Skyrim's form of government?

[Dellaw]

What form of government do you think skyrim has?

[New Octopucta]

Confederation? Every jarl has a good amount of freedom to act, and we don't know exactly what the high king does.

[Mike the Progressive]

A confederation.

[Dellaw]

Confederacy? Every jarl has a good amount of freedom to act, and we don't know exactly what the high king does.

nah, they are not free to that extent. at the most, free enough for it to be a federation. but in a confederacy, they are essentially independent states in free association, and the central government does not really hold much power or sovereignty over them. in a federal government, the central government and the holds would share sovereignty. This is essentially true in Skyrim, therefore it would be a federal monarchy.

[Orham]

If I remember correctly Skyrim isn't actually a sovereign state at all unless Ulfric Stormcloak defeats the Empire in the Civil War of Skyrim. While the position of High King/Queen is indeed the highest political office in Skyrim's regional politics (at least as far as its extremely limited central government is concerned), it is not actually the office which holds the highest political authority in Skyrim unless the player opts to have Skyrim obtain its independence from the Empire. Unless that happens the office of High King/Queen is more like a regional governor which is subordinate to an absolute monarch: the Emperor.

So in the event that the player sides with Elisif and the Empire, Skyrim is simply a subunit of an empire which functions internally somewhat like a monarchical confederation while remaining bound throughout to the central government of the Empire. If it obtains independence, however, it becomes a confederation which seems to be rapidly moving toward transformation into a unitary state operating as an absolute monarchy.

[Dellaw]

If I remember correctly Skyrim isn't actually a sovereign state at all unless Ulfric Stormcloak defeats the Empire in the Civil War of Skyrim. While the position of High King/Queen is indeed the highest political office in Skyrim's regional politics (at least as far as its extremely limited central government is concerned), it is not actually the office which holds the highest political authority in Skyrim unless the player opts to have Skyrim obtain its independence from the Empire. Unless that happens the office of High King/Queen is more like a regional governor which is subordinate to an absolute monarch: the Emperor.

So in the event that the player sides with Elisif and the Empire, Skyrim is simply a subunit of an empire which functions internally somewhat like a monarchical confederation while remaining bound throughout to the central government of the Empire. If it obtains independence, however, it becomes a confederation which seems to be rapidly moving toward transformation into a unitary state operating as an absolute monarchy.

the province can still have a local government defined as a federal monarchy.

[Kleveburg]

Closest to Absolute, but people rebel.

[The Laxus Union]

If I remember correctly Skyrim isn't actually a sovereign state at all unless Ulfric Stormcloak defeats the Empire in the Civil War of Skyrim. While the position of High King/Queen is indeed the highest political office in Skyrim's regional politics (at least as far as its extremely limited central government is concerned), it is not actually the office which holds the highest political authority in Skyrim unless the player opts to have Skyrim obtain its independence from the Empire. Unless that happens the office of High King/Queen is more like a regional governor which is subordinate to an absolute monarch: the Emperor.

So in the event that the player sides with Elisif and the Empire, Skyrim is simply a subunit of an empire which functions internally somewhat like a monarchical confederation while remaining bound throughout to the central government of the Empire. If it obtains independence, however, it becomes a confederation which seems to be rapidly moving toward transformation into a unitary state operating as an absolute monarchy.

This.

[Orham]

the province can still have a local government defined as a federal monarchy.

I'm not entirely sure Skyrim's provincial government actually is a federation. The line between a very tightly-bound confederation and a federation can be somewhat difficult to draw, but there are some key indicators which suggest to me that Skyrim is actually a confederation.

The main problem with the idea that Skyrim is a federation is that there is (as far as I am aware) no such thing as the Constitution of Skyrim establishing that it is such. As a consequence, we're left to examine the interactions between the central government, the holds, and external powers to determine whether it's a confederation or federation. The High King's/Queen's authority is effectively established through a combination of regional treaties and traditions, and seems to primarily serve the function of unifying the holds' actions with relation to external forces (such as the Thalmor government of the Shimmering Isles). And while the High King/Queen and the Imperial Army are bound to defend each and every hold in Skyrim, no individual hold is bound to defend any other and must be convinced to do so. These are hallmarks of confederations.

[The Grey Wolf]

A confederation.

[Britannia I]

Skyrim is a Feudal Monarchy. Like Fereldan in Dragon age