Government

Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and procured by a government body for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings (municipal buildings, schools, and hospitals), transport infrastructure (roads, railroads, bridges, pipelines, canals, ports, and airports), public spaces (public squares, parks, and beaches), public services (water supply and treatment, sewage treatment, electrical grid, and dams), environmental protection (drinking water protection, soil erosion reduction,wildlife habitat preservation, preservation and restoration of forests and wetlands) and other, usually long-term, physical assets and facilities. Though often interchangeable with public infrastructure and public capital, public works does not necessarily carry an economic component, thereby being a broader term. Construction may be undertaken either by directly employed labour or by a private operator.

Public works has been encouraged since antiquity. The Roman emperor Nero encouraged the construction of various infrastructure projects during widespread deflation.

Work or labour (labor in American English) is the intentional activity people perform to support the needs and desires of themselves, other people, and/or organizations. In the context of economics, work can be seen as the human activity that contributes (along with other factors of production) towards the goods and services within an economy.

Work has existed in all human societies, either as paid or unpaid work, from gathering natural resources by hand in hunter-gatherer groups to operating complex technologies that substitute for physical or even mental effort within an agricultural, industrial, or post-industrial society. One's regular participation or role in work is an occupation, or job. All but the simplest tasks in any work require specific skills, tools, and other resources, such as material for manufacturing goods. Humanity has developed a variety of institutions for group coordination of work, such as government programs, nonprofit organizations, cooperatives, and corporations.

A political organisation is any organisation whose primary purpose is involving itself in the political process, including political parties, non-governmental organisations, and special interest advocacy groups. Political organisations are those engaged in political activities (e.g., lobbying, community organizing, campaign advertising, etc.) aimed at achieving clearly defined political goals, which typically benefit the interests of their members.

While parties are one type of political organisation that may engage in some or all of those activities, they are distinct in that they typically focus on supporting candidates for public office, winning elections and controlling government.

The separation of powers principle functionally differentiates several types of state power (usually legislation, adjudication, and execution) and requires these operations of government to be conceptually and institutionally distinguishable and articulated, thereby maintaining the integrity of each. To put this model into practice, government is divided into structurally independent branches to perform various functions (most often a legislature, a judiciary and an administration, sometimes known as the trias politica). When each function is allocated strictly to one branch, a government is described as having a high degree of separation; whereas, when one person or branch plays a significant part in the exercise of more than one function, this represents a fusion of powers. When one branch holds unlimited state power and delegates its powers to other organs as it sees fit, as is the case in communist states, that is called unified power.

In political science, despotism (Greek: Δεσποτισμός, romanized: despotismós) is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. Normally, that entity is an individual, the despot (as in an autocracy), but societies which limit respect and power to specific groups have also been called despotic.

Colloquially, the word despot applies pejoratively to those who use their power and authority arbitrarily to oppress their populace or subordinates. More specifically, the term often applies to a head of state or government. In this sense, it is similar to the pejorative connotations that are associated with the terms tyrant and dictator.

A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the legislature. It is sworn into office, with or without the formal support of other parties, enabling a government to be formed. Under such a government, legislation can only be passed with the support or consent of enough other members of the legislature to provide a majority, encouraging multi-partisanship. In bicameral legislatures, the term relates to the situation in the chamber whose confidence is considered most crucial to the continuance in office of the government (generally, the lower house).

A minority government tends to be less stable than a majority government because, if they can unite, opposing parliamentary members have sufficient numbers to vote against legislation, or even bring down the government with a vote of no confidence. If, however, a minority government can negotiate a confidence and supply agreement with parties sufficient to maintain a majority, it can be as stable as a majority government.

A hereditary monarchy is a form of government and succession of power in which the throne passes from one member of a ruling family to another member of the same family. A series of rulers from the same family would constitute a dynasty. It is historically the most common type of monarchy and remains the dominant form in extant monarchies.

In most extant hereditary monarchies, the typical order of succession uses some form of primogeniture, but there exist other methods such as seniority and tanistry (in which an heir-apparent is nominated from among qualified candidates). Research shows that hereditary regimes, in particular primogeniture, are more stable than forms of authoritarian rule with alternative succession arrangements.

A military government is any government that is administered by a military, whether or not this government is legal under the laws of the jurisdiction at issue or by an occupying power. It is usually administered by military personnel.

Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term encompasses police, courts and corrections. These three components of the criminal justice system may operate independently of each other or collectively through the use of record sharing and cooperation. Throughout the world, law enforcement are also associated with protecting the public, life, property, and keeping the peace in society.

The concept of law enforcement dates back to ancient times, and forms of law enforcement and police have existed in various forms across many human societies. Modern state legal codes use the term law enforcement officer or peace officer to include every person vested by the legislating state with police power or authority; traditionally, anyone sworn or badged who can arrest any person for a violation of criminal law is included under the umbrella term of law enforcement.

The term authority identifies the political legitimacy, which grants and justifies rulers' right to exercise the power of government; and the term power identifies the ability to accomplish an authorized goal, either by compliance or by obedience; hence, authority is the power to make decisions and the legitimacy to make such legal decisions and order their execution.