Governmentand Government

Systems

governmentthe system by which a community, state,or

nation is controlled or ruled

Communism

a political system in which all property is publicly owned and each person works

and is paid according to his or her abilities and needs

monarchya form of government

ruled by a king or a queen

absolute monarchya monarchy that is

not limited to or restrained by laws or

a constitution

constitutionalmonarchy

a monarchy governed according to a

constitution that limits or defines the power of the

king or queen

republica form of government where supreme power rests

with the citizens through their ability to vote

parliamentary(democratic)a system of government that has the real power vested

in a cabinet whose members are made up of the legislature,

may have a prime minister (United Kingdom and Canada)

presidential(democratic)

a system of government in which the president is constitutionally independent of the legislature (Mexico and Brazil)

autocratic government (autocracy)

most dictators maintain their positions via inheritance or military power, the citizen has little, if any role in the government and those who try to speak out against the government

are silenced through the use of power

oligarchy government(oligarchic)

a small group exercises control, the citizen has a very limited role in the government, most

Communist countries are oligarchies

democratic government(democratic)

supreme power is vested with the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through

a system of representations through free elections

How Governments Determine Citizen ParticipationHigh

Participation

High Participatio

n

Low or NoParticipatio

n

Low or NoParticipatio

n

Autocratic DemocracyOligarchic

gov’t

people

gov’tpeople

gov’tselect citizens

general citizens

How do the government systems

distribute power?

unitary system

confederation system

federal system

Ways Government Distributes Power

FEDERAL

strong central

government

Central Authorit

y

Central Authorit

y

key powers held by central gov’t

state/regional

hold most of

the power

Central Authorit

y

weaker central

government

UNITARY CONFEDERATION

unitary system (ways gov’t distributes

power)all key powers held by the central government

strong central government (Cuba, United Kingdom)

Central Authorit

y

regional authority

regional authority

regional authority

regional authority

federation/federal(ways gov’t distributes

power)power is divided between the central government

and regional governments (Germany,Canada, Mexico)

Central Authorit

y

regional authority

regional authority

regional authority

regional authority

confederation system(ways gov’t distributes

power)

state and regional authorities holding most of the powerweaker central government (European Union)

Central Authorit

y

regional authority

regional authority

regional authority

regional authority

European Union

an association of European nations formed in 1993 for the purpose of

achieving political and economic integration