Also from Wikipedia, the sentence right before the one you quoted: > While the word régime originates as a synonym for any type of government, modern usage has

Also from Wikipedia, the sentence right before the one you quoted: > While the word régime originates as a synonym for any type of government, modern usage has given it a negative connotation, implying an authoritarian government or dictatorship. And that's by far the most common context for using the term. Barely anybody uses "regime" as a neutral term, it's usually used to denounce a government/administration as "bad/illegitimate/not democratic". For the same reason "regime change" is called like that to give it a semblance of being a legitimate course of action to "build democracy", while a forced "government change" suddenly doesn't sound all that nice anymore. Case in point: https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2017/05/04/is-it-the-trump-administration-or-the-trump-regime/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.3b9ab1351cc8 https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2017/05/04/... (open incognito to bypass paywall)