Provisional government


A provisional government, also called an interim, 'emergency, or transitional government', is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revolution, civil war, or some combination thereof.
Provisional governments generally come to power in connection with the sudden, catastrophic and irreversible collapse of the previous political system, resulting from revolution, coup d'état, civil war, debellatio, economic collapse, the death of a strongman ruler, or other circumstances which have resulted in state collapse. Questions of democratic transition and state-building are often fundamental to the formation and policies of such governments.
Provisional governments maintain power until a permanent government can be appointed by a regular political process, which is generally an election. They are usually heavily involved with the process of defining the legal and constitutional basis of their permanent successors, including institutional structure, human rights regimes, macroeconomic structure, and foreign relations.
Provisional governments differ from caretaker governments, which are responsible for governing within an established parliamentary system and serve temporarily after an election, vote of no confidence or cabinet crisis, until a new government can be appointed. Caretaker governments operate entirely within the existing constitutional framework and most countries tightly circumscribe their authority, either by convention or more formal legal means. Conversely, provisional governments, which typically arise from catastrophic institutional collapse, often have the ability to rule by decree in the absence of a functional legislature and, of necessity given their role in crisis response, exercise broad powers with few restrictions.
In opinion of Yossi Shain and Juan J. Linz, provisional governments can be classified to four groups:
  1. Revolutionary provisional governments.
  2. Power sharing provisional governments.
  3. Incumbent provisional governments.
  4. International provisional governments.
The establishment of provisional governments is frequently tied to the implementation of transitional justice. Provisional governments may be responsible for implementing transitional justice measures as part of the path to establishing a permanent government structure.
The early provisional governments were created to prepare for the return of royal rule. Irregularly convened assemblies during the English Revolution, such as Confederate Ireland, were described as "provisional". The Continental Congress, a convention of delegates from 13 British colonies on the east coast of North America became the provisional government of the United States in 1776, during the American Revolutionary War. The government shed its provisional status in 1781, following ratification of the Articles of Confederation, and continued in existence as the Congress of the Confederation until it was supplanted by the United States Congress in 1789.
The practice of using "provisional government" as part of a formal name can be traced to Talleyrand's government in France in 1814. In 1843, American pioneers in the Oregon Country, in the Pacific Northwest region of North America established the Provisional Government of Oregon—as the U.S. federal government had not yet extended its jurisdiction over the region—which existed until March 1849. The numerous provisional governments during the Revolutions of 1848 gave the word its modern meaning: a temporary central government appointed following the overthrow or collapse of the previous regime, with a mandate to prepare for national elections.

Africa

As of 2025, nine African countries currently have provisional governments: Burkina Faso, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Sudan.