|constitutional monarchies]]) and [[republic]]s (usually [[Presidential system|presidential]], [[Semi-presidential system|semi-presidential]], or [[Parliamentary system|parliamentary]]).

The [[separation of powers]] describes the degree of '''horizontal integration''' between the [[legislature]], the [[Executive (government)|executive]], the [[judiciary]], and other independent institutions.

==== Source of power ====

The source of power determines the difference between [[Democracy|democracies]], [[Oligarchy|oligarchies]], and [[Autocracy|autocracies]].

In a democracy, political [[Legitimacy (political)|legitimacy]] is based on [[popular sovereignty]]. Forms of democracy include [[representative democracy]], [[direct democracy]], and [[Sortition|demarchy]]. These are separated by the way decisions are made, whether by [[Election|elected]] representatives, [[referendum]]s, or by [[Citizens' assembly|citizen juries]]. Democracies can be either republics or constitutional monarchies.

Oligarchy is a power structure where a minority rules. These may be in the form of [[anocracy]], [[aristocracy]], [[ergatocracy]], [[geniocracy]], [[gerontocracy]], [[kakistocracy]], [[kleptocracy]], [[meritocracy]], [[noocracy]], [[particracy]], [[plutocracy]], [[stratocracy]], [[technocracy]], [[theocracy]], or [[timocracy]].

Autocracies are either [[dictatorship]]s (including [[military dictatorship]]s) or [[Absolute monarchy|absolute monarchies]].[[File:The pathway of regional integration or separation.png|thumb|The pathway of regional integration or separation]]

==== Vertical integration ====
In terms of level of vertical integration, political systems can be divided into (from least to most integrated) [[confederation]]s, [[federation]]s, and [[unitary state]]s.

A federation (also known as a federal state) is a [[political entity]] characterized by a [[Political union|union]] of partially [[Federated state|self-governing provinces, states, or other regions]] under a central [[federal government]] ([[federalism]]). In a federation, the self-governing status of the component states, as well as the division of power between them and the central government, is typically constitutionally entrenched and may not be altered by a unilateral decision of either party, the states or the federal political body. Federations were formed first in Switzerland, then in the United States in 1776, in Canada in 1867 and in Germany in 1871 and in 1901, [[Australia]]. Compared to a [[federation]], a [[confederation]] has less centralized power.

=== State ===
[[File:Map of unitary and federal states.svg|thumb|{{legend|#00e000;|[[Federal state]]s}}{{legend|#0000b0;|[[Unitary state]]s}}{{legend|#e1e1e1;|No government}}]]
All the above forms of government are variations of the same basic [[polity]], the [[sovereign state]]. The [[State (polity)|state]] has been defined by [[Max Weber]] as a political entity that has [[monopoly on violence]] within its territory, while the [[Montevideo Convention]] holds that states need to have a defined territory; a permanent population; a government; and a capacity to enter into international relations.

A stateless society is a [[society]] that is not [[Government|governed]] by a [[State (polity)|state]].<ref name="Routledge2">{{harvnb|Craig|2005|p=14}}.</ref> In stateless societies, there is little [[Centralization|concentration]] of [[authority]]; most positions of authority that do exist are very limited in [[Political power|power]] and are generally not permanently held positions; and social bodies that resolve disputes through predefined rules tend to be small.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ellis |first1=Stephen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fLAWMGqKMb4C&pg=PA198 |title=The Mask of Anarchy: The Destruction of Liberia and the Religious Dimension of an African Civil War |publisher=NYU Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-8147-2219-0 |page=198 |via=Google Books |access-date=4 May 2020 |archive-date=24 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224213821/https://books.google.com/books?id=fLAWMGqKMb4C&pg=PA198 |url-status=live }}</ref> Stateless societies are highly variable in economic organization and cultural practices.<ref>{{harvnb|Béteille|2002|pp=1042–1043}}.</ref>

