Politics & Political Systems, ROY-STU
Monarchies, republics, democracies, dictatorships, and hybrids of every kind all offer ways of organizing power. Explore the systems and ideas through which societies govern themselves.
Politics & Political Systems Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Royal Commission on the Press
Royal Commission on the Press (RCP), any of three groups appointed by the government of the United Kingdom in the......
rule
rule, in political science, a principle to which action should conform or a widely accepted standard of behaviour.......
Russian Revolution Timeline
Note: The dates in this timeline follow the Gregorian calendar, currently in use in Russia and around the world.......
Russian Social-Democratic Workersâ Party
Russian Social-Democratic Workersâ Party, Marxist revolutionary party ancestral to the Communist Party of the Soviet......
Rwandan Patriotic Front
Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), political party in Rwanda rooted in a movement led by exiled Rwandans that launched......
Ryabushinsky Family
Ryabushinsky Family, family of wealthy Russian industrialists. Descended from peasants, they successfully invested......
Salic Law of Succession
Salic Law of Succession, the rule by which, in certain sovereign dynasties, persons descended from a previous sovereign......
Samajwadi Party
Samajwadi Party (SP), regional political party in India based in Uttar Pradesh state. The SP was formed in 1992......
Sandinista
Sandinista, one of a Nicaraguan group that overthrew President Anastasio Somoza Debayle in 1979, ending 46 years......
Sarekat IslÄm
Sarekat IslÄm, the first nationalist political party in Indonesia to gain wide popular support. Founded in 1912......
Savoy Conference
Savoy Conference, meeting held in 1661 at the Savoy Palace, London, attended by 12 Anglican bishops and 12 Puritan......
scalawag
scalawag, after the American Civil War, a pejorative term for a white Southerner who supported the federal plan......
Schedule F
Schedule F, Schedule F is an employment category of federal government workers established in an executive order......
Schuman Plan
Schuman Plan, proposal by French foreign minister Robert Schuman on May 9, 1950, for the creation of a single authority......
Schutzbund
Schutzbund, (German: Republican Defense League), paramilitary socialist organization active in Austria between......
Scott-Moncrieff Commission
Scott-Moncrieff Commission, delegation appointed in 1901 by George Nathaniel Curzon, the British viceroy of India,......
Scottish National Party
Scottish National Party (SNP), nationalist political party that has sought to make Scotland an independent state......
secession
secession, in U.S. history, the withdrawal of 11 slave states (states in which slaveholding was legal) from the......
Second Cabinet of Donald Trump
On January 20, 2025, Donald Trump was inaugurated for a second term as president of the United States. His administration......
Secret Service Code Names of 11 U.S. Presidents
There are definite perks to being president of the United States. Youâre the leader of the free world, you get......
Secretariat
Secretariat, the organ that administers and coordinates the activities of the United Nations. It is headed by the......
sectionalism
sectionalism, an exaggerated devotion to the interests of a region over those of a country as a whole. Throughout......
secure second strike
secure second strike, the ability, after being struck by a nuclear attack, to strike back with nuclear weapons......
Securities and Exchange Commission
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), U.S. regulatory commission established by Congress in 1934 after the......
Security Council, United Nations
United Nations Security Council, United Nations (UN) organ whose primary responsibility is the maintenance of international......
security dilemma
security dilemma, in political science, a situation in which actions taken by a state to increase its own security......
Selective Service System
Selective Service System, independent federal agency in the United States created to administer the military draft......
self-determination
self-determination, the process by which a group of people, usually possessing a certain degree of national consciousness,......
Selma March Timeline
This infographic presents a timeline and maps concerning the civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama,......
Senate
Senate, in ancient Rome, the governing and advisory council that proved to be the most permanent element in the......
Settlement, Act of
Act of Settlement, (June 12, 1701), act of Parliament that, since 1701, has regulated the succession to the throne......
Shandong question
Shandong question, at the Versailles Peace Conference ending World War I, in 1919, the problem of whether to transfer......
Shas
Shas, ultra-Orthodox religious political party in Israel. Shas was founded in 1984 by dissident members of the......
Shelby County v. Holder
Shelby County v. Holder, legal case, decided on June 25, 2013, in which the U.S. Supreme Court declared (5â4) unconstitutional......
Shin Bet
Shin Bet, one of the three major intelligence organizations of Israel, along with Aman (military intelligence)......
Shining Path
Shining Path, Peruvian revolutionary organization that endorsed Maoism and employed guerrilla tactics and violent......
shire
shire, in Great Britain, a county. The Anglo-Saxon shire (Old English scir) was an administrative division next......
Shiromani Akali Dal
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), regional political party in Punjab state, northwestern India. It is the principal advocacy......
Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena, right-wing Hindu nationalist political party in India founded by Bal Thackeray on June 19, 1966. Its......
shogun
shogun, in Japanese history, a military ruler. The title was first used during the Heian period, when it was occasionally......
shĆ«rÄ
shĆ«rÄ, in early Islamic history, the board of electors that was constituted by the second caliph (ruler of the......
signoria
signoria, (Italian: âlordshipâ), in the medieval and Renaissance Italian city-states, a government run by a signore......
Silhak
Silhak, (Korean: âPractical Learningâ), school of thought that came into existence in the midst of the chaotic......
Simon Commission
Simon Commission, group appointed in November 1927 by the British Conservative government under Stanley Baldwin......
Sinarquism
Sinarquism, (from Spanish sin, âwithout,â anarquĂa, âanarchyâ), fascist movement in Mexico, based on the UniĂłn......
single transferable vote
single transferable vote (STV), multimember district proportional representation method of election in which a......
Sinhala Maha Sabha
Sinhala Maha Sabha, political group in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) that was founded in 1937 by S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike.......
