Download Types of Government

Types of Government
To study governments, geographers look
at the following:
 Types – Who rules and who participates.
 Systems – How the power is distributed.
Types of Government are based on one key
question: Who governs and what is the
citizen participation?
 There are three types of governments:
 Autocracy, Oligarchy, and Democracy
Types of government define who rules and
who participates
There are three types of governments:
1.
Autocracy: Rule by one
2.
Oligarchy: Rule by few
3.
Democracy: Rule by all
 Forms: Direct and Representative
 Methods: Parliamentary and Presidential
Governments distribute power
through systems.
A. Unitary
 All decisions and power held at a central level
B. Federal
 Decisions and power split between national and state or
provincial governments
Autocracy
 Government in which the power to govern is held by
one person.
 Generally the power to rule is inherited or taken by
military force.
There are three types of autocratic government.
1. Dictatorships
2. Absolute Monarchies
3. Constitutional Monarchies
Dictatorship
 A dictatorship consists of rule by one
person or a group of people often taken
by force.
 Very few dictators admit they are
dictators and almost always claim to be
leaders of democracies
Dictatorship
 Description
 A leader has total power
 Examples include:
 Cuba (Castro) & North Korea (Kim Jong Il) .
Monarchy
A monarchy consists of rule by a king/queen
or “emperor”.
1.
Absolute
2. Constitutional
Absolute Monarchy
 A monarchy has a king, queen, emperor or empress.
 The power is usually inherited or passed down from
family members.
 The monarch has absolute power meaning they can
make all decisions and laws without consulting
anyone.
 Example
 Louis XIV in France during the 1700s
Constitutional Monarchy
 King/Queen has power that is limited by a set of rules
called a constitution) and shares power with elected
officials
 Generally the Kings are nothing more than
figureheads.
 The government is a democratic one that limits
the monarchs power.
 Example
Present day England
Oligarchy
 When a family or small group of people
control all of the power to govern and make
laws

The group gets their power from either military, wealth or social
status.

Elections may be held but offer only one candidate.
 Examples
 China
 Only one party (communist) allowed
Theocracy
 type of oligarchy where religious leaders govern
 Example
 Iran
Democracy
 “Democracy” literally means “rule by the
people.”
 In a democracy, the people govern – by
voting.
In a democracy….
 Individual freedom and equality is valued.
 Free elections are held
 Decisions are based on majority rule.
 All candidates can express their views freely.
 Citizens vote by secret ballot.
Kinds of democracies
1.
Direct Democracy
2. Representative Democracy
Direct Democracy
 Description
 The power of government is controlled directly by the
people
 Everyone votes on every issue
Example:
In some American states,
town meetings are held where
every citizen votes by
publicly proclaiming their
vote.
 Direct democracy is impossible in a
political system containing more than a
few people.
 In a representative democracy, delegates
are selected by the people through a
defined process to make and enforce laws.
Representative Democracy
 The people elect representatives who then make
decisions for them
Example:
Canada, United States
Forms of Representative Democracy
1.
Parliamentary
2. Presidential
Parliamentary Democracy
 Voters elect members to a Parliament (legislature)
 Example:
Canada, Britain,
Parliamentary Democracy
 Parliaments are bicameral in that they have two
houses where decisions are made
1.
2.

House of Commons
 The political party with the most elected
members in the House of Commons forms the
government. The leader of that party becomes
the Prime Minister.
Senate or House of Lords
Elected government chooses people to govern in the
senate.
Presidential Democracy
 Voters elect legislators and also elect, directly or
indirectly, the President.
Therefore, in the presidential
system voters have a more
direct say about those who
serve in two branches of the
government :
• Legislative
• Executive
Parliamentary System
Executive
Legislative
Select
Executive
Presidential System
Elect
Legislative
Citizens
Citizens
Putting it all together….
The United Kingdom…
is an autocratic constitutional monarchy with a
parliamentary democracy and a unitary system.
The United States…
is a presidential democracy with a federal system.