Citizen Participation Autocratic, Oligarchic, and Democratic

Autocratic A single ruler has unlimited power. The people have no participation in the government.

Autocratic Continued The people in such a country have no ability to participate in the selection of the ruler or in the creation of laws.

Benefit of an Autocracy One benefit of this type of government is that decisions for a country can be made quickly.

Disadvantages However, the needs of the people may be ignored or unheard. The leader may make poor or selfish decisions that work against the well-being of the people.

Oligarchic Another type of government is “rule by a few”. Under this system, a country is ruled by a small group of people.

Advantage of an Oligarchy An advantage to this system is that decisions can be made relatively quickly.

Another Advantage Compared to an autocratic system, oligarchies have more heads to think through problems and should be able to make better choices.

Disadvantage However, like autocratic systems, the people do not have a voice, and poor and selfish decisions by leaders may work against the well being of the other citizens.

Democratic A democratic form of government puts the power of the government in the citizens of the country.

Democracy All citizens have the opportunity to be a leader, and all citizens have the opportunity to vote for leaders and laws.

Advantage of a Democracy Advantages of this system include the fact that all citizens are involved in the decision- making process of the government, and all groups in the country are represented.

Disadvantages? Democratic governments can often be slow to make decisions since people must discuss and vote on issues. Also, every citizen may not have the information to be truly informed on all matters to make decisions.

How do governments distribute power? Every country has a government that is set up in its own distinct way. One thing that a country has to decide is how to organize the government and distribute power.

The power of the government can be organized so that there is one central government that controls all other governments in the country.

Power can also be spread out so that there is not one central government but many smaller governments in the country working at different levels.

Ways of Distributing Power Governments in each country are different, but there are three main ways they are organized to spread their power: unitary government, confederation government, and federal government.

Unitary Power is held by one central authority (government). The central government assigns powers and duties to smaller units of government (such as states) within the country.

Confederation A voluntary association of independent countries or states formed for a specific purpose to secure a common goal.

Confederacy This type of government is rare in today’s world. It is normally formed for a short period of time during war or crisis.

Problems with a Confederation Problems can arise: A high percentage of the member countries MUST agree in decision making, so they have little power. They also have a weak central government.

Federal Power is divided between one central government and small divisions, such as states.

Federation A document such as a constitution may describe the rights, responsibilities, and duties of the central government and the states.

Federal Continued In this system, the central government can be quite powerful, but it does not have the ability to dissolve the states or choose the leaders in a state.

Federal Continued Power to change the constitution may reside with the people directly, with the states, or with the people’s representatives in the central government.

Examples of Federal Powers *Some powers reside with the central govt. – (Ex. declaring war) *Some powers reside with the state govt.- (Ex. choosing a state governor) *Some powers are shared by both central and state governments.- (Ex. tax citizens and hold court)