The form of state government is an element of the form of the state, which determines the system of organization of the supreme bodies of state power, the procedure for their formation, terms of activity and competence, as well as the order of interaction of these bodies with each other and with the population, and the degree of participation of the population in their formation:

in the narrow sense, it is the organization of the highest bodies of state power (a way of organizing the supreme power in the state);
In a broad sense, it is a way of organizing and interacting with all state bodies.
The form of government should not be confused with the form of state structure and political regime of the state. Together, these three characteristics complement each other and describe the form of the state. The form of government shows:

how the supreme bodies of power in the state are created,
their structure,
what principles underlie the interaction between state bodies,
how the relationship between the supreme power and ordinary citizens is built,
to what extent the organization of state bodies makes it possible to ensure the rights and freedoms of citizens.
The form of government is the oldest element characterizing the structure of the state, which began to be studied in Ancient Greece. In different periods of history, the form of government had different meanings. Thus, in an agrarian society, the importance of the form of government was reduced only to determining how the post of the head of state was filled - by inheritance or by election. With the disintegration of feudalism and the transition to industrial society, accompanied by the weakening of the power of monarchs and the emergence and strengthening of popular representation, forms of government began to develop. The most important thing was not how the transfer of power takes place – hereditary or elected head of state in the country – but how the relations between the head of state, parliament, and government are organized, how their powers are mutually balanced – in short, how the separation of powers is arranged.

Criteria for determining the form of government

Method of transfer of power (inheritance or by election);
Responsibility of the highest bodies of state power to the population (in a monarchy, the head of state does not bear legal responsibility, unlike the head of state in a republic);
Delimitation of powers between state authorities.

Major forms of government

Monarchy

Monarchy is a form of government in which the supreme state power belongs for life to the sole head of state - the monarch, who occupies the throne by inheritance and is not responsible to the population.

Distinctive features of monarchy

The sole head of state is the monarch;
Power is inherited;
The monarch is legally irresponsible (it is impossible to remove the monarch from power).
Types of monarchy

Absolute monarchy (unlimited) is a state in which the monarch is the only supreme body in the country, and all state power is concentrated in his hands (UAE, Oman, Qatar). A special variety is a theocratic monarchy (Vatican, Saudi Arabia).
A limited monarchy is a state in which, in addition to the monarch, there are other bodies of state power that are not accountable to him, and state power is dispersed among all supreme bodies of power, the power of the monarch is limited on the basis of a special act (Constitution) or tradition. In turn, a limited monarchy is divided into:Estate-representative monarchy is a monarchy in which the power of the monarch is limited on the basis of the tradition of forming bodies according to the criterion of belonging to a certain estate (Zemsky Sobor in Russia, Cortes in Spain) and playing, as a rule, the role of an advisory body. At present, there are no such monarchies in the world.
Constitutional monarchy is a monarchy in which the power of the monarch is limited on the basis of a special act (the Constitution), where there is another supreme body of power, formed through the election of representatives of the people (parliament). In turn, the constitutional monarchy is divided into:A dualist monarchy is a state in which the monarch has full executive power, and also has part of the legislative and judicial powers. A representative body in such a state exists and performs law-making functions, but the monarch can impose an absolute veto on the adopted acts and dissolve the representative body at his discretion (Jordan, Morocco).
Parliamentary monarchy is a state in which the monarch is only a tribute to tradition and does not have any significant powers. The state structure in such a monarchy is based on the principle of separation of powers (Great Britain, Japan, Denmark). Parliamentary monarchy is distinguished by the fact that the status of the monarch is formally and actually limited in all spheres of the exercise of state power. Legislative power is fully vested in Parliament. The executive branch belongs to the government, which is responsible for its activities to the parliament. The participation of the monarch in the formation of the government is purely symbolic

Republic

A republic is a form of government in which the highest bodies of state power are elected by the people, or formed by special representative institutions for a certain period of time and are fully responsible to the voters.

Distinctive features of republican government

There are always several supreme bodies of power, while the powers between them are divided in such a way that one body is independent of the other (the principle of separation of powers);
The head of state is the president, who exercises his power on behalf of the people;
The highest authorities and officials are responsible to the population, which can be expressed in the following:
they are elected for a certain term, after which the powers may not be extended;
early termination of powers is possible.
Types of
 republics
The republics differ mainly in which of the organs of power—the parliament or the president—forms the government and directs its work, as well as to which of these bodies the government is responsible.

A presidential republic is a state in which, along with parliamentarism, the powers of the head of state and the head of government are simultaneously combined in the hands of the president. The government is formed and dissolved directly by the president himself, while the parliament cannot exert any significant influence on the government — here the principle of separation of powers is most fully revealed (in the United States). In some cases, the functions of the "shadow government" are performed by the Presidential Administration, which prepares and informally approves all the main decisions (Ecuador, Russia).
A parliamentary republic is a state in which the supreme role in the organization of state life belongs to the parliament. The parliament forms the government and has the right to dismiss it at any time. The president in such a state does not have any significant powers (Israel, Greece, Germany, Georgia).
Mixed republic – in states with this form of government, strong presidential power is simultaneously combined with the presence of effective measures for the parliament to control the activities of the executive branch in the person of the government, which is formed by the president with the mandatory participation of the parliament. Thus, the government is responsible to both the president and the parliament of the country (Portugal, France).

Atypical (mixed, hybrid) forms of government

Monarchy with republican elements ("republican monarchy", elective) – such a monarchy has the main republican feature – the systematic election of the head of state, but he cannot elect any citizen who meets the electoral qualifications and requirements for the president, but only one of several monarchs who are rulers of the constituent parts of the federation. A similar non-traditional form of government exists in the UAE and Malaysia, which are federations in their state structure, while each of the constituent parts (7 emirates of the UAE) or some of the constituent parts of the state (9 out of 13 states of Malaysia) are hereditary monarchies. The head of state as a whole is formed by elections between the monarchs who head a particular subject of the federation. At the same time, the term of his powers is clearly stipulated (in both states it is 5 years), and at the end of the specified term of office, the monarch is elected again.
A republic with monarchical elements ("monarchical republic", super-presidential) – in the modern world, under totalitarian systems, republics have appeared, which are characterized by the most important element of monarchy – the irremovability of the head of state[10]. The head of state in such a republic can be formally elected, can be appointed, but in reality the people do not actually appoint the head of state. In addition, the powers of such a head of state are not limited, he is a lifelong ruler, moreover, the transfer of power by inheritance is possible. Sukarno first became president for life in Indonesia, then President Tito of Yugoslavia became president for life, and is now found in some countries in Asia and Africa (North Korea, Turkmenistan under Niyazov, Gambia under Jamma). A historical example is the republics of Venice and Genoa, both with a lifetime doge.
A theocratic republic (Islamic republic) is a special form of republic ruled by the Muslim clergy that combines the main features of the traditional Islamic Caliphate and the features of a modern republican system. In Iran, in accordance with the Constitution of 1979, the head of state is the Rahbar, the highest cleric, appointed by a special religious council (Council of Experts), consisting of influential theologians of the country. The executive branch is headed by a president elected by the population in alternative elections, and the legislative branch is headed by a unicameral parliament (Mejlis). Candidates for the presidency, as well as all members of the government and candidates for deputies of the Majlis, are approved by the Council of Guardians of the Constitution, which also checks bills for compliance with Islamic law and has the right to veto any decision of the Majlis.