ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a history and describes the key features of the French government, Chinese government, Nigerian government, Russian government, and Saudi Arabian government. Perhaps the most distinctive aspect of French government and politics has been their instability. The executive branch of the French government has two leaders: a prime minister and a president. The United States has a presidential system, where the head of government and head of state are the same person, but most democratic countries in the world use a parliamentary system. Chinese governmental history differs from Western governmental history in an important way. The Chinese government is an autocracy in which the Communist Party, through its policy of democratic centralism, retains significant control over the state. The government of Russia is probably best described as an authoritarian democracy and the Saudi government is an autocracy based largely on Islamic principles.
