1. Forms of Government

2. Three Branches Review

3. Forms of Government Aristotle's system of classifying states, which influenced later political thought for centuries, was based on a simple criterion
good governments are those that best serve the general welfare;
bad governments are those that subordinate the general good to the good of the individuals in power.

4. Forms of Government aristocracy, government by a select few; and
Aristotle distinguished three categories of government:
monarchy, government by a single individual;
aristocracy, government by a select few; and
democracy, government by many.
The later Greek philosophers, influenced by Aristotle, distinguished three degenerate forms of the classes of government defined by him. These were, respectively,
tyranny, rule by an individual in his or her own interest;
oligarchy, rule by a few people in their own interest; and
ochlocracy, mob rule.

5. Forms of Government Democracy
Free and equal representation of people: the free and equal right of every person to participate in a system of government, often practiced by electing representatives of the people by the people.
Democracy is a form of government under which the power to alter the laws and structures of government lies, ultimately, with the citizenry. Under such a system, legislative decisions are made by the people themselves or by representatives who act through the consent of the people, as enforced by elections and the rule of law

6. Democracy

7. Forms of Government Autocracy Monarchies Dictatorships
Rule by one person: a government in which somebody holds unlimited power
Monarchies
Dictatorships
Empires
Dynasty
Autocracy is a form of government where unlimited power is held by a single individual. An emperor may rise to power due to hereditary lines, but is referred to as an autocrat rather than a monarch when his power overshadows his bloodline. It is a type of government historically found in the Eastern world; in the West a primary example is that of Russia, where the sovereign assumed, as a title, Autocrat of all the Russias. The term can also refer to a country that is ruled in this manner. In comparison, an oligarchy is a form of government where power is held by multiple people (yet still a small segment of society).
An example of an autocracy is Imperial Russia

8. Forms of Government Monarchy Constitutional (Parliamentary) Monarchy
system of rule by monarchs: a political system in which a state is ruled by a monarch
Power is inherited
Constitutional (Parliamentary) Monarchy
Absolute (true) Monarchy
A monarchy, (from the Greek "monos archein", meaning "one ruler") is a form of government that has a monarch as Head of State. The distinguishing characteristic of monarchies is that the Head of State holds his office for life, unlike in republics, where presidents are generally elected for a certain amount of time. The term monarchy is also used to refer to the people and institutions that make up the royal establishment, or to the realm in which the monarchy functions.
Elective monarchies, distinguished by the monarchs being appointed for life, have in most cases been succeeded by hereditary monarchies. In the hereditary system, the position of monarch involves inheritance according to an order of succession, usually within one royal family tracing its origin back to a historical dynasty or bloodline. In some cases the royal family may claim to hold authority by virtue of God's choosing, or other religious-based authority.

9. Constitutional (Parliamentary) Monarchy

10. Absolute (true) Monarchy

12. Forms of Government Dictatorship government by dictator
A dictatorship is a government headed by a dictator or more generally any authoritarian or totalitarian government. It is considered to be the polar opposite of a democracy. A dictatorship is often seen as equivalent to a police state, but the term dictatorship refers to the way the leaders gain and hold power, not the watch kept on the citizens.

13. Dictatorship

14. Forms of Government Oligarchy
Small governing group: a small group of people who together govern a nation or control an organization, often for their own selfish purposes
A communist state or communist country is a country with a communist government. Communism, a branch of socialism, was thought up by Karl Marx.
Oligarchy is a form of government where most political power effectively rests with a small segment of society (typically the most powerful, whether by wealth, military strength, ruthlessness, or political influence). The word oligarchy is from the Greek for "few" and "rule". Some political theorists have argued that all societies are inevitably oligarchies no matter the supposed political system.
Oligarchies are often controlled by a few powerful families whose children are raised and mentored to become inheritors of the power of the oligarchy, often at some sort of expense to those governed. In contrast to aristocracy ("government by the 'best'"), this power may not always be exercised openly, the oligarchs preferring to remain "the power behind the throne", exerting control through economic means. Although Aristotle pioneered the use of the term as a synonym for rule by the rich, for which the exact term is plutocracy, oligarchy is not always a rule by wealth, as oligarchs can simply be a privileged cadre. It has also been suggested that most communist states fit the definition of oligarchy.

15. Communist State as an Oligarchy
The nomenklatura were a small, elite subset of the general population in the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries who held various key administrative positions in all spheres of those countries' activity: government, industry, agriculture, education, etc.
The nomenklatura was analogous to the ruling class, which Communist doctrine denounced in the capitalist West.
Without exception, they were members of the Communist Party.

16. Forms of Government
Another category of government with lasting historical significance is a theocracy, rule by religious leaders.

17. Forms of Government Iran as a Theocracy

18. Forms of Government
Bureaucracy: the excessive domination of government by administrative officials.

19. Political Terms Authoritarian Fascism
of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority
characterized by a tyrannical obedience to an authority; dictatorial
The authoritarian government was demanding stricter laws against low-wage peasants
Fascism
A political regime based on strong centralized government, suppressing through violence any criticism or opposition of the regime, and exalting nation, state, or religion above the individual.
A system of strong autocracy

20. Political Terms Communism
A term used to refer to a number of political philosophies or ideologies which share the belief in the virtue of holding the production resources collectively.
2. A society organized in line with the communist theories, the ultimate aim of which is the abolition of the state and the creation of a classless, stateless society whose members participate in production according to their abilities and receive according to their needs

21. Political Terms libertarian (plural libertarians)
A believer in a political doctrine that emphasizes individual liberty and a lack of governmental regulation and oversight both in matters of the economy ('free market') and in personal behavior where no one's rights are being violated or threatened.
anarchism (uncountable)
Any theory or doctrine that proposes the absence of government in all forms.
Specifically, a political philosophical belief that all forms of involuntary rule or government are undesirable or unnecessary and that society could function without a ruler or involuntary government (state).

22. The Political Spectrum
More Control
Individual Rights
Less Control

23. Which form of government do you think is the best for most countries?
Autocracy
Democracy
Monarchy
Theocracy

28. Tennessee’s Senators and 1st Congressional District Representative
Lamar Alexander
Bob Corker
Phil Roe

29. Canada: Stephen Harper
Prime Minister
Parliamentary Republic

30. Canadian Parliament

31. China: Wen Jaibo head of government: Premier WEN Jiabao
Communist State

32. France: Nicolas Sarkozy
chief of state: Nicolas Sarkozy, President Republic

33. Germany: Angela Merkel
head of government: Chancellor Angela MERKEL
Federal Republic

34. India: Manmohan Singh
head of government: Prime Minister Manmohan SINGH
Federal Republic

35. Japan: head of government: Yasuo Fukada, Prime Minister
constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government

36. President Dmitry Medvedev
Russia:
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
President Dmitry Medvedev

37. Mexico: President Felipe de Jesus
head of government: President Felipe de Jesus
Federal Republic
Former President Vicente FOX Quesada

38. United Kingdom: Gordon Brown
constitutional monarchy
head of government: Prime Minister

39. United States: Barack Hussein Obama
chief of state: President
Federal Republic

40. Supreme Court Justices
Clarence Thomas
Sonia Sotomayor
Chief Justice John Roberts