Governments Around the World August 5, 2014

Ways that Governments Distribute Power There are 3 different ways that governments can distribute power: Unitary: the central government possesses most of the decision-making power Confederation: Local governments or individual states possess more power than a weak central government Federal: Power is split between a central government and individual state governments. There is often a constitution that defines the powers of each government.

Ways that Governments Determine Citizen Participation Autocratic: Government in which one person possesses unlimited power and the citizen has little, if any, role in the government Oligarchic: Government by a few, and the citizen has a very limited role Democratic: Government where the supreme power is held by the people, and usually exercised through a system of periodically held free elections

Two Types of Democratic Governments Presidential Democracy: A system of government where the president is the head of government and is constitutionally independent of the legislature Parliamentary Democracy: A system of government where the real power lies with a cabinet made up of legislators. This group is responsible to the legislature. There may be a prime minister that is elected by the legislature

Federal Republic Federal Republic: A state in which the powers of the central government are restricted and the parts of the countries (states, colonies, provinces, etc.) have their own self-government. Voters choose some of their governmental representatives A federal republic is a presidential democracy that distributes power in a federal style (split between central and local governments)

Republic Republic: A state in which the supreme power rests in the body of the citizens entitled to vote. Voters choose their governmental representatives. A republic is a presidential democracy that distributes power in a federal style (split between central and local governments)

Theocratic Republic Theocratic Republic: a state in which a God is seen as the true leader and religious leaders serve as the political leaders acting in the deity’s interests. Voters choose their governmental representatives. A theocratic republic is a presidential democracy that distributes power in a federal style (split between central and local governments)

Communist State Communist State: A system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy. There is no private ownership of property; everything is shared equally by all the people A communist state can either be an autocratic or oligarchic form of government that distributes power in a unitary style (the central government has most of the power)

Monarchy Monarchy: a state in which a monarch and their advisors make most of the decisions. Voters do not choose their governmental representatives; the monarchy is hereditary (passed down through a family) A monarchy is an autocratic form of government that distributes power in a unitary style (the central government has most of the power)

Constitutional Monarchy Constitutional Monarchy: A system of government in which a monarch (king/queen/emperor) is guided by a constitution. His/her responsibilities are traditional and they have no real power A constitutional monarchy is a parliamentary democracy in terms of the voting rights and distributes power in a federal style

Parliamentary Democracy Parliamentary Democracy: A political system in which the parliament (legislature) selects the government, according to which political party the people elect to rule. A parliamentary democracy distributes power in a federal style

Countries we’ll be studying this year… Kenya: Republic South Africa: Republic Israel: Parliamentary Democracy Saudi Arabia: Monarchy Iran: Theocratic Republic India: Federal Republic China: Communist State Japan: Constitutional Monarchy