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A regime (occasionally spelled "régime", particularly in older texts) refers to either a) a political system, or b) a class of physical conditions.

The more common use in mass media, a regime in the sense of a political system is the set of rules, both formal (for example, a constitution) and informal (common law, cultural or social norms, etc.) that regulate the operation of government and its interactions with the economy and society. For instance, the United States has one of the oldest regimes still active in the world, dating to the ratification of its Constitution in 1789.

The term need not imply anything about the particular government to which it relates, and most political scientists use it as a neutral term.

In the Western world, the everyday use of "regime" is usually used with a negative connotation, usually referring to a government not friendly to interests of Western governments, or a "dictatorship", even if the government is in power through a consistent application of its constitution.

The term "regime" is also used, if the incumbent ruler of the country came to power and established a new government, or any government who changed their countries' systems radically in a relatively recent window of time. Also, chronologically, the U.S. Constitution, as well as most government systems of countries of North and South America and Europe are not called "regimes" in everyday terms (as used by Western media), since when their last constitutions were established do not fall into a recent window of time.

Political scientist Fred Judson defines a regime as the "relationship between the state, society, (the) market, and global insertion".

In scientific discussions, a regime is a class of physical conditions, usually parameterised by some specific measures, where a particular physical phenomenon or boundary condition is significant. Very often a regime corresponds to a limiting condition. The region of measurable parameter space that corresponds to a regime is very often loosely defined. Examples are things like "the superfluid regime", "the steady state regime" or "the femtosecond regime".

Another political use of "regime" concerns international regulatory agencies (see International regime), which lie outside of the control of national governments. These have more power over a greater range than postal or telecommunications agreements, for example, and constrain national governments.

The basic meaning of "regime", a system of control, can be found in terms such as exercise regime or medical regime. Compare regimen.

In geography and hydrography, "regime" refers to the changing conditions of river beds and other features, such as systems of sandbars.

Regime is the name of a band from Pembrokeshire, United Kingdom.

• Ancien Régime
• Form of government
• International regime
• Maritime Security Regime
• Political system
• Regime change
• Regime theory

Essentials of Comparative Government, Patrick O'Neil.