Download Types of Government

Types of Government
Which would you like to live under?
1. Anarchy
 a condition of lawlessness or political disorder
brought about by the absence of government.
2. Republic
 supreme power is retained by the people and authority is
periodically renewed or modified as the people desire
A) Democracy-people vote on governmental power/control
1) Representative Democracy-elected officials are given
power to make decisions for groups of people
Example: United States
2) Direct Democracy-power lies directly in the hands of the
people rather than being exercised through their
representatives
Example: Taking a class vote
B) Parliamentary-a government in which members of an
executive branch are nominated to their positions by lawmakers
or parliament, and are directly responsible to parliament.
1) Parliamentary democracy – parliament (lawmakers)
selects the government according to party strength as expressed
in elections; by this system, the government acquires a dual
responsibility to the people as well as to the parliament.
2) Parliamentary monarchy – government headed by a
monarch (king or queen) who is not actively involved or have
lawmaking power. True governmental leadership is carried out by
an executive, who is chosen by parliament
3. Authoritarian
 Supreme authority is possessed by the government, not the
people and it imposes its power into many aspects of its
citizens’ lives.
A) Dictatorship-a ruler that has absolute (total) power which is
not restricted by a constitution or laws.
B) Totalitarian-a government that seeks to weaken the people
and keep power in the government by controlling not only all
political and economic matters, but also the attitudes, values and
beliefs of its population.
1) Oligarchy-a government in which control is exercised by
a small group of individuals whose authority is usually
based on power (military)
2) Plutocracy-a government in which authority is
controlled by a group of the wealthiest people
(It could also be a dictatorship)
C) Theocracy-a form of government in which a god is recognized
as the supreme civil ruler. God's laws are applied through the
government and the government listens to religious authority.
1) Islamic Republic-a particular form of government
adopted by some Muslim countries where it’s a republic form of
government, but its laws are required to be compatible with the
laws of Islam.
2) Sultanate or Emirate- similar to a monarchy, the
supreme power is in the hands of an emir or sultan (the ruler of a
Muslim state); they maybe an absolute (total) ruler or have
limited authority as stated in the laws of the country.
D) Monarchy-a government in which the supreme power is
lodged in the hands of a monarch (king, queen, prince, etc.) who
reigns over a region, usually for life and by hereditary (past down
from generation to generation) right
1) Absolute monarchy - a form of government where the
monarch rules unhindered, i.e., without any laws, constitution or
legally organized opposition. Monarch has absolute (total) power
2) Constitutional monarchy - a system of government in
which a monarch is guided by a constitution whereby his/her
rights, duties, and responsibilities are spelled out in written law or
by custom.