Question
What are the different styles in government?
Answer
Government styles refer to the various ways in which political power and authority are organised and exercised within a state. These styles can be categorized based on governance structures, leadership approaches, and administrative practices.
Types of Government Styles
Governance Structures:
Parliamentary: The most common form globally, where the executive branch derives its legitimacy from and is accountable to the legislature or parliament (Metin and Ünal, 2022).
Presidential: A system where the president is the head of state and government, separate from the legislative branch (Metin and Ünal, 2022).
Semi-Presidential: Includes both president-parliamentary and premier-presidential forms, where a president exists alongside a prime minister and cabinet (Metin and Ünal, 2022).
Assembly-Government: Divided into assembly-independent and assembly-dependent subtypes, focusing on the relationship between the assembly and the executive (Metin and Ünal, 2022).
Monarchy and Semi-Monarchial: Traditional forms where a monarch holds significant power, with semi-monarchial being a blend of monarchy and parliamentary systems (Metin and Ünal, 2022).
Leadership Styles:
Autocratic: Centralized decision-making with little input from others, often seen in assertive governance (Bogdan and Riza, 2024; Jiang and Luo, 2021).
Democratic/Participative: Involves collective decision-making and encourages citizen participation (Hamad and Khan, 2023; De Smedt et al., 2024).
Transformational and Transactional: Focus on inspiring change and managing through rewards and penalties, respectively, often linked to efficiency and innovation (Bogdan and Riza, 2024; Kenyi and Nyaboga, 2024; Mashayekhifar and Salehi, 2024).
Laissez-Faire: Minimal intervention in decision-making, allowing for autonomy and innovation but sometimes leading to poor performance outcomes (Bogdan and Riza, 2024; Hamad and Khan, 2023; Kenyi and Nyaboga, 2024).
Administrative Styles:
Functional vs. Positional: Functional focuses on task-oriented management, while positional emphasizes the role and influence of the position within the organisation (Casula and Malandrino, 2023).
Ministerial Learning Styles: Includes incremental, risk-averse, managerial, creative, instrumental, and instinctive approaches, affecting how ministers adapt to their roles (Boswell et al., 2024).
Government styles encompass a range of structures and leadership approaches, from parliamentary and presidential systems to various leadership styles like autocratic and transformational. Each style has distinct characteristics and implications for governance, policy-making, and public administration. Understanding these styles helps in analysing how different governments operate and respond to challenges.
References
Metin, A., & Ünal, S., 2022. Classifying forms of government on a global scale. Asian Journal of Comparative Politics, 8, pp. 487 – 515. https://doi.org/10.1177/20578911221127176
Casula, M., & Malandrino, A., 2023. Exploring the link between administrative styles and policy output: The case of the Italian Extraordinary Commissioner for the Covid‐19 Emergency. European Policy Analysis. https://doi.org/10.1002/epa2.1176
Bogdan, A., & Riza, I., 2024. Balancing Leadership Styles for Sustainable Public Sector Efficiency. Journal of Global Sustainability and Development (JGSD). https://doi.org/10.57017/jgsd.v1.i1.05
Hamad, M., & Khan, Z., 2023. IMPACT OF LEADERSHIP STYLES ON THE PERFORMANCE OF PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYEES IN ZANZIBAR. International Journal of Engineering Applied Sciences and Technology. https://doi.org/10.33564/ijeast.2023.v08i07.005
Kenyi, M., & Nyaboga, I., 2024. Influence of Leadership Styles on Performance of Local Government Agencies: Case of Central Equatoria State Local Government in South Sudan. International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research. https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2024.v06i05.29199
Jiang, J., & Luo, Z., 2021. Leadership Styles and Political Survival of Chinese Communist Party Elites. The Journal of Politics. https://doi.org/10.1086/710144
Boswell, J., Smith, J., Devine, D., & Corbett, J., 2024. Learning to govern: A typology of ministerial learning styles. Public Administration. https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12994
De Smedt, N., Haesevoets, T., Steyvers, K., & Wauters, B., 2024. The relationship between local councillors’ representative style and their support for participatory democracy. Party Politics. https://doi.org/10.1177/13540688241261954
Mashayekhifar, E., & Salehi, A., 2024. Quantitative Analysis of the Effect of Leadership Styles on Employee Conflict Management in Government Organisations. International Journal of applied Research in Management, Economics and Accounting. https://doi.org/10.63053/ijmea.31
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