Government Types Governments Why do we need them

Government Types

Governments • Why do we need them? What do they do for us? – Make & enforce laws, regulate business & trade, provide help to people – Life would be chaos without it • How does the govt. affect you personally? • Does everyone have the same type of government? • What kind of governments are there?

Representative Governments • Government system where the people are represented by elected officials who make decisions on their behalf Representative Governments Democracy Republic Constitutional Monarchy Note that representative governments are a category of government systems. We’re going to talk about three.

Democracy 1. A form of government in which the people elect leaders & rule by majority • Characteristics 2. Citizens choose government officials through elections 3. People have freedoms & rights like freedom of speech & religion

South Korea USA Republic of Ireland

Republic 1. A form of government in which officials are elected by the people to govern & make decisions for them. • Characteristics 2. No monarch, emperor, etc. 3. People have freedoms & rights like freedom of speech & religion For our purposes, democracies and republics are EXTREMELY SIMILAR & can be used interchangeably.

Nearly every country on earth without a monarch considers itself a REPUBLIC. However, “Republic” in the name of the country does NOT mean it is true. It depends on the type of government it has. For example…. North Korea is technically the “Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea. ”

Constitutional Monarchy 1. A monarch serves as head of state but a legislature makes the laws • Characteristics 2. Monarch serves as a figurehead but doesn’t have very much real power 2. Monarch usually inherits the power 3. Closer to a democracy than a true monarchy Sweden United Kingdom

Authoritarian Governments • Form of govt. where one ruler or a small group of people has all of the authority Authoritarian Governments Dictatorship Absolute Monarchy Communism

Dictatorship 1. A single, powerful ruler (dictator) has total control. • Characteristics 2. Leader often rules by force & used violent means to get power. 3. People have very few rights, restricted freedom, and no say in their own government.

Absolute Monarchy 1. A monarch serves as head of state and makes all governmental decisions • Characteristics 2. Monarch usually inherits the power. 2. More power than constitutional monarchy. 3. People can have restricted rights. Mswati IIIKing of Swaziland Saudi Arabian King Abdullah

In Saudi Arabia, the king’s main palace is over one square mile in size.

Communism 1. A political system in which the government owns all property & dominates all aspects of life in a country. • Characteristics 2. Leaders usually chosen by Communist Party instead of being elected. 3. People have restricted rights and very little freedom. No individual ownership.

North Korea is a very controlled “communist” dictatorship.

Government Types Frayer Models • Use page 42 -43 in your Travelogue • Create a Frayer Model for each of the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Democracy Constitutional Monarchy Dictatorship Absolute Monarchy Communism Definition Characteristics Type of Government Way to Remember (Can be picture or word association) Example Countries

So what’s the difference between a dictatorship and an absolute monarchy? Dictatorship is run by one person or a small group of military leaders. An absolute monarchy is run by a Queen or King A dictatorship is rule by power alone. The LAW of the land says there is a That is, the dictator has no legal single ruler “ordained by God” claim or basis of retaining power, who is the legal head of the but rules because they have the country. force to do so. Because the dictator has grabbed the power from the rightful leader, this is considered an illegitimate form of government. The monarch has a legitimate right to rule the country