Forms Of Government

1. Forms Of Government Chapter 1 Section 2

2. Objectives • Classify governments according to three sets of characteristics. • Define systems of government based on who can participate. • Identify different ways that power can be distributed, geographically, within a state. • Describe a government by how power is distributed between the executive branch and legislative branch.

3. How to Classify a Government • No two governments are, or have ever been, exactly alike. • Political scientists have developed many ways to classify and compare governments. • The three most useful classifications are: • 1. Who can participate in the government. • 2. The geographic distribution of governmental power within the state. • 3. The relationship between the legislative and executive branches of the government. • We will look at two government styles today: • Democracy • Dictatorships

4. Who Can Participate • In a Democracy: • The supreme political authority rests with the people. • Abraham Lincoln labeled the American government in his Gettysburg Address: “government of the people, by the people, for the people…” • There are multiple styles of democracy, we will examine two: • Direct Democracy • Representative Democracy

5. Direct Democracy • Direct democracy aka pure democracy • The people participate in every aspect of government life (especially policymaking). • This works only in small locations where citizens can easily meet to deal with all of its government’s problems. • This is why direct democracy does not exist on a national level anywhere in the world today.

6. Representative Democracy • This is the form of democracy we are the most familiar with in America. • A small group of persons, chosen by the people to act as their representatives, speaks for the will of the people. • These representatives are held accountable to the people at elections • Very simply, representative democracy is a government by popular consent.

7. Dictatorships • These governments have no responsibility to their people. • Dictatorships are the oldest and most common form of government in the world. • There are two types of dictatorships: • Autocracy • A government in which a single person holds power. • Oligarchy • A government which the power to rule is held by small, self-appointed, elites.

8. Dictatorships throughout History • All dictatorships are authoritarian however most modern dictatorships have turned totalitarian: • Meaning they exercise complete power over nearly every aspect of human life. • Examples of Dictatorships: • Fascist Italy (1922-43) • Nazi Germany (1933-45) • USSR (1917-Late 1980’s)

9. Dictatorships Today • Today’s dictatorships are less likely to be authoritarian. • They typically have more than one ruler/group competing for control. • Armies, religious leaders and industrialists typically compete for power. • Most dictatorships today are militaristic. • The military typically holds most of the major posts throughout the government.

10. Distribution of Power • Every system of government distributes its power throughout multiple geographic locations. • Three forms of government division exist: • Unitary Government • Federal Government • Confederate Government

11. Unitary Government • Unitary governments are described as centralized governments. • All powers are held by a single, central agency. • The central government creates smaller localized governments as it is convenient. • Most governments in the world today are unitary. • Britain’s parliament is a perfect example (we’ll discuss this later).

12. Federal Government • In a federal government, the powers are divided between central and local governments. • The US is a good example of a federal government: • There are 50 state governments and thousands of local governments that divide their authority. • Other countries with Federal Governments are: • Australia, Canada, Mexico, Switzerland and around 20 others.

13. Confederate Government • A confederation is an alliance of independent states. • The confederate government is a central power, but can only act on issues that the members have assigned to it. • The goal of a confederation is cooperation while keeping individual state authority. • The EU is the best example of a successful confederation in existence today.

14. One Final Classification • The final example of classification of governments is to analyze the relationship between the executive and legislative agencies of the government. • The two styles we will examine are: • Presidential Governments • Parliamentary Governments

15. Presidential Government • Presidential governments feature separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches of government. • The Chief Executive (President) is chosen separately from the legislative branch and has its own specific power. • The US is the leading model of presidential governments, as it created the form.

16. Parliamentary Government • In a parliamentary government, the executive branch is the Prime Minister/Premier + Cabinet. • The PM and Cabinet are also members of parliament (the legislative branch). • The difference between the two systems comes through its elections.

17. Parliamentary Elections • The people vote in a general election and elect legislators. • The party with the most control of Parliament (or a majority coalition) selects who the PM is. • The PM, with the consent of Parliament selects their cabinet members.

18. Differences • What differences are there between the parliamentary system of government and a presidential system?