Government Terms

Citizen ParticipationCitizen Participation & & Power DistributionPower Distribution

In social studies we divide the different In social studies we divide the different types of government into types of government into systems of systems of citizen participation citizen participation && systems of systems of power distributionpower distribution..

Citizen participationCitizen participation describes how describes how much control citizens have over their much control citizens have over their government and the amount of government and the amount of individual freedoms in a country.individual freedoms in a country.

Power distributionPower distribution describes how describes how power is shared (or not shared) by power is shared (or not shared) by different levels in the government.different levels in the government.

Systems of Citizen ParticipationCitizen Participation

Use the icons as visual references.

autocratic

Autocratic (autocracy)a country or nation where citizens have little or no say in the government because it is run by a single person with unlimited power

oligarchic

Oligarchic (oligarchy)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

democratic

Democratic (democracy)

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

More systems of Citizen Participation

Each of these is some form of Autocratic, Oligarchic, or Democratic system. The icons will help you figure them out.

republic

Republica government in which

the people elect representatives to make the laws

Republic notes

“Representative Democracy”

All modern democracies function as republics.

Originally created in Rome.

dictatorship

Dictatorship

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

Dictatorship notes Dictators usually take power by

force. They maintain their power through

violence and intimidation. Common examples of dictatorships

include: CubaGermany under Hitler (WWII) Iraq under Saddam Hussein

theocracy

Theocracya government ruled by a religious leader or leaders

Theocracy notes

Theocracies can be autocratic or oligarchic.

Leader of country holds a religious title.

Laws will be based on holy book. Example:

Iran

absolute monarchy

absolute monarchy (or just monarchy)

ruled by a monarch who usually inherits the authority

Absolute monarchy notes

Title of the leader can be king, queen, prince, princess, emperor, duke, etc.

Power comes from family. Very rare today. Most of them

are in SW Asia, along Persian Gulf:Saudi Arabia

constitutional monarchy

Constitutional Monarchy

a government ruled by a King or a Queen whose power is determined by the nation’s constitution and laws

Constitutional monarchy notes Monarch’s job is mainly ceremonial

Greet visiting leaders, have their face on the money, etc.

Traditions help hold society together.

Important symbol of the country Ex: Great Britain, Canada, Australia

constitutional monarch as a national symbol

Queen Elizabeth II on British currency

God save the Queen1. God save our gracious Queen

Long live our noble QueenGod save the QueenSend her victoriousHappy and gloriousLong to reign over usGod save the Queen

2. O Lord our God ariseScatter her enemies And make them fallConfound their politicsFrustrate their knavish tricksOn Thee our hopes we fixGod save us all

constitutional monarch as a protector of stability

Thai King Rama IX intervenes to end violence in 1992

Two types of

Democracy

presidential democracy

Legislature/ Legislature/ CongressCongress

Leader of Govt / Leader of Govt /

PresidentPresident

Presidential Democracy

a system of government in which the president is constitutionally independent of the legislature

Presidential: short definition

System where the president is chosen in a separate election from the legislature.

parliamentary democracy

Legislature/ Legislature/ ParliamentParliament

Leader of Govt / Leader of Govt /

Prime Prime MinisterMinister

Parliamentary Democracy

a system of government having the real executive power vested in a cabinet composed of members of the legislature who are individually and collectively responsible to the legislature. May have a Prime Minister elected by the legislature.

Parliamentary: short definition

System where the legislature has all the power and the leader of the legislature (parliament) is the leader of the country.

Systems of Power DistributionPower Distribution

How the government is organized.

unitary

National Government

Unitary (alternate definition)

government in which power is held by one central authority

Unitary notes / characteristics All authority is held at one level, the

national government. All laws are national laws.

Unitary is NOT the same as autocratic. This is about how the government is organized,

not how citizens participate. Lots of democratic countries are unitary, like England.

Unitary systems are easy to set up, because there is only the one level of government, but usually doesn’t work well with large countries.

Most common type of power distribution.

confederation

Government

Government Government

Government

Government

Confederationvoluntary associations of

independent states that, to secure some common purpose, agree to certain limitations on their freedom of action and establish some joint machinery of consultation or deliberation

Confederation notes / characteristics Confederations are fairly uncommon. All the authority is held by regional / state

governments. The connection between the different governments

are fairly weak. The European Union (EU) would be considered a

confederation Other groups that are like confederations include (though,

none of these are actually considered governments) OPEC United Nations NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organization

The U.S. was a confederation during the Revolutionary War, but this system did not work well.

federal

State Government

National Government

Federalcharacterized by or

constituting a form of government in which power is divided between one central and several regional authorities

Federal notes / characteristics The United States uses a federal system. There is usually a strong central (national)

government that shares authority with state / regional governments

Authority is shared or distributed In the U.S. most laws come from the state

level. This can be good because different states often

have different issues to deal with. Because the different levels in a federal

system can get complicated, it usually doesn’t work well for a small country.