Citizen Participation in Government Autocratic, Oligarchic, & Democratic

Citizen Participation In each country, the people have different rights to participate in the government. In some countries, any citizen can run for office or vote in elections. In other countries, there are restrictions placed on who can run for office and who can vote. There are also countries where no citizen can vote and there are no elections.

Autocratic Governments have a single ruler with unlimited power people have no ability to participate in the selection of the ruler or in the creation of laws one benefit -- decisions for a country can be made quickly however, the needs of the people may be ignored or unheard leader may make poor or selfish decisions that hurt the people

Autocracies of the World

Oligarchic Governments “rule by the few” country is ruled by a small group of people who exercise control (especially for corrupt or selfish purposes) an advantage is that decisions can be made relatively quickly compared to an autocratic system, oligarchies have more heads to think through problems and should make better choices however, the people do not have a voice…

Democratic Governments This type of government puts the power of the government in the hands of the citizens of the country. (power lies with people) All citizens have the opportunity to be a leader, and all citizens have the opportunity to vote for leaders and laws. All citizens are involved in the decision-making process of the government, and all groups are represented. It can be slow to make decisions because all people must discuss & vote on the issues.

This is a “Polity Data Series Map.” It tries to measure a country’s true democracy in government. It gives scores of -10 to +10. The countries in the lightest pink have the highest democracy score, the darker the color, the lower the democracy score.

GCRCT Sample: How does a Democratic government differ from ?an Oligarchic government? A. The role of the citizen B. How the leadership is selected C. Law making process D. Judicial System

Democratic Governments There are two predominate forms of democratic governments: Parliamentary Presidential Both are designed to represent and protect the rights of the people.

Parliamentary Democracy Lead by representatives of the people by having power vested in a cabinet Sometimes citizens elect members of parliament called MPs. MPs choose a leader from among themselves called the prime minister. The prime minister is the chief executive. heads the military, enforces laws, and keeps the country running day to day prime minister leads the lawmaking body -- parliament

Parliamentary Democracy MPs are elected to serve for a certain amount of time, but parliament can be dissolved and elections held again if the prime minister feels the government is not working well. MPs can vote for a new prime minister in an election.

Parliamentary Democracy The country may have a king or queen with little ruling power or a president who serves as the head of state. In a parliamentary system, the head of state is the symbolic leader of the country, but has little political power. Examples: Australia, Canada, & the UK

Presidential Democracy A system of government in which the president is constitutionally independent of the legislature. The citizens elect the members of the legislature and the chief executive. The president serves as the head of state, runs the government, and heads the military. The president does not make the laws--the legislature does this. The president serves for a fixed amount of time, then new elections are held. Examples: US, Mexico, & most South American countries

Government power increases Citizen power increases Autocratic Oligarchic Democratic Citizen power decreases Government power decreases

Anarchy Anarchy is a situation where there is no government. This can happen after a civil war in a country, when a government has been destroyed and rival groups are fighting to take its place.

COMMUNIST the state plans and controls the economy and a single - often authoritarian - party holds power; state controls are imposed with the elimination of private ownership of property or capital while claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people (i.e., a classless society).

DICTATORSHIP A country ruled by a single leader. The leader has not been elected and may use force to keep control. In a military dictatorship, the army is in control. *A government controlled by one person or a small group of people. In this form of government the power rests with one person. Such power is often obtained forcibly. A dictator usually takes away much of people's freedom. Example: Iraq under Saddam

Federal republic A state in which the powers of the central government are restricted and in which the component parts (states, colonies, or provinces) retain a degree of self-government; ultimate sovereign power rests with the voters who chose their governmental representatives.

monarchy A monarchy has a king, queen, emperor or empress. Usually rules for life. The ruling position can be passed on to the ruler’s heirs. In some traditional monarchies, the monarch has absolute power.

Constitutional monarchy Also called a limited monarchy, is a form of constitutional government, wherein the monarch is the head of state, however he or she is legally bound by the national constitution. Most constitutional monarchies have a parliamentary system in which the monarch is the head of state, but a directly- or indirectly-elected prime minister is head of government.

republic A republic is led by representatives of the voters. Each is individually chosen for a set period of time. The head of the country is usually an elected president. Example: USA

revolutionary If a government is overthrown by force, the new ruling group is sometimes called a revolutionary government.

theocracy Example: Iran A form of government where the rulers claim to be ruling on behalf of a set of religious ideas, or as direct agents of a deity.

totalitarian This is a country with only one political party. People are forced to do what the government tells them and may also be prevented from leaving the country.