The word regime (also "régime", from the original French spelling) refers to a set of conditions, most often of political nature, such as a government.
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Politics
In formal usage, a régime is the form of government or the set of rules, cultural or social norms, etc. that regulate the operation of a government or institution and its interactions with society.
Modern usage
While the word régime originates as a synonym for any form of government, modern usage often gives the term a negative connotation, implying an authoritarian government or dictatorship. Webster's definition states that the word régime refers simply to a form of government, while Oxford English Dictionary defines regime as "a government, especially an authoritarian one".
Contemporary academic usage of the term "regime" is broader than popular and journalistic usage, meaning "an intermediate stratum between the government (which makes day-to-day decisions and is easy to alter) and the state (which is a complex bureaucracy tasked with a range of coercive functions)." In global studies and international relations the concept of regime is also used to name international regulatory agencies (see International regime), which lie outside of the control of national governments. Some authors thus distinguish analytically between institutions and regimes while recognizing that they are bound up with each other:
In other words, regimes can be defined as sets of protocols and norms embedded either in institutions or institutionalized practices - formal such as states or informal such as the "liberal trade regime" - that are publicly enacted and relatively enduring.
Medicine
In a variety of medical contexts a regime is a set of rules or procedures to be followed in treating patients over a period. It is frequently used in terms such as "therapeutic/therapy regime", "treatment regime", and "chemotherapy regime". Typically, a regime sets out the dosage and frequency of drugs or radiotherapy to be used, and often other aspects of medical care.
Science
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 include "the superfluid regime", "the steady state regime" or "the femtosecond regime".
In geography and hydrography, "regime" refers to the changing conditions of river beds and other features, such as systems of sandbars.