Rule by.........................is called
all equally.....................pantisocracy
armed forces................militocracy
bishops..........................exarchy
civil servants................bureaucracy
clerics............................ecclesiarchy
elderly...........................gerontocracy
eldest male...................patriarchy
judges............................kritarchy
men................................androcracy
nobility..........................aristocracy
one individual...............autocracy
the people.....................democracy
the poor........................ptochocracy
pope..............................paparchy
propertied class.........timocracy
religious law................theocracy
saints............................hagiarchy
slaves...........................doulocracy
a small cabal...............oligarchy
technical experts.......technocracy
wealthy.......................plutocracy
women........................gynarchy
the worst possible.....kakistocracy
Last and certainly not least is a republic, a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives.
I however fear that America has started to stray from a true republic. On paper and in theory sure we are a republic, but look over the list above and see what other types you start to see slowly creeping in and gaining control.