Government Basics

Sponge #1: Gov’t Name ONE thing that you think the government should do AND ONE thing you think should NOT be something government should do.

Question: Who has the power?

Ways Governments Distribute Power Unitary Confederation Federal

Power is divided between one central authority and several regional authorities Example: United States has federal government that meets in Washington DC and state governments in each state –Federal Government – Power to declare war –State Government – Power to set speed limit Countries in Middle East: Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Iraq (new government)

Federation / Federal Ways Government Distributes Power Regional Authority Central Authority Regional Authority

Unitary Power is held by ONE central authority Regional authorities do NOT have power Examples in Middle East: Afghanistan, Egypt, Israel, Iran, Syria, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen

Central Authority Unitary Regional Authority Ways Government Distributes Power

Confederation Voluntary association of states that often only give a few powers to the central authority States generally have great deal of independence and are more important than the central government Example: OPEC – Member nations (regional authority) only give OPEC (central authority) right to decide amount and price of barrel of oil

Central Authority Confederation Ways Government Distributes Power Regional Authority

Question: Do the citizens (people) of the nation have a say in their government?

Governments and Citizen Participation: Autocracy Autocratic – one person possesses unlimited power; citizens have limited if any role in government Forms of Autocratic Governments: –Absolute or Totalitarian Dictatorships –Absolute Monarchies

Government and Citizen Participation: Oligarchy Government by the FEW; citizens have very limited role in government Government run by small group that gets power from military, social status, wealth, religion, or a combination of these Examples: –Communist countries like China – leaders in political party and military control government –Afghanistan under the Taliban

Government and Citizen Participation: Democracy Citizens influence the government by voting; citizen participation is highest in this form of government Two basic types of democratic governments: –Parliamentary Democracy –Presidential Democracy

Parliamentary Democracy Citizens vote on members of legislative branch Cabinet (made up of members of the legislative branch) has executive power Legislative branch sometimes elects a Prime Minister LEGISLATIVE BRANCH has most power Example: Israel

Presidential Democracy People vote on legislative branch AND leader of executive branch (President) Government where the president has executive power and is independent of the legislative branch Power is generally shared among the branches of government Example: United States

How Governments Determine Citizen Participation Democracy OligarchicAutocratic Government Power Citizen Participation Government Power General Citizens’ Participation Government Power Citizen Participation Select Citizens’ Participation High Participation Low or No Participation

Sample Test Question In Nigeria’s government, power is divided between Central and regional authorities. This is an example of which government type? A. Unitary B. Confederation C. Federal D. Parliamentary Corresponds to SS6- CG1a, CG4a, CG6a SS7- CG1a, CG4a, CG6a

Sample Test Question What is a basic way citizens of a democratic nation can influence the government? A. voting B. working C. obeying laws D. consuming goods OAS Database Question - Corresponds to SS6- CG1b, CG4b, CG6b SS7- CG1b, CG4b, CG6b

Sample Test Question In which system of government does the legislature elect the executive leader of the government? A. democratic B. communist C. parliamentary D. totalitarian OAS Database Question - Corresponds to SS6- CG1c, CG4c, CG6c SS7- CG1c, CG4c, CG6c

Sample Test Question In most democratic countries, the government is divided into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. In Canada, the legislative branch is the A. Parliament B. prime minister C. Supreme Court D. governor general OAS Database Question - Corresponds to SS6- CG1b, CG4b, CG6b SS&- CG1b, CG4b, CG6b