ABSTRACT
The one indispensable, common element across all forms of government is the existence of executive power-the ability to act, backed by the threat or use of force. In the evolution of governing structures of all types, three of the crucial factors have always been the power to muster force of arms, to collect taxes, and to enforce the will of the rulers among the people. In the modern world, another characteristic of all sovereign states is their ability to enter into and conduct relations with other states. And as society has grown more complex, most states have developed executive-branch bureaucracies for regulating and supervising various aspects of society and the economy and for providing programs and services. Legislative bodies and law courts in many authoritarian countries do not have much real political power and may even just be showpieces, but expansive executive authority can be found in all functioning states. For this reason, this chapter delves more deeply than any other in this book into nondemocratic as well as democratic regimes.
