Governments around the World

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?

State vs. Government vs. Legislature The Head of State in the living symbol of the country and the representative of the country The Head of Government oversees those in charge of the administration and those who create and enforce laws The Legislature is an assembly that creates, fixes, and repeals laws

Democracy A democracy is any form of government in which political power is exercised by all citizens either directly or through their elected representatives. There are two kinds of Democracies: Direct and Representative

Direct Democracy In a direct Democracy all citizens participate in government There are no representatives in government: The citizens vote on everything All citizens can create public policy if they want to Example: In ancient Athens, Greece, they held assemblies where citizens voted to pass laws

Representative Democracy Like direct democracy, all citizens participate in government People elect representatives (a legislature) who vote on laws for the citizens or lead them Representatives answer to the people Representatives are also usually held accountable by a constitution There are two common types of Representative Democracies: Presidential and Parliamentary

Presidential Democracy In a presidential democracy an elected president is the head of state and government The president is not the absolute ruler Laws are created by an elected legislature (ex: the senate) The government enforces them Examples: Brazil, Indonesia, Nicaragua, the United States

Parliamentary Democracy In Parliamentary governments, there is often a separate Head of State (the president) and Head of Government (Prime Minister) The legislature (the Parliament), the President and the PM are elected https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmGCwiQvhH0&list=PL03FFE1F0B34AA057&index=25 Examples: Germany (and most of Europe), India, Israel, Libya

Constitutional Monarchy Just Like a Parliamentary Gov. but with a royal as its Head of State https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KFGt9M-j28&list=PL03FFE1F0B34AA057 Examples: Canada (and all Common Wealth Nations), Norway, Japan, and the United Kingdom

Autocracy An autocracy is a form of government in which political power is controlled by one individual such as a monarch, dictator, emperor, etc. We’re going to talk about two kinds of Autocracy: Monarchy and Dictatorship

Monarchy Rule by kings, queens, Tsars, Emperors, Empresses, ext. Monarchs usually gain their power because their parents were rulers too Most Monarchs have absolute power in their country Examples: Modern Saudi Arabia, most countries at one point

Dictatorship In a dictatorship, power is not inherited, but is acquired by force (military or political) Dictators have absolute control over the lives of their citizens and usually people are not allowed to voice their negative opinions Dictatorships usually only last as long as their leader does Examples: The Soviet Union’s Stalin, Germany’s Hitler, North Korea’s Kim Jong Il, China’s Mao Zedong, Cuba’s Castro, Iraq’s Saddam Husain, Modern Belarus and Egypt

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) Examples: The Soviet Union in which only members of the Communist party had any say, dominated countries during imperialism, the Medici family in Italy

Theocracy “Theo” means “god” in Greek Theocracies are ruled in the name of gods Leaders are usually religious leaders 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, The Vatican, and many older civilizations

Anarchy In an anarchy there is no government to make or enforce laws. A