Comparative Government

What is a state? There are four key characteristics of a state Can you guess what they are?

Population Territory Sovereignty Government living in a defined space, a body of people, Sovereignty Government and with an organization to do this. with the power to make and enforce laws without having to check with any higher authority,

Purposes of Government Maintain social order Provide social services Provide national security & defense Provide & control economic system

TYPES OF GOVERNMENT

SOURCE OF AUTHORITY WHERE DOES GOVERNMENT GET ITS POWER?

Who Rules? Forms of Government

Forms of Government President or King? When people decide to form the social contracts that we call governments, they make many different decisions about how their government will look. President or King? Rule by few or rule by all? Hold elections? Where do the rulers get their power?

DEMOCRACY Political Power is controlled by the people Direct Democracy Republic Basic Principles: All individuals are equal Majority rule with respect to minority rights Compromise is necessary individual freedom

DIRECT DEMOCRACY Who rules? ALL the people People vote directly on issues No examples today (ancient Greece)

REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY Who rules? Elected representatives Repres. responsible to the people through elections Held accountable by a Constitution USA

Let’s Review DEMOCRACY!

The two forms of democracy are __________ and ___________________. direct representative

In a democracy, all __________ participate in government. citizens

All citizens vote on everything in a ___________________ direct democracy

In a direct democracy, there are no ________________ in the government. representatives

In a representative democracy, the representatives answer to the people through ____________________. regular elections

AUTOCRACY: A form of government in which political power is controlled by one individual such as a monarch, dictator, emperor, etc

MONARCHY Absolute Monarchy Constitutional Monarchy Power is inherited through the family One ruler King, Queen, Emperor, Tsar Absolute Monarchy Complete, unlimited power Ex: Saudi Arabia, Louis XIV of France Constitutional Monarchy limited power, ceremonial leader, laws passed by “Parliament” Ex: Great Britain

DICTATORSHIP Power is achieved and maintained through force Political and/or military power Dictators have absolute control over the lives of their citizens and usually people are not allowed to voice their negative opinions

Authoritarian: one person or small groups that is not constitutionally accountable to the people and individual freedom is completely subordinate to the state Example: Spain under Franco Totalitarian: state holds total authority over the society and seeks to control all aspects of public and private life wherever possible Example: Mussolini; North Korea

Oligarchy “Rule by few” Power can be based on several things: Military strength = Military Junta Family power = Aristocracy Religious control = Theocratic Oligarchy Oligarchies can often come from or lead to other forms of government (like autocracies)

Theocracy “Theo” means “god” in Greek… so if a government is THEO-cratic that means it is ruled by… a god or higher power! Leaders (autocratic or oligarchic) are usually religious leaders and society uses religious law to settle its disputes Example: The Islamic Republic of Iran is a modern theocracy that uses the holy Islamic book, The Qur’an, as its guide.

DISTRIBUTION OF POWER Where is the POWER located?

UNITARY SYSTEM Central government holds all legal power Local government has no independent power Carries out decisions made by the central government Ex: Japan

FEDERAL SYSTEM National, State, and Local governments share power All levels have the power to established their own laws, elect officials, and create agencies Ex: USA

CONFEDERAL SYSTEM Independent states join together Weak Central organization, Stronger States Central organization carries out policies made by representatives Ex: Confederate States of America, UN

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEGISLATIVE AND EXECUTIVE

PRESIDENTIAL Executive (Pres) is separate from Legislative (Congress) Ex: USA

PARLIAMENTARY Executive AND Legislative powers are given to Parliament Leader of the Parliament becomes the Executive (Prime Minister) Ex: Great Britain

PRESIDENTIAL LEGISLATIVE VOTERS EXECUTIVE

PARLIAMENTARY LEGISLATIVE VOTERS EXECUTIVE

Characteristics of the State Population Territory Sovereignty Government