Attribute

US Constitutional Government

Traditional/premodern (clan/kinship-based, chiefdom) or modern (bureaucracies)

modern

Personalistic or impersonal

impersonal

Autocracy (totalitarianism or authoritarianism), oligarchy, or democracy

democracy

Elective or hereditary

elective

Direct or indirect elections (United States Electoral College)

indirect

Secular, state religion with religious toleration, theocratic

secular

Republic or monarchy

republic

Constitutional monarchy or absolute monarchy

Majority government or coalition government

Single-member district or proportional representation

Party system: Non-partisan, single-party; dominant-party; two-party; multi-party

Separation of powers (executive, legislative, or judicial) or no separation of powers

Parliamentary, presidential, or semi-presidential

Single or multiple executive (Switzerland has seven executives of the Swiss Federal Council, France has a dual executive of the Prime Minister and President; the United States has a single executive, the President)

Composition of the legislative power (rubber stamp or active)

Unicameralism or bicameralism (much more rarely, tricameralism and tetracameralism)

Number of coalitions or party-appointed legislators in assemblies

Confederation, federation, or unitary

Voting system:

Plurality ("first past the post")

Majoritarian (50 percent plus one), including two-round (runoff) elections

Supermajoritarian (from 55 to 75 percent) - Senate cloture rules, entrenched clauses, absolute majorities

Unanimity - (100 percent) - corporate governance for board of directors

Type of economic system

Prevalent ideologies and cultures

Strong institutional capacity or weak capacity

Legitimate or illegitimate (Communist Romania)

De facto (effective control) or De jure (nominal control) of government

Sovereign, semi-sovereign, not sovereign