Citizendia


Forms of government
Part of the Politics series

List of forms of government

Direct democracy
Representative democracy
Military dictatorship
Absolute monarchy
Constitutional monarchy
Empire
Mixed government
Constitutional republic
Parliamentary republic
Socialist republic
Capitalist republic
Politics Portal
This box: view • talk • edit

A chiefdom is a type of complex society of varying degrees of centralization that is led by an individual known as a chief. A system of government is a term that refers to the set of political Institutions by which a Government of a State is organized in order to exert its powers Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions See also Form of government This article lists forms of government and Political systems according to a series of different ways of categorising them Anarchism is a Political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which support the elimination of all compulsory Government, i Aristocracy is a form of Government, where rule is established through an internal struggle over who has the most status and influence over society and internal relations Authoritarianism describes a Form of government characterized by an emphasis on the Authority of the State in a republic or union An autocracy is a Form of government in which the Political power is held by a single self-appointed ruler A band society is the simplest form of human Society. A band generally consists of a small kin group no larger than an Extended family or Clan. This article is about a type of political territory For other uses see Colony (disambiguation. Communist state is a term used by many Political scientists to describe a Form of government in which the State operates under a one-party system Corporatocracy is a Neologism that describes a Government dominated by corporate influence banks and governments Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system Direct Democracy is a movement within the British Conservative Party dedicated to localism and Constitutional reform as a means of reviving public Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principles of the people's representatives Despotism is a Form of government by a single authority either an individual or tightly knit group, which rules with absolute political power A dictatorship is usually defined as an autocratic Form of government in which the Government is ruled by a Dictator. A military dictatorship is a Form of government wherein the political power resides with the Military; it is similar but not identical to a Stratocracy, Feudalism, a term first used in the early modern period (17th century in its most classic sense refers to a Medieval Europe Political system composed A kleptocracy (sometimes cleptocracy, occasionally kleptarchy) ( root klepto+kratein = rule by thieves) is a term applied to a Kritarchy is a form of government ruled by judges It may have existed in Israel during the period of time described in the Book of Judges and exist in Somalia under the Meritocracy is a system of a government or another organization wherein Appointments are made and responsibilities are given based on demonstrated talent and Ability A monarchy is a Form of government in which supreme power is actually or nominally lodged in an individual who is the Head of state, often for life or Absolute monarchy is a monarchical Form of government where the king and queen have absolute power over everything A constitutional monarchy, or a limited monarchy, is a form of Constitutional Government, wherein either an elected or hereditary Monarch is An empire (from the Latin " Imperium " denoting military Command within the ancient Roman government) is a State that Ochlocracy ( Greek: οχλοκρατία or okhlokratía; Latin: ochlocratia) is government by mob or a mass of people Oligarchy' ( Greek, Oligarkhía) is a Form of government where Political power effectively rests with a small elite segment Plutocracy is rule by the wealthy or power provided by wealth A puppet state is a State that is nominally independent but in reality under the control of another power A republic is a State or Country that is not led by a hereditary Monarch, but in which the people (or at least a part of its people have impact on its Mixed government, also known as a mixed constitution, is a form of government that integrated facets of government by Democracy, Oligarchy, and Monarchy A constitutional Republic is a State where the Head of state and other officials are elected as representatives of the people and A parliamentary republic or parliamentary constitutional republic is a form of a Republic which operates under a Parliamentary system of government The term socialist state (or socialist republic, or workers' state) can carry one of several different (but related meanings In strictly speaking any A capitalist republic is a concept of government completely the reverse of Marxist thought A single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a type of Party system Government in which a single Political party Technocracy: A form of government in which scientists and technical experts are in control "technocracy is described as that society in which those who govern justify themselves Theocracy is a form of government in which a god or deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler Theodemocracy is a political system theorized by Joseph Smith Jr Constitutional theory defines a timocracy as either a State where only property owners may participate in Government; or a government Totalitarianism (or totalitarian rule) is a concept used to describe Political systems where a State regulates nearly every aspect of public and private A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally consists of a Social group existing before the development of or outside of States Many anthropologists use A traditional tribal chief is the leader of a Tribe, or the head of a tribal form of self-government

