Forms of Government

Democratic Governments

A. Democratic Government—A system of government where the people of the country can participate in the governmental processes.

B. Representative Democracy (Republic)—A system of government where the people vote to choose people to represent them in the government.

Representative Democracies

1. Presidential Democracy—A system of government where powers are separated between independent and equal legislative and executive branches, like in the U.S.

2. Parliamentary Democracy—A system of government in which the executive leaders (usually a prime minister and a cabinet) are chosen by and responsible to the legislative branch (parliament) as well as being members of the legislature, like in Great Britain.

MonarchiesA. Monarchy—A system of

government headed by a monarch, such as a king, queen, shah, or sultan whose position is inherited.

B. Absolute Monarchy—A system of government headed by a monarch who is only source of power and controls all functions of the state. This is an authoritarian form of government.

C. Constitutional Monarchy—A system of government headed by a monarch whose powers are limited in a constitution. These are typically more democratic governments.

Authoritarian GovernmentsA. Autoritarian Government—A

system of government where the government has total control over society. These governments are sometimes called totalitarian governments.

B. Dictatorship—A system of government in which those who rule usually acquire and maintain authority by force and cannot be held responsible to the will of the people. In other words, the people have no say in what goes on.

Theocracy

A. Theocracy—A system of government headed by, or appointed by, one or more religious leaders who claim to rule by divine authority.

B. Iran is an example of a theocracy.