What is the name of the governmental system of the US?

[DetlefK]

It's not a monarchy. That much is for sure.

It's not really an aristocracy even though there are political dynasties.

It's not really a one-party-system even though voters have very little choice whom to vote for.

It's not really a plutocracy even though the financial backers wield major power over electoral campaigns.

It's not a meritocracy... Hahaha. Meritocracy. That was a good one.

It's not really a democracy, because the US-constitution, US electoral system and US legal system have safeguards in place to limit the political power the people can exert by voting.
For example: Electoral College.
For example: Filibuster.
For example: While racial gerrymandering is illegal, political gerrymandering to neutralize the minority party's voters is perfectly legal and widely in use.



Maybe oligarchy fits.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligarchy

Oligarchy ... is a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with a small number of people. These people might be distinguished by nobility, wealth, family ties, education or corporate, religious or military control. ...

Throughout history, oligarchies have often been tyrannical, relying on public obedience or oppression to exist. Aristotle pioneered the use of the term as a synonym for rule by the rich,[4] for which another term commonly used today is plutocracy.

...

A study conducted by political scientists Martin Gilens of Princeton University and Benjamin Page of Northwestern University was released in April 2014,[22] which stated that their "analyses suggest that majorities of the American public actually have little influence over the policies our government adopts." The study analyzed nearly 1,800 policies enacted by the US government between 1981 and 2002 and compared them to the expressed preferences of the American public as opposed to wealthy Americans and large special interest groups.[23] It found that wealthy individuals and organizations representing business interests have substantial political influence, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little to none. The study did concede that "Americans do enjoy many features central to democratic governance, such as regular elections, freedom of speech and association, and a widespread (if still contested) franchise." Gilens and Page do not characterize the US as an "oligarchy" per se; however, they do apply the concept of "civil oligarchy" as used by Jeffrey Winters with respect to the US. Winters has posited a comparative theory of "oligarchy" in which the wealthiest citizens – even in a "civil oligarchy" like the United States – dominate policy concerning crucial issues of wealth- and income-protection.[24]

[femmocrat]

1. Isn't it a federal republic?

I seem to remember that term from Poli Sci 101.

[FarCenter]

10. Yes - and with a two-party system

The two-party system is a prominent feature that developed early on, even though it is extra-constitutional.

Positions of political leadership are attained only by working one's way up the party hierarchy, or by achieving influence in another field and transferring that influence laterally into the party hierarchy. Advancement within the party hierarchies is quasi-democratic, but actually quite complex.

[pbmus]

2. Kleptocratic kakistocracy klusterfuck or kkk

[3catwoman3]

7. That is perfect.

Unfortunately.

[mnhtnbb]

3. With the election of Trump, we will become a kakistocracy

or, a government ruled by the worst possible people.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/11/25/1602547/-Trump-s-presidency-is-shaping-up-to-be-a-kakistocracy-government-by-the-worst-possible-people

[florida08]

4. Wow

Have never heard that so thanks for the education. Couldn't agree more

[Laffy Kat]

5. Stay tuned, I think it's changing. nt

[red dog 1]

6. The Founding Fathers set it up as a democratic republic,

but, imo, it is an oligarchy now, and will get a lot worse after the "Talking Pumkin" takes over the Oval Office, with absolutely NO "checks & balances" anymore.

[JI7]

8. federalist

[OnDoutside]

9. A Feckedocracy ?

[Blanks]

11. I was told in school 'democratic republic'...

I remember it because it included both parties (sort of).

[Grey Lemercier]

12. I would be inclined to say

[librechik]

13. inverted totalitarianism

http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9175.html

"Democracy is struggling in America--by now this statement is almost cliché. But what if the country is no longer a democracy at all? In Democracy Incorporated, Sheldon Wolin considers the unthinkable: has America unwittingly morphed into a new and strange kind of political hybrid, one where economic and state powers are conjoined and virtually unbridled? Can the nation check its descent into what the author terms "inverted totalitarianism"?

Wolin portrays a country where citizens are politically uninterested and submissive--and where elites are eager to keep them that way. At best the nation has become a "managed democracy" where the public is shepherded, not sovereign. At worst it is a place where corporate power no longer answers to state controls. Wolin makes clear that today's America is in no way morally or politically comparable to totalitarian states like Nazi Germany, yet he warns that unchecked economic power risks verging on total power and has its own unnerving pathologies. Wolin examines the myths and mythmaking that justify today's politics, the quest for an ever-expanding economy, and the perverse attractions of an endless war on terror. He argues passionately that democracy's best hope lies in citizens themselves learning anew to exercise power at the local level.

Democracy Incorporated is one of the most worrying diagnoses of America's political ills to emerge in decades. It is sure to be a lightning rod for political debate for years to come.

In a new preface, Wolin describes how the Obama administration, despite promises of change, has left the underlying dynamics of managed democracy intact."