Government Types on WorldAnvil

Banana republic: In political science, the term banana republic describes a politically unstable country with an economy dependent upon the exportation of a limited-resource product, such as bananas or minerals.
Corporatocracy: Corporatocracy is a term used to refer to an economic, political and judicial system controlled by corporations or corporate interests. Historian Howard Zinn argues that during the Gilded Age in the United States, the U.S. government was acting exactly as Karl Marx described capitalist states: "pretending neutrality to maintain order, but serving the interests of the rich".
Despostism: Despotism (The root despot comes from the Greek word despotes, which means "master" or "one with power.") is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. Normally, that entity is an individual, the despot; but (as in an autocracy) societies which limit respect and power to specific groups have also been called despotic.
Dictatorship: A dictatorship is a form of government characterized by a single leader (dictator) or group of leaders that hold government power promised to the people and little or no toleration for political pluralism or independent media. In most dictatorships, the country's constitution promise citizens’ rights and the freedom to free and democratic elections; sometimes, it also mentions that all these aforementioned rights will be granted to the people, but this is not always the case. As democracy is a form of government in which "those who govern are selected through periodically contested elections (in years)", dictatorships are not democracies. Forms include Military dictatorships, Single-party dictatorships, Personalist (all power lies in the hands of a single person) dictatorships, Monarchic dictatorships (in which the monarch inherits the position of head of state and is not simply ceremonial), and Hybrid (mix of the above) dictatorships.
Electocracy: An electocracy is a political system where citizens are able to elect their government but cannot participate directly in governmental decision making as the government does not share its power. Electocracy is seen as a premature form of democracy due to the shared similarities of citizens casting ballots, however electocracy is not considered a democracy, though many democracies have electocracy involvement. In contrast to democracy, where citizens are able to participate in the making of decisions that affect them, electocracy sees decision-making limited to an elected individual or group who may then govern in an arbitrary and unaccountable manner until the next election.
Gerontocracy: A gerontocracy is a form of oligarchical rule in which an entity is ruled by leaders who are significantly older than most of the adult population. In many political structures, power within the ruling class accumulates with age, making the oldest the holders of the most power. Those holding the most power may not be in formal leadership positions, but often dominate those who are. In a simplified definition, a gerontocracy is a society where leadership is reserved for elders. Although the idea of the elderly holding power exists in many cultures, the gerontocracy has its western roots in ancient Greece. Plato famously stated that "it is for the elder man to rule and for the younger to submit". One example of the ancient Greek gerontocracy can be seen in city state of Sparta, which was ruled by a Gerousia, a council made up of members who were at least 60 years old and who served for life.
Hive-Mind (Uniocracy): Ruled by a singularity of all human minds connected via some form of technical or non-technical telepathy acting as a form of super computer to make decisions based on shared patterned experiences to deliver fair and accurate decisions to problems as they arrive. Also known as the "hive mind" principle, it differs from voting in that each person would make a decision while in the "hive" the synapses of all minds work together following a longer path of memories to make "one" decision.
Kakistocracy: A kakistocracy (/kæk?'st?kr?si/, /kæk?s't?kr?si/) is a government run by the worst, least qualified, or most unscrupulous citizens. See also: Peter Principle – Concept that people in a hierarchy are promoted until no longer competent.
Kratocracy or kraterocracy (from the Greek ??ate??? krateros, meaning "strong") as a government based on coercive power, by those strong enough to seize control through physical violence or demagogic manipulation.
Kritarchy: also called kritocracy, was the system of rule by Biblical judges in ancient Israel, started by Moses according to the Book of Exodus, before the establishment of a united monarchy under Saul. Because the name is a compound of the Greek words ???t??, krites ("judge") and ????, árkho ("to rule"), its colloquial use has expanded to cover rule by judges in the modern sense as well. To contrast such a rule by (modern) judges with the actual form of the 1996 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, judge Albie Sachs coined the term dikastocracy for it, from d??ast?? ("judge"), rejecting the coinage "juristocracy" for being an admixture of Latin and Greek.
Machine Government (possibly Cyberocracy: Theoretical form of government that rules by the effective use of information). Rule by a computer, which decides based on computer code. This is closely linked to Cybersynacy and could be the 'solution' to communism. This type of ruling appears in the short story "The Machine Stops" by E. M. Forster. Or perhaps Algocracy: Rule by algorithms used in diverse levels of bureaucracy, which is also known as algorithmic regulation, regulation by algorithms, algorithmic governance, algorithmic legal order of government by algorithm.
Magocracy: Rule by a government with the highest and main authority being either a magician, sage, sorcerer, wizard, witch, or some other magic user. This is often similar to a theocratic structured regime and is largely portrayed in fiction and fantasy genre categories.
Meritocracy: Rule by the meritorious; a system of governance where groups are selected on the basis of people's ability, knowledge in a given area, and contributions to society.

Ochlocracy: Rule by the crowd; a system of governance where mob rule is government by mob or a mass of people, or the intimidation of legitimate authorities. As a pejorative for majoritarianism, it is akin to the Latin phrase mobile vulgus meaning "the fickle crowd", from which the English term "mob" was originally derived in the 1680s. Ochlocratic governments are often a democracy spoiled by demagoguery, "tyranny of the majority" and the rule of passion over reason; such governments can be as oppressive as autocratic tyrants. Ochlocracy is synonymous in meaning and usage to the modern, informal term "mobocracy".
Sortition: In governance, sortition (also known as selection by lottery, selection by lot, allotment, demarchy, stochocracy, aleatoric democracy and lottocracy) is the selection of political officials as a random sample from a larger pool of candidates. Sortition is generally used for filling individual posts or, more usually in its modern applications, to fill collegiate chambers.[citation needed] The system intends to ensure that all competent and interested parties have an equal chance of holding public office. It also minimizes factionalism, since there would be no point making promises to win over key constituencies if one was to be chosen by lot, while elections, by contrast, foster it.[2] In ancient Athenian democracy, sortition was the traditional and primary method for appointing political officials, and its use was regarded as a principal characteristic of democracy.
Stratocracy: Rule by military service; a system of governance composed of military government in which the state and the military are traditionally or constitutionally the same entity. Citizens with mandatory or voluntary active military service or who have been honorably discharged have the right to govern. (Therefore, stratocracy is not to be confused with "military junta" or "military dictatorship".) The Spartan city-state is a historical example; its social system and constitution were completely focused on military training and excellence. Stratocratic ideology often attaches to the honor-oriented timocracy.
Technocracy: Rule by the educated or technical experts; a system of governance where people who are skilled or proficient govern in their respective areas of expertise in technology would be in control of all decision making. Doctors, engineers, scientists, professionals and technologists who have knowledge, expertise, or skills would compose the governing body instead of politicians, businessmen and economists. In a technocracy, decision makers would be selected based upon how knowledgeable and skillful they are in their field. Technocracy is today represented by global algorithmic governance by Silicon Valley engineers. This recent form of technocracy has been called 'digitocracy'.
Theocracy: Rule by a religious elite; a system of governance composed of religious institutions in which the state and the church are traditionally or constitutionally the same entity. The Vatican's (see Pope), Iran's (see Supreme Leader), Caliphates and other Islamic states are historically considered theocracies.
Timocracy: Rule by the honorable; a system of governance ruled by honorable citizens and property owners. Socrates defines a timocracy as a government ruled by people who love honor and are selected according to the degree of honor they hold in society. This form of timocracy is very similar to meritocracy, in the sense that individuals of outstanding character or faculty are placed in the seat of power.