In anthropological theory, one model of human social development rooted in ideas of cultural evolution describes a chiefdom as a form of social organization more complex than a tribe or a band society, and less complex than a state or a civilization. Anthropology (/ˌænθɹəˈpɒlədʒi/ from Greek grc ἄνθρωπος anthrōpos, "human" -λογία -logia) is the study of Sociocultural evolution(ism is an umbrella term for theories of cultural evolution and Social evolution, describing how Cultures and societies A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally consists of a Social group existing before the development of or outside of States Many anthropologists use A band society is the simplest form of human Society. A band generally consists of a small kin group no larger than an Extended family or Clan. A state is a political association with effective Sovereignty over a geographic Area and representing a Population. A Civilization is a society in which large numbers of people share a variety of common elements The most succinct (but still working) definition of a chiefdom in anthropology belongs to Robert L. Carneiro: "An autonomous political unit comprising a number of villages or communities under the permanent control of a paramount chief" (Carneiro 1981: 45). Robert Leonard Carneiro (born in New York City on June 4, 1927) is a prominent American Anthropologist and curator of the American

Chiefdoms are characterized by pervasive inequality of people and centralization of authority. At least two inherited social classes (elite and commoner) are present (Ancient hawaiian chiefdoms had as many as four social classes), although social class can often be changed by extraordinary behavior during an individual's life. Social class refers to the hierarchical distinctions (or stratification) between individuals or groups in Societies or Cultures. Ancient Hawaii refers to the period of Hawaiian history preceding the unification of the Kingdom of Hawai'i by Kamehameha the Great in 1810. A single lineage/family of the elite class will be the ruling elite of the chiefdom, with the greatest influence, power, and prestige. Kinship is typically an organizing principle, while marriage, age, and gender can affect one's social status and role. Kinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin through either biological cultural or historical descent

A single simple chiefdom is generally composed of a central community surrounded by or near a number of smaller subsidiary communities. All of these communities recognize the authority of a single kin group or individual with hereditary centralized power, dwelling in the primary community. Each community will have its own leaders, which are usually in a tributary and/or subservient relationship with the ruling elite of the primary community.

A complex chiefdom is a group of simple chiefdoms controlled by a single paramount center, and ruled by a paramount chief. A paramount chief is the highest-level traditional (usually tribal chief or political leader in a regional or local polity or Country typically administered politically Complex chiefdoms have two or even three tiers of political hierarchy. @@@ main@@@ - title Hierarchy@@@ keywords structure; sociology; information@@@ review@@@ - Nobles are clearly distinct from commoners and do not usually engage in any form of agricultural production. The higher members of society consume most of the goods that are passed up the hierarchy as a tribute. Reciprocal obligations are fulfilled by the nobles carrying out ritual that only they can perform. They may also make token, symbolic redistributions of food and other goods. In two or three tiered chiefdoms, higher ranking chiefs have control over a number of lesser-ranking individuals, each of whom controls specific territory or social units. Political control rests on the chief's ability to maintain access to a sufficiently large body of tribute, passed up the line by lesser chiefs. These lesser chiefs in turn collect from those below them, from communities close to their own center. At the apex of the status hierarchy sits the paramount

Chiefdoms have been shown by anthropologists and archaeologists to be a relatively unstable form of social organization. A paramount chief is the highest-level traditional (usually tribal chief or political leader in a regional or local polity or Country typically administered politically Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek grc ἀρχαιολογία archaiologia – grc ἀρχαῖος archaīos They are prone to cycles of collapse and renewal, in which tribal units band together, expand in power, fragment through some form of social stress, and band together again. Social cycle theories are one of the earliest Social theories in Sociology. An example of this kind of social organization would be the Germanic Peoples who conquered the western Roman Empire in the 5th century A. D. Although commonly referred to as tribes, the Germanic Peoples were by anthropological definition not tribes, but chiefdoms. They had a complex social hierarchy consisting of kings, a warrior aristocracy, common freemen, serfs and slaves.

Nikolay Kradin has demonstrated that an alternative to the state seems to be represented by the supercomplex chiefdoms created by some nomads of Eurasia – the number of the structural levels within such chiefdoms appear to be equal, or even to exceed those within the average state, but they have an entirely different type of political organization and political leadership; such type of political entities do not appear to have been ever created by the agriculturists (e. Nikolay Nikolaevich Kradin (born in Onokhoy Buryatia USSR on April 17 1962 is a Russian Anthropologist and Archaeologist. g. , Kradin 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004).

See also

Bibliography

External links

Dictionary

chiefdom

-noun

  1. An area or region governed by a chief.
  2. (anthropology) A society larger than a tribe but smaller or simpler than a state.
© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic