Politics is the study of Government. By government we mean those who take decisions on behalf of a country. We should remember, however, that the country itself is different from the government. We all belong to some country and will want to protect its interests, but this does not necessarily mean that we support the government of that country or its actions.

The formal term for a country that has its own government is ‘State’. As citizens we belong to a state. We have obligations to that state just as that state has obligations to us, whichever government rules it at any particular time.

Forms of the State

In the modern world, there are generally two forms of the state—Republics and Monarchies. The head of state represents officially all the citizens on formal occasions.

Monarchies

In a monarchy, the head of state is a king or queen (or a sultan or the equivalent), who holds that position through 6 Political Principles and their Practice in Sri Lanka heredity, that is, by birth. In the past, it was held that states belonged to monarchs. In theory, that is the case even today. However, in many monarchies now, the king has no real authority. Generally, that authority belongs to a separate head of government, who is chosen by the people. Britain (or the United Kingdom as it is officially known), Thailand and Japan are examples of monarchies where actual executive power belongs to a prime minister elected by the people. But even in such monarchies, where real authority lies with the head of government, that head of government acts officially in the name of the monarch.