 "Government
refers to the
legislators,
administrators, and
arbitrators in the
administrative
bureaucracy who control a
state at a given time, and
to the system of government by
which they are organized.
Government is the means by which
state policy is enforced, as
well as the mechanism for
determining the
policy of the state. A form
of government, or form of state
governance, refers to the set of
political institutions by which
a government of a state is
organized. Synonyms include
"regime type" and "system of
government".
States are served by a
continuous succession of
different governments. Each
successive government is
composed of a body of
individuals who control and
exercise control over political
decision-making. Their function
is to enforce
laws,
legislate new ones, and
arbitrate conflicts. In some
societies, this group is often a
self-perpetuating or hereditary
class. In other societies, such
as
democracies, the political
roles remain, but there is
frequent turnover of the people
actually filling the positions.
The word government is derived
from the Latin infinitive
gubernare, meaning "to
govern" or "to manage". In
parliamentary systems, the
word "government" is used to
refer to what in presidential
systems would be the
executive branch. In
parliamentary systems, the
government is composed of the
prime minister and the
cabinet. In other cases,
"government" refers to
executive, legislative,
judicial, bureaucratic, and
possibly also devolved powers.
In most Western societies, there
is a clear distinction between a
government and the state. Public
disapproval of a particular
government (expressed, for
example, by not re-electing an
incumbent) does not necessarily
represent disapproval of the
state itself (i.e. of the
particular framework of
government). However, in some
totalitarian regimes, there
is not a clear distinction
between the regime and the
state. In fact, leaders in such
regimes often attempt to
deliberately blur the lines
between the two, in order to
conflate their interests with
those of the polity.".
Source:
Wikipedia |
