Government is the institutional system through which a political community makes and enforces collective decisions, sets and administers law, and exercises authority over a defined territory or population. Forms vary widely across history and world regions, from monarchies and republics to theocracies, oligarchies and federations, and government functions are typically organized into legislative, executive and judicial branches, though the degree of separation between them differs by system. Every organized society develops some form of government to allocate resources, resolve disputes, provide collective goods such as defense and infrastructure, and maintain order, making it one of the most universal social institutions studied in political sociology and anthropology.
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Modern government characteristically operates through a bureaucracy, a body of appointed officials organized hierarchically to administer policy according to formal rules and procedures.
Passing the imperial examinations was the primary route into government service in imperial China, Korea and Vietnam for over a thousand years.
Militia systems have historically been organized and called up under the authority of local or national government, from the colonial American militia to Switzerland's citizen-army today.
The ombudsman is an institution created by government to independently investigate citizen complaints against government agencies and officials.
Government is the institutional apparatus through which the state exercises its authority, administers policy and enforces law over its territory and population.
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