Government: Citizen Participation

1. Government: Citizen Participation

2. There are three different ways that citizens of a country participate in their country’s government. • Autocratic • Oligarchy • Democratic

3. Autocratic Governments • The ruler has absolute power to do whatever he wishes and makes and enforces whatever laws he chooses. • Individuals who live under autocratic governments do not have any rights to choose leaders or vote on which laws are made and put into practice.

4. Some autocratic governments may allow the people rights in certain areas like managing local affairs, but the central government keeps control of all the most important aspects of the country’s life. • In this system, people usually have little or no power to use against the government if they disagree with decisions that government or ruler has made.

5. The oldest form of government. • One of the most common forms of government. • Maintain power through inheritance or ruthless use of military and police power.

6. There are many different kinds of autocratic governments. • Monarchy in Saudi Arabia is a good example • Past Examples-Adolf Hitler (Germany), Benito Mussolini (Italy), Joseph Stalin (Russia or USSR)

7. Oligarchy • It means “government by the few” • A political party or other small group takes over a government and makes all of the major decisions. • People of the country have little choice but to go along with the decisions they make.

8. This sort of government can be very similar to an autocratic government. • There are several countries in Southwest Asia (Middle East) that might be described as oligarchies. • Syria: ruled by the Ba’ath political party • Iran: ruled by small group of religious leaders

9. Political opposition is usually suppressed- sometimes violently. • Examples-Communist countries such as China. • Leaders in the party and armed forces control government.

10. Autocracy & Oligarchy • Sometimes claim they rule for the people. • In reality, the people have very little say in both types of government. • Examples-May hold elections with only one candidate or control the results in various ways. • Examples-Even when these governments have a legislature or national assembly, they often only approve decisions made by the leaders.

11. Democratic Government Systems • People play a greater role in deciding who the rulers are and what decisions are made. • “Democracy” comes from the Greek word “demos,” which means “people”

12. A great deal of power is left in the hands of the people • People who live in a democracy generally recognize that there must be some rules to organize society, but the goal is to leave as much individual freedom as possible.

13. If a person living in a democracy feels his/her rights have been violated, he/she has the power to ask the government for help in correcting the situation. • Israel is a good example in Southwest Asia

14. How Governments Determine Citizen Participation High Participation High Participation General Citizens’ Participation Select Citizens’ Participation Citizen Participation Government Power Government Power Citizen Participation Government Power Low or No Participation Low or No Participation Low or No Participation Autocratic Oligarchic Democracy