Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Forms of Government

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Interest Groups, Lobbying and Public Affairs

  • 19 Accesses

Definition

It is the job of political theory to deal with the main classifications of government in its various forms. This means delving into thinking or theories as to forms of government. History and the features of past forms of government come into it obliquely, but the focus is on the intellectual formulations of a certain number of thinkers. One begins with those of ancient times and aims to show what continuity there may be between past and present, how forms of government were described and interpreted in the premodern age, and the equivalent in the modern and contemporary eras.

Some clarification of terminology is necessary. In this entry, I use the word polityto describe any political-territorial organization. The expression “form of government” includes both the “state” and the “political regime.” The “state” is the organization to which all other organizations in a given territory are subordinate. The political regime consists of a set of rules – as well as procedures...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Arendt, H. (1951). The origins of totalitarianism. New York: Harcourt.

    Google Scholar 

  • Armstrong, J. (1973). The administrative elite. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aron, R. (1960). Classe sociale, classe politique, classe dirigeante. Archives européennes de sociologie, I, 2.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aron, R. (1965). Démocratie et totalitarisme. Paris: Gallimard.

    Google Scholar 

  • Badie, B. (1986). Les deux états. Paris: Fayard.

    Google Scholar 

  • Badie, B., & Birnbaum, P. (1979). Sociologie de l’Etat. Paris: Grasset.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartolini, S. (2000). The political mobilization of the European left, 1860–1990. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bobbio, N. (1985). Stato, governo, società. Torino: Einaudi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bobbio, N. (1996). Saggi sulla scienza politica in Italia. Laterza: Bari.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dahl, R. (1971). Poliarchy. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dahl, R., & Tufte, E. (1973). Size and democracy. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dahrendorf, R. (2003). Auf der Suche nach eimer newen Ordnung. Verlag Beck: München.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deutsch, K., et al. (1957). Political community and the North Atlantic area. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Du Gay, P., & Scott, A. (2010). State transformation or regime shift? Adressing Some Confusion in the Theory and Sociology of the State. Sociologica, 2, 1–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisenstadt, S. (1999). Paradoxes of democracy. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eistenstadt, S. N. (1969). The Political Systems of Empires. New York: The Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eistenstadt, S. N. (1999). Fundamentalism, sectarianism and revolution: The Jacobin dimensions of modernity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farid, A. (2013). Ibn Khaldun. Oxford: Oxford Scholarship Online.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finer, S. (1975). State and Nation-Building in Europe: The Role of the Military. In C. Tilly (Ed.), The Formation of States in Western Europe. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finer, S. (1976). The Men on Horseback. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finer, S. (1997). The history of government from earliest times, 3 voll. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedrich, C. J., & Brzezinski, Z. (1965). Totalitarian dictatorship and autocracy. New York: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fukuyama, F. (2012). The origins of political order: From Prehuman times to the French revolution. New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fukuyama, F. (2014). Political order and political decay: From the industrial revolution to the globalization of democracy. London: Profile.

    Google Scholar 

  • Geddes, B. (2010). Paradigms and Sand Castles. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hegel, G. W. (1821). Grundlinien der Philosophie des Rechts. Berlin: Nicolai.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hegel, G. W. (1837). Vorlesungen über die Philosphie des Geshichte. Berlin: Gans.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huntington, S. (1957). The soldier and the state. New York: Vintage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huntington, S. (1968). Political order in changing societies. New Haven: Yale university Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huntington, S. (1970). Social and institutional dynamics of one-party systems. In S. Huntington & C. Moore (Eds.), Authoritarian politics in modern society (pp. 3–47). New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huntington, S. (1991). The third wave. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelsen, H. (1920). Vom Wesen und Wert der Demokrate. Wien: Franz Deuticke.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khaldun, I. (1377). The Muqaddimah: An introduction to history. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1967.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lijphart, A. (1999). Patterns of democracy. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linz, J. (1975). Totalitarian and authoritarian regimes. In F. I. Greenstein & N. W. Polsby (Eds.), Handbook of political science (Vol. III, a cura di, pp. 175–371). Reading: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linz, J. (1996). The religious use of politics and/or the political use of religion. In H. Maier (Ed.), Totalitarianism and political religions (pp. 107–125). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linz, J., & Stepan, A. (1996). Problems of democratic transition and consolidation: Southern Europe, South America, and postcommunist Europe. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Machiavelli, N. (1513). Il Principe, in N. Machiavelli Opere complete. Sansoni: Firenze, 1971.

