Are You a Government Expert?

Understanding Government: Concept, Types, Significance, and Functions

• The term "government" originates from the Greek word Gubernaculum, which means steer, and refers to a political arrangement that manages and controls a nation, state, or society's affairs.
• Max Weber defined government as a human community that has the absolute right to use force within its jurisdiction.
• Bealey defines government as the vehicle through which a community or society is governed, achieved through the establishment and enforcement of rules and regulations, and the provision of social goods.
• Government as an institution of the state refers to the apparatus that guides the control and direction of a state.
• Formal institutions refer to the organs of government (legislature, executive, and judiciary), while informal institutions include pressure groups, political parties, and trade unions.
• Government has duties and responsibilities, including the promulgation of laws, defense of the country, external relationships, provision of infrastructure, employment opportunities, natural resource conservation and exploitation, and provision of education.
• Government as an art or process of governing implies that a body of people is responsible for the formulation, implementation, and adjudication of laws in a particular state.
• Governmental powers are shared among organs of government that perform complementary roles for one another.
• Governance as an academic field of study is concerned with the scientific study of government, its composition, importance, theories, and comparative analysis of systems, types, and forms of government in institutions of learning.
• Examples of government-related courses include Comparative Government, International Relations, Local Government Studies, Political Economy, Political Theory, Public Administration, and Public Policy.
• The importance of government as an academic field of study includes enhancing students’ scientific and logical reasoning, exposing individuals to the art of governance, providing opportunities for comparative analysis, exposing citizens to their fundamental human rights and obligations, and awakening patriotism, loyalty, and national consciousness.
• The essential elements of government include human population, monopoly of power and sovereignty, legitimate authority, and geographical area or land mass.