American Government C1, S2 – Forms of Government

 No two are exactly alike  Products of human needs & experiences  Classification as a government is based on:  Who can participate  Geographic distribution  Relationship between legislative and executive branches Classifying Governments

 Two basic forms Who Can Participate DemocracyDictatorship Political authority rests with the people Direct or indirect Presidential – powers separated into executive & legislative branch Parliamentary – executive branch part of legislature Federal – power shared by local & national government Confederate – power centered in local governments Unitary – power centered in national government Rulers not responsible to the people Government not accountable for policies of how they are carried out Autocracy – one person rules Oligarchy – small group rules All are authoritarian Most are totalitarian Militaristic

 Authority rests with the people  In a democracy, people are sovereign  Direct or Indirect Democracy

 Also called pure democracy  Occurs when the will of the people translates into public policy  Works only on a small, local level Direct Democracy

 Also called representative democracy  A group of persons chosen by the people express the will of the people  Widely used on a national, State, and local level Indirect Democracy

 Exists where those who rule cannot be held responsible to the will of the people  Most common form of government known to history  Identified as either autocracies or oligarchies Dictatorship

 Government in which a single person holds unlimited political power Autocracy

 Government in which the power to rule is held by a small, usually self-appointed elite Oligarchy

 In every system of government, the power to govern is located in one or more places geographically. From this standpoint, 3 basic forms of government exist  Unitary  Federal  Confederate Geographic Distribution of Power

 (Centralized government) All powers held by the government belong to a single, central agency  The central (national) government creates local units for its own convenience  Most government in the world are unitary  Parliament  50 state governments Unitary Government

 The powers of government are divided between a central and several local governments  Division of powers is based on a geographic basis  Set out in the U.S. Constitution Federal Government

 Alliance of independent states  Limited powers in defense & foreign affairs  Articles of Confederation ( ) & the Confederate States of America ( ) Confederate Government

 Political scientists also classify governments based on the relationship between their legislative & executive agencies. This grouping yields two basic forms of government  Presidential  Parliamentary Legislative & Executive Branches

 Features a separation of powers between the executive & legislative branches of the government  Independent and coequal  Details spelled out in a written constitution (i.e., U.S.)  Powers to block actions of other branch  Form invented in the United States Presidential Government

 The executive branch is made up of the prime minister or premier, and that official’s cabinet  The prime minister & cabinet are themselves members of the legislative branch, the parliament  The executive is chosen by the legislature, is part of it, and is subject to its direct control  Majority of the governmental systems in the world today Parliamentary Government