Anarchism

A form of government (or lack thereof) with no ruling hierarchy, instead

decisions are made at a directly democratic level: laws are created by
citizens alone, although they may be enforced by institutions that are not
publicly controlled.
Anarcho-capitalism
A stateless society composed of sovereign individuals living within the
constraints of a corporatist market
Anarchy
Anarchy is lack of a central government, as there is no one recognized
governing authority; in anarchy there is no effective government (as opposed
to an "ineffective government") and each (rugged) individual has absolute
liberty. It is important to note, however, that the lack of a government to
enforce laws does not automatically imply that there are no laws; anarchocapitalism in particular posits a form of anarchy with a body of explicit laws.
Aristocracy
A form of government in which a select few rule based on inherited
hereditary right.
Autocracy
A form of government in which the political power is held by a single, selfappointed ruler.
Capracracy
Rule by goats.
Communist state
A hypothetical stateless entity that follows after socialism as according to
Marxist theory.
Corporatocracy
A form of government where a corporation, a group of corporations, or
government entities with private components control the direction and
governance of a country. (See USA.)

Demarchy
A hypothetical political system run by randomly selected deciders decision
makers who have been selected by sortition (drawing lots). Think selecting a
legislature or executive in the same manner that a jury is presently selected.
Democracy
Refers to a broad range of types of government based upon the "consent of
the governed." In its purest form it is the same thing as mobocracy, but it is
usually practiced in the form of a republic, which provides checks and
balances and an establishment that is able to tap an unruly mob on its
collective head.
Despotism
Rule by an all-powerful individual. A less polite term for "autocracy."
Dictatorship
Rule by a dictator instead of a despot. Political science is very nuanced.
Epistemocracy
A utopian type of society and government in which people of rank, including
those holding political office, are those who possess epistemic humility,
whatever that is.
Ethnocracy
A form of government where representatives of a particular ethnic group
hold a number of government posts disproportionately large to the
percentage of the total population that the particular ethnic group(s)
represents and use them to advance the position of their particular ethnic
group(s) to the detriment of others. In Nazi Germany ethnic groups Hitler
supported held all the power. Neo-Nazis often accuse Jews of possessing an
ethnocracy in the person of the U.S. government, which they call the Zionist
Occupation Government.
Exilarchy
A form of government, usually theocratic or monarchic, that is established
and constituted for rule over an ethnic or religious diaspora rather than over
the place of origin whence the diaspora originated.

Fascism
Rule by a totalitarian and corporatist government. It has also gone by the
names Nazism, Baathism, Corporatism, and Falangism.
Feudalism
Government by a usually hereditary class of military landowners, who exact
goods and services from a peasant class in exchange for protection. Usually
features complex webs of loyalties and ranks.
Futarchy
System of government proposed by economist Robin Hanson based on the
idea of voting on a certain outcome and then figuring out how to achieve it.
Geniocracy
A system of government first proposed by Rael (leader of the International
Ralian Movement) in 1977, which advocates problem-solving and creative
intelligence as criteria for regional governance.
Holacracy
a specific social technology or system of organisational governance
developed by HolacracyOne, LLC in which authority and decision making are
distributed throughout a holarchy of self organising teams rather than being
vested in a management hierarchy. (from Wikipedia)
Kakistocracy
Government by the least qualified or most unprincipled citizens,
"Government by the worst."
Kleptocracy
A term applied to a government that extends the personal wealth and
political power of government officials and the ruling class (collectively,
kleptocrats) at the expense of the population.
Kratocracy
Rule by those who are strong enough to seize power through force or
cunning.
Kritocracy or Krytocracy

Rule by judges. See also judicial activism.

Matriarchy
Rule by women, or a government which regards female humans as entitled
to rule and to exercise power over men.
Meritocracy
A government wherein appointments are made and responsibilities are given
based on demonstrated talent and ability, usually incentivising "merit".
Minarchy
A political ideology which maintains that the state's only legitimate function
is the protection of individuals from aggression.
Mobocracy or Ochlocracy
Rule by mob or a mass of people, or the intimidation of constitutional
authorities; think Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail "witch/duck"
mob.
Monarchy
Rule by an individual for life or until abdication, often hereditary. On a
positive note, a monarchy usually possesses more checks and balances than
an autocracy or dictatorship.
Oligarchy
A form of government in which power effectively rests with a small elite
segment of society distinguished by royal, wealth, intellectual, family,
military or religious hegemony.
Panarchracy
A political philosophy emphasizing each individual's right to freely join and
leave the jurisdiction of any governments they choose, without being forced
to move from their current locale.
Patriarchy
Rule by men, or a government which regards male humans as entitled to rule
and to exercise power over women.

Plutocracy
Rule by the wealthy, or power provided by wealth.
Republic
Historical definition: Any of a wide variety of non-monarchical governments
where eligibility to rule is determined by law. US definition: Rule by elected
individuals representing the citizen body and exercising power according to
the rule of law.
Socialist republic or people's republic
A state run by a communist party, or worker representative democracy, with
a centrally controlled economy and resources distributed by need and
produced by ability, where workers, or the Party, control the means of
production.
Stratocracy
A system of government in which there is no distinction between the military
and the civil power.
Technocracy
A form of government in which engineers, scientists, and other technical
experts are in control of decision making in their respective fields.
Theocracy
A form of government in which a god or deity is recognized as the state's
supreme civil ruler. Since said god or deity is usually absent from decision
making, a self-appointed or elected leader or leaders of the religion of said
god or deity will rule instead through personal interpretation of the laws
commanded by the god in that religion's written law.
Theodemocracy
A political system theorized by Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day
Saint movement (Mormons). As the name implies, theodemocracy was
meant to be a fusion of traditional republican democratic rights under the US
Constitution combined with theocratic elements.
Timocracy

Either a state where only property owners may participate in government or

where rulers are selected and perpetuated based on the degree of honor
they hold relative to others in their society, peer group or class.
Tyranny
Rule by a selfish or otherwise bad single ruler