The people and interest that an elected official represents is called?

Use this excerpt from the corpus luris civilis (justinian's law code) to answer the following question: with the aid of god governing our empire, which was delivered to us by his celestial majesty, we carry on war successfully. we ador peace and maintain the constitution of the state, and have such confidence in the protection of almighty god that we do not depend upon our arms, or upon our soldiers, or upon those who conduct our wars, or upon our own genlus, but we solely place our reliance upon the providence of the holy trinity, from which are derived the elements of the entire world and their disposition throughout the globe. --public domain from this excerpt of the prologue of the corpus luris civilis, what departure from older roman traditions is clear? the laws show that the empire has developed a bureaucracy that makes normal soldering unnecessary. the law now honors christianity as a central part of the empire's existence. the law explains that the roman empire is using war to spread roman ideas. the law has replaced old social class divisions with an egalitarian church,

1.     in what kind of government does a small group have a firm control over a country?  

What was one major cause of worldwide conflict during the first decade of the 21st century?