What Do You Know?

Name the city, county, state, and country you live in. Beside the name of each place, what is the leader of each kind of government is called?

City – Mayor Gwinnett – County Commissioner Georgia – Governor United States – President

Why are there different levels in our government?

How do European countries distribute their power within

their governments?

Political Development in Europe: Distribution of Power Lesson

Why Do We Have Governments?

They are organized ways for creating laws/rules designed to protect the well-being of the general public and to help manage conflict.

They determine the power structure (who has the power) within a country.• In some countries, only one person or party maintains

centralized control of the government, while in other countries power is shared between individuals and factions.

Why Do We Have Governments?

• All countries require governments to function.

• Governments provide laws, structure, public services, and national defense.

• There are different types of governments:– democracies– republics– monarchies– dictatorships

How Is Power Shared?

• Federal• Confederation• Unitary

Image from Center of Civic Education. 2008

Federal GovernmentFederal– a system in which the

power is divided between one central, regional, and local governments

Examples: – United States– Russian Federation– Germany

Should the national government, state government, or both have these powers?

List of Powers Shared in a Federal GovernmentIssue driver’s licenses Make laws for the environment

Collect taxes Conduct elections

Create marriage laws Punish law breakers

Declare war Create standards for schools

Make agreements with other countries

Defend the country

Coin money Protect citizen rights

The power is shared in a Federal government- take a look at the United States!

National Government State Government Local Government (example: City government,

County government)

Executive Branch: President

Legislative Branch: Congress •Made up of 2 houses:•The Senate•The House of Representatives

Judicial Branch: Supreme Court

Executive Branch: Governor

Legislative Branch: Congress •Made up of 2 houses:•The Senate•The House of Representatives

Judicial Branch: Court system

Leader of City Government: Mayor

You also have county courts and judges, city councils, and other groups of people who play a part in governing their area

Federal Governments of the World(All countries in green)

Unitary Government

Unitary – a system in which the power is held by one central authority

All power is given to the one branch of government.Examples:– France– United Kingdom and Northern Ireland (U.K.)– Sweden– Spain– Former Soviet Union

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Unitary Governments of the World(All countries in blue)

Confederation

• Confederation - a system in which power is shared by an alliance or union of political organizations

• Independent states voluntarily work together for some common purpose and agree to certain limits on their freedom of action as a confederation.

• Examples:- European Union- Switzerland

Let’s Talk About IT!

• Let’s get in groups of three.• Number yourselves one, two, and three.• Ones explain to the twos and threes how a unitary

government system distributes power.• Twos explain to the ones and threes how a

confederation government system distributes power.• Threes explain to the ones and twos how a federal

government system distributes power.

Written Summary: How is the power distributed politically?

Image from Center of Civic Education. 2008

Bibliography

• Image from http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Image:Map-of-unitary-states.svg. NationMaster.Com

• Image from “Constitution Day Across the Country” Center for Civic Education 2008.