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, March 15, 2023
Why Are U.S. Elections Held on Tuesdays?
Blame 19th-century farmers.
Why Are Two Political Parties Dominant in the U.S.?
Find out how Democrats and Republicans came to dominate U.S. politics.
9 U.S. Presidents with the Most Vetoes
Hail to the chief.
The Surprisingly Disorderly History of the U.S. Presidential Succession Order
Who takes over and when?
property law
Property law, principles, policies, and rules by which disputes over property are to be resolved and by which property transactions...
international payment and exchange
International payment and exchange, respectively, any payment made by one country to another and the market in which national...
insurance
Insurance, a system under which the insurer, for a consideration usually agreed upon in advance, promises to reimburse the...
military aircraft
Military aircraft, any type of aircraft that has been adapted for military use. Aircraft have been a fundamental part of...
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Politics, Law & Government Subcategories
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This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
- taxation
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money market
economics
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social security
government program
![J.P. Morgan](https://webcf.waybackmachine.org/web/20230316010515im_/https://cdn.britannica.com/61/25261-050-9ED938CF/John-Pierpont-Morgan-1902.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)
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Horacio Cartes
president of Paraguay
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Oprah Winfrey
American television personality, actress, and entrepreneur
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Mark Zuckerberg
American computer programmer and entrepreneur
![Standard Oil Strike](https://webcf.waybackmachine.org/web/20230316010515im_/https://cdn.britannica.com/10/134110-050-881603F3/rioting-Workers-strike-Standard-Oil-Bayonne-New-1915.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)
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
- automation
- coin
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Soviet Union
historical state, Eurasia
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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.
Articles
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Julius Rosenberg and Ethel Rosenberg
American spies
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European Union
European organization
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World Trade Organization
international trade
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inheritance
law
- constitutional law
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commercial transaction
economics
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Articles
- artillery
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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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This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
- anarchism
- public administration
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Zapatista National Liberation Army
political movement, Mexico
![John F. Kennedy](https://webcf.waybackmachine.org/web/20230316010515im_/https://cdn.britannica.com/34/94934-050-BBF93D08/John-F-Kennedy.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)
This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
- government
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Nikita Khrushchev
premier of Soviet Union
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Genghis Khan
Mongol ruler