Politics, Law & Government

The world today is divided territorially into more than 190 countries, each of which possesses a national government that claims to exercise sovereignty and seeks to compel obedience to its will by its citizens. Governments can be classified in any number of ways. For example, they might be classified by the number of rulers, thus distinguishing government by one (as in a monarchy or a tyranny) from government by the few (in an aristocracy or oligarchy) and from government by the many (as in a democracy). Governments can also be classified by mode of succession; for example, ascension to governmental leadership may follow the rules of hereditary succession, or it may be determined through elections or by force. Governments also vary in terms of the laws and rules of conduct that each political entity follows.
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Featured content, December 09, 2024

What Is the Difference Between Criminal Law and Civil Law?
Who initiates, standards of proof, and the case of O.J. Simpson.
How Does the U.S. Government Define the Difference Between a Protest and a Riot?
How does the U.S. government define the difference between a protest and a riot? A protest is “a[n]…organized public demonstration...
political system
Political system, the set of formal legal institutions that constitute a “government” or a “state.” This is the definition...
political philosophy
Political philosophy, branch of philosophy that is concerned, at the most abstract level, with the concepts and arguments...
industrial relations
Industrial relations, the behaviour of workers in organizations in which they earn their living. Scholars of industrial relations...
democracy
Democracy, literally, rule by the people. The term is derived from the Greek dēmokratia, which was coined from dēmos (“people”)...

Politics, Law & Government Quizzes

Quick Quiz: Determining Currency Exchange Rates
On your next international trip, you’ll have to exchange your home country’s money to the dollars and coins from the country...
Can You Answer These Questions from the United States Citizenship Test?
What is a Constitutional amendment? Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
Could You Pass These Countries' Citizenship Tests?
Sure, a vacation might be nice. But what about moving permanently? Check out this quiz to see if you have what it takes to...
Quiz: How Well Do You Understand Copyright?
If you write a novel, it belongs to you forever…right? Find out (and test your knowledge of copyright law) right here.
Did You Know? Martin Luther King, Jr.
How much do you know about the life of civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr.?
U.S. History Highlights: Part One
Who was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence? Who does a U.S. senator represent? Test your knowledge. Take...
U.S. History Highlights: Part Two
How long is one term for a member of the U.S. House of Representatives? What is the role of the cabinet? Test your knowledge....
How Well Do You Know Your African American History? Education, Politics, and Protest
What was the first African American newspaper in the United States? Who was the first African American politician to...
World Governments and Their Leaders
Test your knowledge about governments around the world.
U.S. Presidents and Their Years in Office Quiz
We’ll give you the years, it’s incumbent on you to figure out which president served during them.
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Politics, Law & Government Subcategories

subcategory placeholder Banking & Business
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J.P. Morgan Businesspeople & Entrepreneurs
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Writers Guild of America strike Economics & Economic Systems
Economic system, any of the ways in which humankind has arranged for its material provisioning. One would think that there would be a great variety of such systems, corresponding to the many cultural arrangements that have characterized human society.
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subcategory placeholder International Relations
International relations is the study of the relations of states with each other and with international organizations and certain subnational entities (e.g., bureaucracies, political parties, and interest groups). It is related to a number of other academic disciplines, including political science, geography, history, economics, law, sociology, psychology, and philosophy.
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police officer: collecting fingerprints Law, Crime & Punishment
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Find out what types of artillery were used during the American Civil War Military
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voting in the 2012 U.S. presidential election Politics & Political Systems
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John F. Kennedy World Leaders
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