Government Systems and Citizen Participation What is government? Government Systems and Citizen Participation

What is Government? When you hear the word “government,” what do you think of? A Government is a political body with the authority to: 1) make laws 2) enforce those laws 3) interpret the laws Oversees the general welfare of people

Governments of the world divide & distribute their power in different ways through THREE SYSTEMS.

I. Unitary Systems All of the power (98%) is held by the central government Examples include: Japan South Korea

II. Confederation Loose alliance of countries Each country has equal control of its own laws Can be unstable because members want their own way!!!

III. Federal System A large central gov’t SHARES power with smaller, lower gov’ts gives a lot of power to the lower governments to handle local affairs EX: United States

Skip 2 lines AFRICAN GOVERNMENTS

Government of Kenya

Kenya A constitutional republic Men & women vote at age 18 has a president legislature: “National Assembly”

South Africa

Republic of South Africa parliamentary democracy men & women 18 years old can vote the National Assembly (legislature) elects the president

The Republic of Sudan

Sudan has a mean dictator (Dictator: ruler with 100% of all the power) citizens have no rights https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB5eNauNhs4