Regime facts for kids

A regime is the group of people, including the leader, who are in charge of running a country's government. Think of them as the team that makes the big decisions for everyone in the country.

There are many different kinds of regimes, and they can come into power in various ways. How they gain or lose power often depends on the country's history, its rules for choosing leaders (like its electoral system), and the time period. For a long time, especially before the 20th century, regimes often changed through things like a coup (when a small group suddenly takes control), an invasion by another country, or a revolution (when many people rise up to change the government).

However, after the 20th century, these methods became much more dangerous and difficult to use. Today, the most common and peaceful way for a regime to change is through an election. More than half the people on Earth now live in countries where leaders are chosen this way. This system is often called representative democracy. In these systems, the group in charge is often called an administration to show they are not dictators (leaders with total power). Also, in a representative democracy, the power is usually shared. The group that runs the country (the executive branch) doesn't have all the power. It shares power with a legislative branch (which makes laws) and a separate judicial branch (which includes the courts and interprets laws). The courts are usually not considered part of the regime itself.

No matter how a regime comes to power, some things are generally true about how they operate:

• A regime needs support from people outside the government to stay in power. These supporters might be in the military or a political party.
• The military and police usually follow the regime's orders. If they didn't, it would be easier for people to change the regime by force.
• The regime controls trade and taxes, which means they decide how money is collected and spent in the country.
• The regime speaks for the entire country when dealing with other countries around the world.

When many regimes meet and talk at places like the United Nations or the World Trade Organization, it doesn't usually matter how each regime got its power. What matters is whether they can agree on things and then make sure their own country follows those agreements.

Sometimes, one country might want to see a different regime in another country. However, it's usually very difficult to make this happen without using non-peaceful methods or trying to influence how that country chooses its leaders. This can happen if one regime feels threatened by another.