While stateless societies were the norm in human prehistory, few stateless societies exist today; almost the entire global population resides within the jurisdiction of a [[sovereign state]]. In some regions nominal state authorities may be very weak and wield [[Failed state|little or no actual power]]. Over the course of history most stateless peoples have been [[Cultural assimilation|integrated into the state-based societies around them]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Faulks |first1=Keith |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_fjCczhvWj0C&pg=PA23 |title=Political Sociology: A Critical Introduction |publisher=NYU Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-8147-2709-6 |page=23 |via=Google Books |access-date=4 May 2020 |archive-date=16 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116055203/https://books.google.com/books?id=_fjCczhvWj0C&pg=PA23 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Some political philosophies consider the state undesirable, and thus consider the formation of a stateless society a goal to be achieved. A central tenet of [[anarchism]] is the advocacy of society without states.<ref name="Routledge2" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Sheehan |first1=Sean |title=Anarchism |publisher=Reaktion Books |year=2004 |location=London |page=85}}</ref> The type of society sought for varies significantly between [[anarchist schools of thought]], ranging from extreme [[individualism]] to complete [[Collectivism and individualism|collectivism]].<ref name="slevin">{{cite book |last1=Slevin |first1=Carl |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordconcisedic00iain |title=The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2003 |editor1-last=McLean |editor1-first=Iain |chapter=Anarchism |isbn=978-0-19-280276-7 |editor2-last=McMillan |editor2-first=Alistair |url-access=registration |name-list-style=amp}}</ref> In [[Marxism]], [[Marx's theory of the state]] considers that in a [[post-capitalist]] society the state, an undesirable institution, would be unnecessary and [[Withering away of the state|wither away]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Engels |first1=Frederick |url=http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1880/soc-utop/index.htm |title=Socialism: Utopian and Scientific |year=1880 |chapter=Part III: Historical Materialism |quote=State interference in social relations becomes, in one domain after another, superfluous, and then dies out of itself; the government of persons is replaced by the administration of things, and by the conduct of processes of production. The State is not "abolished". It dies out...Socialized production upon a predetermined plan becomes henceforth possible. The development of production makes the existence of different classes of society thenceforth an anachronism. In proportion as anarchy in social production vanishes, the political authority of the State dies out. Man, at last the master of his own form of social organization, becomes at the same time the lord over Nature, his own master—free. |via=Marx/Engels Internet Archive (marxists.org) |access-date=4 May 2020 |archive-date=7 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207174438/https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1880/soc-utop/index.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> A related concept is that of [[stateless communism]], a phrase sometimes used to describe Marx's anticipated post-capitalist society.

=== Constitutions ===
[[Constitutions]] are written documents that specify and limit the powers of the different branches of government. Although a constitution is a written document, there is also an unwritten constitution. The unwritten constitution is continually being written by the legislative and judiciary branch of government; this is just one of those cases in which the nature of the circumstances determines the form of government that is most appropriate.<ref>{{cite web |title=Britain's unwritten constitution |url=https://www.bl.uk/magna-carta/articles/britains-unwritten-constitution |website=The British Library |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401113644/https://www.bl.uk/magna-carta/articles/britains-unwritten-constitution |archive-date=1 April 2019 |access-date=25 February 2019}}</ref> England did set the fashion of written constitutions during the [[English Civil War|Civil War]] but after the [[Restoration (England)|Restoration]] abandoned them to be taken up later by the [[Thirteen Colonies|American Colonies]] after their [[American Revolution|emancipation]] and then [[France]] after the [[French Revolution|Revolution]] and the rest of Europe including the European colonies.

Constitutions often set out [[separation of powers]], dividing the government into the [[Executive (government)|executive]], the [[legislature]], and the [[judiciary]] (together referred to as the trias politica), in order to achieve checks and balances within the state. Additional independent branches may also be created, including [[civil service commission]]s, [[election commission]]s, and [[supreme audit institution]]s.

=== Political culture ===
[[File:Inglehart-Values-Map-Small.png|thumb|[[Inglehart–Welzel cultural map of the world|Inglehart-Weltzel cultural map of countries]]]]
[[Political culture]] describes how [[culture]] impacts politics. Every [[political system]] is embedded in a particular political culture.<ref name=":13">{{harvnb|Morlino|Berg-Schlosser|Badie|2017|pp=64–74}}</ref> [[Lucian Pye]]'s definition is that, "Political culture is the set of attitudes, beliefs, and sentiments, which give order and meaning to a political process and which provide the underlying assumptions and rules that govern behavior in the political system."<ref name=":13" />

[[Trust (social science)|Trust]] is a major factor in political culture, as its level determines the capacity of the state to function.<ref name=":2">{{harvnb|Hague|2017|pp=200–214}}.</ref> [[Postmaterialism]] is the degree to which a political culture is concerned with issues which are not of immediate physical or material concern, such as [[human rights]] and [[environmentalism]].<ref name=":13" /> [[Religion]] has also an impact on political culture.<ref name=":2" />

=== Political dysfunction ===

==== Political corruption ====
{{main|Political corruption}}
Political corruption is the use of powers for illegitimate private gain, conducted by government officials or their network contacts. Forms of political corruption include [[bribery]], [[cronyism]], [[nepotism]], and [[Patronage|political patronage]]. Forms of political patronage, in turn, includes [[clientelism]], [[Earmark (politics)|earmarking]], [[pork barrel]]ing, [[slush fund]]s, and [[spoils system]]s; as well as [[political machine]]s, which is a political system that operates for corrupt ends.

When corruption is embedded in political culture, this may be referred to as [[patrimonialism]] or [[neopatrimonialism]]. A form of government that is built on corruption is called a ''[[kleptocracy]]'' ('rule of thieves').

==== Insincere politics ====
The words "politics" and "political" are sometimes used as pejoratives to mean political action that is deemed to be overzealous, performative, or insincere.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://onelook.com/?w=political |title=Definitions of political |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |website=onelook.com |publisher=<!--Not stated--> |access-date=2023-10-26 |quote=Motivated, especially inappropriately, by political (electoral or other party political) calculation}}</ref>