What If…You Had the Power What If…You Had the Power to make all the decisions…to make all the decisions…If you were the leader of a

country, what kind of rulings would you make? What kind of political powers would you let the people of your country have?

Who Has the Power to make Who Has the Power to make the decisions in Different the decisions in Different types of Governments?types of Governments?

Autocracy vs. Oligarchy vs. Democracy

Autocracy: One PersonAutocracy: One PersonOnly one person has all the power

in making decisions for the people.

Forms of Autocracy: 1.Dictatorship

Examples: Germany’s Hitler, U.S.S.R.’s Stalin

2.Absolute Monarchy – one king in power with complete control

Examples: France’s King Louis XVI, Spain’s King Ferdinand

Oligarchy: A Small GroupOligarchy: A Small GroupOnly a few people in a small group of

royalty, wealth, family, or military influence make political decisions for the country’s people.

Forms of Oligarchy:Communism – a small group controls

all the economic resources and government

Examples: former Soviet Union, Cuba, China

Democracy: The CitizensDemocracy: The CitizensThe citizens have a say in their

government by voting in elections.

Most democracies today are republics, where the people elect leaders to represent them in the government.

Most countries in the world are democracies.

Presidential DemocracyPresidential Democracy a government in which the

executive, legislative, and judicial branches are separate

The citizens vote for the leader of the country -- the president -- who serves in the executive branch.

Example: U.S.A.

Parliamentary DemocracyParliamentary Democracy a government where voters elect

representatives to a lawmaking body called parliament

Parliament members then select the leader, usually called the prime minister.

The prime minister is the national political leader, and another figure serves as the head of state, like a constitutional monarch.

Examples: United Kingdom, Canada

Constitutional MonarchyConstitutional Monarchya government that has a

constitution, but allows a king or queen to be the official head of state - yet elected officials run the government

Examples: United Kingdom, Spain

BibliographyBibliography"political systems." Britannica Elementary

Encyclopedia. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition. 6  Mar.  2009  <http://www.school.eb.com.proxygsu-sgwi.galileo.usg.edu/elementary/article?articleId=390910>.

The World and Its People. McGraw-Hill Companies: Columbus, OH. 2005