Shadow government

A shadow government is a "government-in-waiting" that remains in waiting with the intent to take control of the government in response to some event.

In parliamentary governments it is common for the opposition party to have a shadow government in which top leaders of the opposition are prepared to assume certain ministries should the opposition come to power.

It is also used as a somewhat pejorative term to denote a government that takes over in the event of a disaster. The concept is popular in many conspiracy theories.

United States:

• Continuity of Operations Plan and
• presidential line of succession

United Kingdom:

• The Civil Contingencies Secretariat is responsible for planning for government continuity in the event of catastrophe, although it is not itself a "shadow government".