<P> Superficially , all governments have an official or ideal form . The United States is a constitutional republic , while the former Soviet Union was a socialist republic . However self - identification is not objective , and as Kopstein and Lichbach argue , defining regimes can be tricky . For example , elections are a defining characteristic of an electoral democracy , but in practice elections in the former Soviet Union were not `` free and fair '' and took place in a one - party state . Voltaire argued that `` the Holy Roman Empire is neither Holy , nor Roman , nor an Empire '' . Many governments that officially call themselves a `` democratic republic '' are not democratic , nor a republic ; they are usually a dictatorship de facto . Communist dictatorships have been especially prone to use this term . For example , the official name of North Vietnam was `` The Democratic Republic of Vietnam '' . China uses a variant , `` The People 's Republic of China '' . Thus in many practical classifications it would not be considered democratic . </P>
<P> Superficially , all governments have an official or ideal form . The United States is a constitutional republic , while the former Soviet Union was a socialist republic . However self - identification is not objective , and as Kopstein and Lichbach argue , defining regimes can be tricky . For example , elections are a defining characteristic of an electoral democracy , but in practice elections in the former Soviet Union were not `` free and fair '' and took place in a one - party state . Voltaire argued that `` the Holy Roman Empire is neither Holy , nor Roman , nor an Empire '' . Many governments that officially call themselves a `` democratic republic '' are not democratic , nor a republic ; they are usually a dictatorship de facto . Communist dictatorships have been especially prone to use this term . For example , the official name of North Vietnam was `` The Democratic Republic of Vietnam '' . China uses a variant , `` The People 's Republic of China '' . Thus in many practical classifications it would not be considered democratic . </P>
what type of government structure does the us have
what type of government structure does the us have
constitutional republic
constitutional republic