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 04, 2024

What Is the Difference Between Criminal Law and Civil Law?
Who initiates, standards of proof, and the case of O.J. Simpson.
8 Questions About Democracy Answered
Important questions asked and answered, briefly.
What Was Frederick Douglass’s Position on Women’s Rights?
Find out how Frederick Douglass supported the early American women’s rights movement.
inheritance
Inheritance, the devolution of property on an heir or heirs upon the death of the owner. The term inheritance also designates...
constitutional law
Constitutional law, the body of rules, doctrines, and practices that govern the operation of political communities. In modern...
fascism
Fascism, political ideology and mass movement that dominated many parts of central, southern, and eastern Europe between...
police
Police, body of officers representing the civil authority of government. Police typically are responsible for maintaining...

Politics, Law & Government Quizzes

Australian Government and Political System
Australia is a federation, and the duties of the federal government and the division of powers between the Commonwealth and...
Voting for the U.S. President: A Quiz
Test your knowledge of how voters voted in U.S. presidential elections across history. Quiz content provided by
Women’s History: Leaders Quiz
Women have been political leaders for centuries. Test what you know about their accomplishments with this quiz.
U.S. Constitutional History Quiz
Who is considered the father of the U.S. Constitution? Which English philosopher greatly influenced the Constitution? Find...
Global Governance Quiz
Intergovernmental cooperation is essential to resolve issues of global importance. That cooperation is often made possible...
U.S. Presidential History Quiz
The phrase “New Frontier” is associated with which U.S. president? Who was “first in war, first in peace, and first in the...
U.S. Presidential Code Names Quiz
Every U.S. president is assigned a code name by the Secret Service. This quiz will show you a code name along with two presidents’...
43 Questions About Politics (Mostly in the United States) Compiled from Britannica’s Quizzes
This quiz gathers together questions from Britannica’s quizzes about politics, law, and government. It includes a lot of...
Weird U.S. Presidents Quiz
What animal did Calvin Coolidge grant a presidential pardon to? Whose chair did John Adams and Thomas Jefferson vandalize...
12 Quotes from U.S. Presidential Debates: A Quiz
Debates have been a high-profile component of U.S. presidential elections since at least 1960. How well do you know what...
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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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