polity
noun
- group of people who are collectively united by a self-reflected cohesive force such as identity, who have a capacity to mobilize resources, and are organized by some form of institutionalized hierarchy
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈpɒl.ɪ.ti/ / /ˈpɑ.lə.ti/ / [ˈpɑ.lə.ɾi]
noun
Etymology: From Middle French politie, from Latin polītīa, from Ancient Greek πολιτεία (politeía, “polity, policy, the state”). Doublet of police, policy, and polis (“police”).
- Organizational structure and governance, especially of a state or a religion.
“Church polity was a topic of fierce dispute in 17th-century Britain.”
“Once exposed, Confucianism was to become a political issue, an alternative among other contending ideologies which threatened to change the polity of the empire.”
- A politically organized unit, especially a nation of people, a class or ingroup that governs it, or the state ruled thereby.
“New polities emerged in Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire.”