Important Terms: • Political Systems—The laws, the ideas, and the procedures that decide who has the authority to rule and what the government's influence should be politically and economically. • States—Political organizations that combine a permanent population with governing institutions in a defined territory with international recognition. • Regime—A group in power who exercises power. Can be democratic or authoritarian • Government—The institutions and individuals allowed to make legally binding decisions for a state. • Nation—A group of people with items in common like language, race, or religion