Government is a sharp terminology when we talk about politics and it can be defined in many ways since there’s no monopolization of answers to the definition of Government.
you must have heard some people say that Government can be defined as the offices, departments and groups of people that controls a country, state, city or other political units. well! they are neither totally wrong nor totally correct. The fact is that Government is supposed to be defined in 3 field which are as follows :
- As an institution of the state,
- As an art of governing,
- As an academic field of study
Government as an Academic Field of Study
Every milieu or state has a set of rules otherwise referred to as law , which are meant to regulate the conduct of its citizens, if it is to function effectively. Once there are rules among members of a particular
state, organisation or community, there should be an agency to enforce these laws.
The body or machinery that makes and enforces these laws in any given state is the government. And the power of government can be divided into three divisions or organs, usually referred to as the three organs of government.
—-Legislature: it is the law making body. While the Executive is the body that enforces or executes the law and the Judiciary is the body that that interprets
the law.
Basically, government is a group of people that makes, interprets and enforces
the law in a given state.An alternative
definition of government is that it is a body of persons and institution that make and enforces the laws for a particular state. The body of persons are either elected or appointed among the citizens of a state to perform the functions of government on their behalf.
The word ‘’institution’’ refer to a series
of accepted and regular procedures for the performance
of government al functions
The belief of those who take to this definition is that the laws have to be made and enforced; but that there are acceptable and regular procedures for making these laws and that there are regular ways by which these laws can be enforced. It is these acceptable and regular procedures that have been referred to as institutions. For example, in any representative government all over the globe, if the government wants to make laws there should be a parliament or legislature constituted for that purpose.
And in a parliament itself, there is a regular procedure for the making of laws. And if these laws have been made they have to be enforced by a body called executive, and when these laws are broken or disobeyed , there are courts of law to interpret and apply the laws to individual cases, is called the JUDICIARY. While the body of persons forming the government of a state to perform the functions of government on their behalf is called ‘’’Agency’’ or regarded as the agency of the people.
Government as an institution of the state: Government
is the machinery established by the state to pilot and organise its own affairs and administer its function and duties of the state. It is also the body that formulates the law. It also fortifies the territorial
integrity of the land. It has three arms / organs /branches that function independently, these are the legislature, executive and the judiciary. These are the institutions of the state. Because in any state there has to be the three organs, without which there cannot be a state. Last week we treated the three organs of government.
In any state there has to be rules and regulations referred to as laws or constitutions of the state.A state means a nation- state. These rules are the regulations guiding the behavior of the men and women. According to Rousseau if not these laws life would be cruel, short, and brutish. And if no government
there will be a lawless society, call anarchy, disorderliness and confusion and might be right.
Politics in Polities 