    Google Scholar 

  • Machiavelli, N. (1513–1519). Discorsi sopra la prima deca di Tito Livio. In N. Machiavelli (Ed.), Opere complete (p. 1971). Sansoni: Firenze.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manin, B. (1989). Les deux liberalismes: la règle et la balance. In C. Biet (Ed.), I Théry (sous la direction de) La famille, la loi, l’Etat. Paris: Editions du Centre George Pompidou.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manin, B. (1995). Principles du government representative. Paris: Calmann-Levy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Matteucci, N. (1984). Alla ricerca dell’ordine politico. Il Mulino: Bologna.

    Google Scholar 

  • Montesquieu, C. (1734). Considérations sur les causes de la grandeur des Romains et de leur Décadence. Amsterdam: Desbordes.

    Google Scholar 

  • Montesquieu, C. (1748). De l’esprit des lois. Barrillos and Fils: Genève.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morlino, L. (1986). Autoritarismi. In G. Pasquino (Ed.), Manuale di scienza politica (pp. 137–189). Il Mulino: Bologna.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mosca, G. (1982), ed. originale 1923, Elementi di scienza politica, Torino, Utet.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mouffe, C. (2000). The democratic paradox. London: Verso.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nettl, J. P. (1968). The state as conceptual variable, “world politics”. XX, 4, 559–592.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nondingler, E. (1977). Soldiers in politics: Military coups and governments. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Panebianco, A. (1988). Political parties. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Panebianco, A. (2004). Il potere, lo stato, la libertà. Il Mulino: Bologna.

    Google Scholar 

  • Panebianco, A. (2018). Persone e mondi. Il Mulino: Bologna.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poggi, G. (1978). The development of the modern state. London: Hutchinson University Library.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poggi, G. (1991). The state. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Putnam, R. (1976). The comparative study of political elites. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodrik, D. (2011). The globalization paradox. London: Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rokkan, S. (1970). Citizens. Elections, Parties: Oslo, Universiitetsforlaget.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rokkan, S. (1975). I voti contano, le risorse decidono. Rivista italiana di scienza politica, V(1), 167–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sartori, G. (1957). Democrazia e definizioni. Il Mulino: Bologna.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sartori, G. (1976). Parties and party systems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sartori, G. (1987). The theory of democracy (2 voll). New Jersey: Chatham House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmitter, P. (1974). Revised, still the century of Corporativism? Review ofPolitics, 36, 85–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schumpeter, J. (1942). Capitalism, socialism adn democracy. New York: Harper, & Brothers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Service, E. (1975). Origins of the state and civilization. New York: Norton and Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shugart, M., & Carey, J. (1992). Presidents and assemblies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sinclair, T. (1951). A history of Greek political thought. London: Routledge and Kegan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Svovik, M. (2012). The politics of authoritarian rule. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tilly, C. (1990). Coercion, capital and European states, AD 990–1990. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tsebelis, G. (2002). Veto players: How political institution work. New York: Russel Sage Foundation.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, M. (1922). Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft. Tübingen: Mohr.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wittfogel, K. (1957). Oriental Despotism. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolin, S. (1960). Politics and vision. Boston: Little, Brown and Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zakaria, F. (2003). The future of freedom. New York: Norton.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    Angelo Panebianco

Authors
  1. Angelo Panebianco
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Angelo Panebianco .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Business Research Institute, University of Chester, Chester, UK

    Phil Harris

  2. Universita della Svizzera Italiana, Lugano, Ticino, Switzerland

    Alberto Bitonti

  3. Aurora WDC, Madison, WI, USA

    Craig S. Fleisher

  4. Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark

    Anne Skorkjær Binderkrantz

Section Editor information

  1. Università della Svizzera Italiana, Lugano, Switzerland

    Alberto Bitonti

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Panebianco, A. (2021). Forms of Government. In: Harris, P., Bitonti, A., Fleisher, C.S., Skorkjær Binderkrantz, A. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Interest Groups, Lobbying and Public Affairs . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13895-0_88-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13895-0_88-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-13895-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-13895-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Political Science and International StudiesReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation