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 07, 2024
6 of the First Women to Become Heads of State
How six women became leaders, from Iceland to the Philippines.
The Surprisingly Disorderly History of the U.S. Presidential Succession Order
Who takes over and when?
What Is Gerrymandering?
You may have heard about this in the news, but how is it affecting you?
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...
economics
Economics, social science that seeks to analyze and describe the production, distribution, and consumption of wealth. In...
diplomacy
Diplomacy, the established method of influencing the decisions and behaviour of foreign governments and peoples through dialogue,...
Barack Obama
Barack Obama is the 44th president of the United States (2009–17) and the first African American to hold the office. Before...
property law
Property law, principles, policies, and rules by which disputes over property are to be resolved and by which property transactions...
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Politics, Law & Government Subcategories
Banking & Business
This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
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art market
economics
- organized labour
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logistics
business
Businesspeople & Entrepreneurs
This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
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Andrew Carnegie
American industrialist and philanthropist
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Steve Jobs
American businessman
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Cecil Rhodes
prime minister of Cape Colony
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.
Articles
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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- economic development
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Julius Rosenberg and Ethel Rosenberg
American spies
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European Union
European organization
Law, Crime & Punishment
This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
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police
law enforcement
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inheritance
law
- constitutional law
Military
This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
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Wehrmacht
armed forces of the Third Reich
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Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
United States policy
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Kosovo Liberation Army
Kosovar militant group
Politics & Political Systems
This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
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World Leaders
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Woodrow Wilson
28th president of the United States
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Vladimir Putin
president of Russia
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Mao Zedong
Chinese leader