► government a form, system, or process by which a country or state is governed: Most people in the country support the return to a democratic government. The voters just want good government.
► democracy a country or political system in which everyone can vote to choose the government: The U.S. and other Western democracies support the embargo.
► republic a country or political system in which representatives are elected to form the government and there is no king or queen: The constitution of the Republic of South Africa was approved in 1996.
► monarchy a country or political system that has a king or queen as the head of state, and which may or may not also have an elected government: The British monarchy goes back over 1,000 years.
► dictatorship a country or political system with a dictator (=a leader who has complete power and who has not been elected): North Korea is one of the most secretive dictatorships in the world.
► totalitarian country/state etc. a country in which the government has complete control over everything: In a totalitarian country, people have little choice.
► police state a country where the government strictly controls people’s freedom, often using threats or violence: It was a police state and no dissent was allowed.