VOCABULARY

Government Systems

“Europe Today”

Aristocratic , aristocracy –

having to do with royalty/monarchy

Autocratic, autocracy - government in which one

person possesses unlimited power and the citizen has

little if any role in the government (Example:

Cuba).

Most dictators maintain their position through inheritance or

military power (fear, violence), the citizen has little, if any role in the government. People who try to

speak out against the government are often silenced through the use

of power.

Chancellor –

chief executive in Germany

Chief executive –

the #1 person in charge of the country; we call

ours PRESIDENT

Confederation – voluntary 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 (Example: European

Union)

Constitution – document written to describe the way the

government of a country will be

organized

Czars – another spelling of

TSARS: what the king/emperor was

called in Russia

Democracy, democratic- political system in which a country’s people elect their leaders and rule by

majority;

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. (Examples: United Kingdom, Germany, Mexico, Brazil,

Canada, Australia)

Dictator – someone who rules by fear or force, they have all the power, they don’t share

power with anybody, has complete rule

Executive – branch of government

that includes the head of state (president, premier,

prime minister, etc)

Federal – national level, having to do with the entire country, not just the

state

Federal (form of government) - characterized by or constituting a

form of government in which power is divided between one

central and several regional authorities. (Examples: Australia, Germany, Russia, Canada, Brazil,

and Mexico)

Legislature, legislative – refers to branch of

government that makes the LAWS

Monarch – a king or queen, emperor

or empress, czar or czarina, usually get their

“job” by inheriting it because of their birth

Monarchy – territory ruled by a king or queen (emperor/empress,

czar/czarina) who has total power to govern

Oligarchy- government by the few,

sometimes a government in which a small group

exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish

purposes.

(Oligarchy continued…)The citizen has a very

limited role. A small group exercises control.

Communist countries are mostly oligarchies. The

citizen has a very limited role in government.

Parliamentary system – 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

(parliamentary continued…) . May have a Prime

Minister elected by the legislature. (Example:

United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany)

President – head of the executive branch of government

in the United States

Presidential system – a system of government in

which the president is constitutionally

independent of the legislature (Example:

Mexico and Brazil)

Prime minister – the head of the

government in Canada and United Kingdom

Tsars – another spelling of the word CZARS; what the

king/emperor was called in Russia

Unicameral – one house; refers to

type of legislative branch of government

Unitary government – characterized by or

constituting a form of government in which power

is held by one central authority (Examples: Cuba

and United Kingdom)