A government is the organisation, machinery, or agency, through which a political unit exercises its authority, controls and administers public policy, and directs and controls the actions of its members or subjects. The government makes laws, regulate economies, conduct relations with other countries, provide infrastructure and services, and maintain an army and a police force amongst others on behalf of the people of the country.

Government can take different forms, such as democracy, monarchy, dictatorship, republic, federation, confederation, or theocracy, depending on the nature of the political system, the type of leadership, the distribution of power, and the relationship between the government and the governed.

Government can have different branches or levels, such as executive, legislative, and judicial, or federal, state, and local, depending on the division of functions, powers, and responsibilities among different institutions or authorities.

Democracy is any system of government in which the people have a say. The ancient Greeks used the word democracy to mean government by the many in contrast to a government by the few. The key to democracy is that the people hold ultimate power. Abraham Lincoln best captured this spirit by describing democracy as a government of the people, by the people, for the people. Democratic government is opposed to an authoritative government, where the participation of its citizenry is limited or prohibited, and a state of anarchy where no form of government exists.