Sovereign countries have a variety of forms of state - the state system, consisting of forms of government and forms of administrative and territorial structure.
There are two forms of government: republic and the monarchy. In the republics of the supreme legislative power is vested in parliament (the representative nation-wide elected body). Depending on how the powers are distributed between the parliament and the president of the republic may be presidential, parliamentary or presidential-parliamentary form of government.
Monarchy (in Greek monarchia - "undivided") - is a form of government in which supreme power is wholly or partly owned by the sovereign (king, prince, the sultan, emir, emperor, etc.) and inherited. Monarchy can be absolute, when the power of the monarch virtually unlimited (Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Brunei) and constitutional (UK, Spain, Japan, Morocco), where the power of the monarch is limited by the constitution, legislative functions were transferred to parliament, the executive - the government and monarch, formally shall be the supreme bearer of power, actually performs representative functions.
variety of absolute monarchy - the theocratic monarchy where the monarch is both head of a religious organization (the Vatican, Saudi Arabia).
particular and the world's only form of government is the Jamahiriya (Libya), which in Arabic - "the country of the masses." Country's official name - the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.
Another, very common, form of government have the states within the British Commonwealth of Nations headed by Great Britain. Legally, the Commonwealth was formalized in 1949. Then, he entered the United Kingdom and its dominions (Canada, Newfoundland, Australia, Union of South Africa, Ireland). After the Second World War and the collapse of the British Empire in the Commonwealth remained most of the former British possessions. Now in the Commonwealth of 50 countries as republics and monarchies, which may pursue an independent policy, or be dependent, but unites them is that they all recognize the supreme authority of the British Queen.
Administrative-territorial division of the state provides for certain areas in accordance with national, historical, economic, environmental and other factors. Two forms of administrative and territorial unit: unitary and federal. Unitary states do not have a self-composed entities. In such states have uniform constitution and system of public authorities. Federated States composed of federal units (states, republics, land, etc.), which delegated functions of the self within national laws and authorities. In the world there are about 30 federal states (Germany, Russia, USA).
dependent countries and territories are under the authority of foreign states, metropolitan areas and are deprived of their political sovereignty and economic independence (Bermuda Islands - British Dependent Territories, French Guiana, and others).
The political structure of the world
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