A government is the organization inside a country that controls the actions and policies of the country. A government has four main roles. First a government makes laws. In this role, the government provides rules for how things inside the country are run. A government is also responsible for protecting the country. In this role, the government provides a military to defend the country against outside attack. Third, a government keeps order inside the country. It does this by establishing law enforcement agencies that deal with criminal activity. Finally, a government usually helps its citizens by providing services people need. This can be anything from a post office to paving streets to providing health care or unemployment benefits.