Sinn FĂ©in
Sinn FĂ©in, political party that long was widely regarded as the political wing of the Provisional Irish Republican......
slave rebellions
slave rebellions, in the history of the Americas, periodic acts of violent resistance by Black enslaved people......
Slavophile
Slavophile, in Russian history, member of a 19th-century intellectual movement that wanted Russiaâs future development......
Social Contract, The
The Social Contract, major work of political philosophy by the Swiss-born French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau......
Social Credit Party
Social Credit Party (Socred), minor Canadian political party founded in 1935 by William Aberhart in Alberta and......
social democracy
social democracy, political ideology that originally advocated a peaceful evolutionary transition of society from......
Social Democratic and Labour Party
Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), nationalist political party in Northern Ireland, distinguished from......
Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party (SDP), short-lived British political party that was formed in 1981 by a faction of the......
Social Democratic Party of Germany
Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), Germanyâs oldest political party and one of the countryâs two main parties......
Social Democratic Party of Japan
Social Democratic Party of Japan (SDPJ), leftist party in Japan that supports an evolving socialized economy and......
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland, Swiss political party of the centre-left that supports an extensive government......
Social Gospel
Social Gospel, religious social reform movement prominent in the United States from about 1870 to 1920. Advocates......
Social Security Administration
The Social Security Administration is the federal agency that administers Social Security programs in the United......
Socialism
Socialism is an economic and social doctrine that calls for public rather than private ownership or control of......
Socialist International
Socialist International (SI), association of national socialist parties that advocates a democratic form of socialism.......
Socialist Party
Socialist Party (PS), major French political party formally established in 1905. The Socialist Party traces its......
Socialist Party of America
Socialist Party of America, U.S. national political party founded in 1901 from the merger of the Social Democratic......
Socialist Revolutionary Party
Socialist Revolutionary Party, Russian political party that represented the principal alternative to the Social-Democratic......
soft money
soft money, in the United States, paper money as contrasted with coins, or hard money; also, unregulated monetary......
Solidarity
Solidarity, Polish trade union that in the early 1980s became the first independent labour union in a country belonging......
Solonâs laws
Solonâs laws, constitutional and judicial reforms instituted by the Athenian statesman and poet Solon probably......
sortition
sortition, election by lot, a method of choosing public officials in some ancient Greek city-states. It was used......
Soulbury Commission
Soulbury Commission, commission sent by the British government to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1944 to examine a constitutional......
South African national election of 2024
South Africa held national and provincial elections on May 29, 2024. Significantly, this year marked the 30th anniversary......
South African National Space Agency
South African National Space Agency (SANSA), South African space agency that was founded to develop a national......
South African Party
South African Party (SAP), South African political party formed in November 1911, in the aftermath of the 1910......
Southern strategy
Southern strategy, in the political history of the United States, a campaign strategy of the Republican Party,......
Sovereign Council
Sovereign Council, governmental body established by France in April 1663 for administering New France, its colony......
Sovereign wealth funds: How nations invest for the future
A sovereign wealth fund (SWF) is a state-owned investment fund that governments use to invest surplus revenues......
sovereignty
sovereignty, in political theory, the ultimate power or authority exercised in the decision-making process of the......
soviet
soviet, council that was the primary unit of government in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and that officially......
Spanish Socialist Workersâ Party
Spanish Socialist Workersâ Party, Spanish socialist political party. Spainâs oldest political party, the PSOE was......
Spartacus League
Spartacus League, revolutionary socialist group active in Germany from autumn 1914 to the end of 1918. It was officially......
special district
special district, in U.S. politics, service providers created by local authorities to operate within specifically......
Specie Circular
Specie Circular, (July 11, 1836), in U.S. history, an executive order issued by President Andrew Jackson requiring......
Spectator, The
The Spectator, a periodical published in London by the essayists Sir Richard Steele and Joseph Addison from March......
sphere of influence
sphere of influence, in international politics, the claim by a state to exclusive or predominant control over a......
Spies Like Us: 10 Famous Names in the Espionage Game
The cloak-and-dagger world of James Bond (inspired by the âungentlemanly warfareâ practiced by author Ian Fleming......
spoils system
spoils system, practice in which the political party winning an election rewards its campaign workers and other......
Square Deal
Square Deal , description by U.S. Pres. Theodore Roosevelt (served 1901â09) of his personal approach to current......
Stalinism
Stalinism, the method of rule, or policies, of Joseph Stalin, Soviet Communist Party and state leader from 1929......
Stalwart
Stalwart, in U.S. history, member of a faction of the Republican Party that opposed the civil-service reform policies......
Stamp Act
Stamp Act, (1765), in U.S. colonial history, first British parliamentary attempt to raise revenue through direct......
Stamp Act Congress
Stamp Act Congress, meeting convened in New York City (October 1765) by representatives of nine of the American......
state
state, political organization of society, or the body politic, or, more narrowly, the institutions of government.......
state building
state building, the construction of a state apparatus defined by its monopoly of the legitimate use of violence......
state monopoly on violence
state monopoly on violence, in political science and sociology, the concept that the state alone has the right......
State, U.S. Department of
The United States Department of State is the federal executive department responsible for the countryâs foreign......
States General
States General, body of delegates representing the United Provinces of the Netherlands (Dutch Republic; 1579â1795).......
Statesâ rights
Statesâ rights, the rights or powers retained by the regional governments of a federal union under the provisions......
Stolypin land reform
Stolypin land reform, (1906â17), measures undertaken by the Russian government to allow peasants to own land individually.......
Strategic Defense Initiative
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), proposed U.S. strategic defensive system against potential nuclear attacksâas......
Study of Democratic Institutions, Center for the
Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions, nonprofit educational institution established at Santa Barbara,......