1. Government in Southwest Asia
September 15, 2014

2. Ways that Government Systems Distribute Power
There are 3 different ways that governments can distribute power:
Unitary: the central government possesses most of the decision-making power
Confederation: Local governments or individual states possess more power than a weak central government
Federal: Power is split between a central government and individual state governments. There is often a constitution that defines the powers of each government.

3. Ways that Government Systems Determine Citizen Participation
Autocratic: Government in which one person possesses unlimited power and the citizen has little, if any, role in the government
Oligarchic: Government by a few, and the citizen has a very limited role
Democratic: Government where the supreme power is held by the people, and usually exercised through a system of periodically held free elections

4. Two Types of Democratic Governments
Presidential Democracy: A system of government where the president is the head of government and is constitutionally independent of the legislature
Parliamentary Democracy: A system of government where the real power lies with a cabinet made up of legislators. This group is responsible to the legislature. There may be a prime minister that is elected by the legislature

5. Israel Israel’s government is a parliamentary democracy
This means that their government is ruled by a legislature, called the Knesset
They do have a prime minister, who is the leader of the Knesset
The Knesset makes the laws for Israel
Because most Israeli citizens are Jews, many of their laws are influenced by Judaism

6. How does Israel distribute power and determine citizen participation?
Israel distributes power in a federal style
Their citizens participate in a parliamentary democracy
Role of the citizen in Israel: both men and women have the right to vote at age 18
They vote for legislature (parliament), who in turn, elects the prime minister
Elections are held every 4 years

7. Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s government is a hereditary monarchy: the government is led by a king who come from a family that has ruled the country for several generations
In this case, the current king’s family has been in power since the 1920s
The king and his advisors, many of whom are members of his family, make the laws for the country
There is no written constitution and the king rules for life

8. How does Saudi Arabia distribute power and determine citizen participation?
Saudi Arabia distributes power in a unitary style
They are an autocracy in terms of voting rights
Role of the citizen in Saudi Arabia: At age 21, only men have the right to vote
However, elections have not been held in Saudi Arabia since the current king’s family came to power

9. Iran
Iran is a theocratic republic: a government is which God is seen as the true leader of the government and the country’s religious leaders serve as the political leaders
Most Iranians are members of the Shia Muslim group, most of whom believe that religion should play a large role in the government

10. How does Iran determine citizen participation and distribute power?
Iran distributes power in a federal style
Iran is a presidential democracy in terms of voting rights
Iranian citizens can vote at age 16; both men and women can vote
They vote for the president and their legislature.
However, most of the country’s power lies with religious leaders, who often take the title of Ayatollah

11. Questions 1. What type of government does Israel have?
2. Who rules Israel’s government?
3. What is the name of Israel’s legislature?
4. What is the role of Israel’s legislature?
5. Who has the right to vote in Israel?
6. Who do Israelis vote for?
7. What type of government does Saudi Arabia have?
8. Who makes the laws for Saudi Arabia?
9. Who has the right to vote in Saudi Arabia?

12. Questions 10. What type of government does Iran have?
11. Who is seen as the true leader of Iran’s government?
12. Who has the right to vote in Iran?
13. Who do Iranians vote for?
14. Who has most of Iran’s governmental power?