Editing Political system (section)

== Basic classification ==

Social anthropologists generally recognize several kinds of political systems, often differentiating between ones that they consider uncentralized and ones they consider centralized.<ref>Haviland, W.A. (2003). ''Anthropology: Tenth Edition''. Wadsworth:Belmont, CA.</ref>
* Uncentralized systems
** [[Band society]]
*** Small family group, no larger than an extended family or clan; it has been defined as consisting of no more than 30 to 50 individuals.
*** A band can cease to exist if only a small group walks out.
** [[Tribe]]
*** Generally larger, consisting of many families. Tribes have more social institutions, such as a chief or elders.
*** More permanent than bands. Many tribes are subdivided into bands.
* [[Centralized government]]s
** [[Chiefdom]]
*** More complex than a tribe or a band society, and less complex than a state or a civilization
*** Characterized by pervasive inequality and centralization of authority.
*** A single lineage/family of the elite class becomes the ruling elite of the chiefdom
*** Complex chiefdoms have two or even three tiers of political hierarchy.
*** "An autonomous political unit comprising a number of villages or communities under the permanent control of a paramount chief"<ref>{{cite book |last = Carneiro |first = Robert L. |chapter = The Chiefdom: Precursor of the State |editor1-last = Jones |editor1-first = Grant D. |editor2-last = Kautz |editor2-first = Robert R. |title = The Transition to Statehood in the New World |location = Cambridge, England |publisher = Cambridge University Press |series = New Directions in Archaeology |year = 2011 |isbn = 978-0-521-17269-1 |chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=vOHS-UVTy2oC&pg=PA45 |pages = 37–79 }}</ref>
** [[Sovereign state]]
*** A sovereign state is a state with a permanent population, a defined territory, a government and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states.
* [[Supranational union|Supranational political systems]]
** Supranational political systems are created by independent nations to reach a common goal or gain strength from forming an alliance.
* [[Empire]]s
** Empires are widespread states consisting of people of different ethnicities under a single rule. Empires - such as the Romans, or British - often made considerable progress in ways of political structures, creating and building city infrastructures, and maintaining civility within the diverse communities. Because of the intricate organization of the empires, they were often able to hold a large majority of power on a universal level.
* Leagues
** Leagues are international organizations composed of states coming together for a single common purpose. In this way, leagues are different from empires, as they only seek to fulfil a single goal. Often leagues are formed on the brink of a military or economic downfall. Meetings and hearings are conducted in a neutral location with representatives of all involved nations present.