Types of Government

1. Types of Government

2. monarchy

3. ruled by a monarch who usually inherits the authority

5. inherited • new ruler is related to previous ruler • kingdom • Example: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

6. republic

7. a government in which the people elect representatives to make the laws

9. people vote • lots of citizen participation • free elections • representative government

10. parliamentary democracy

11. a country whose head of government is the leader of the legislature

13. usually has a prime minister • often has ceremonial president • people vote • lots of citizen participation • Example: State of Israel

14. presidential democracy

15. a type of government where the leader is the President and is chosen in a separate election from the legislature

17. executive branch • separation of powers between executive and legislative branches • national vote for president

18. theocracy

19. a government ruled by a religious leader or leaders

21. faith based • holy leader • religious state • Example: Islamic Republic of Iran (even though they call themselves a Parliamentary Democracy)

22. dictatorship

23. a system of government in which the ruler has absolute power and is not restricted by laws or a constitution

25. authoritarian • Saddam Hussein • all powerful leader • repression • undemocratic • despot

26. Citizen Participation 3 categories that describe who has the power in a country

27. autocratic

28. government in which one person possesses unlimited power and the citizen has little if any role in the government

30. examples • dictatorship • monarchy (absolute type) • theocracy (usually)

31. democratic

32. a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections

34. examples • republic • parliamentary democracy (most common) • presidential democracy (USA)

35. oligarchic

36. government by the few, sometimes a government in which a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes. The citizen has a very limited role.

38. no examples this unit • Oligarchic countries are very rare; eventually one of the leaders will seize power from the others, creating an autocracy.

39. Systems of government are based on one question: How is the power distributed or shared? • There are three ways governments distribute power: • Unitary • Confederation • Federal

40. unitary

41. A system of government in which authority is centralized.

43. One central government controls everything • Power is not shared between countries, states, or provinces. • Examples: Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iran

44. confederation

45. A group of loosely allied states or nations that come together for a common cause.

47. Nations can choose to follow or not to follow the lead of the weak central government. • Examples: EU, Confederate States of America

48. federal

49. A form of government in which several states or regions defer some powers to a central government while retaining a limited measure of self-government