Types of Government

I will be able to identify the types of government.

I will be able to evaluate the different political
and social systems.
I will be able to evaluate how different
governments treat citizens based on democratic
or non-democratic systems.

Bell Ringer
Explain two requirements to be a Nation-State (country).

Theocracy
Rule by religion
Government is ruled by religious institutions
or leaders.
Only a small group or one person is in charge.
Ex. Iran 1979-modern day (Ayatollah
Khomeini)
Islamic State (ISIS)
Switzerland under John Calvin 1536
(Christian theocracy)

Complete list of Modern Theocracies.

Afghanistan
Iran
Mauritania
Sudan
Saudi Arabia
Vatican (Pope)
Yemen
IS territory.

Autocracy

Government ruled by a single person, who hold

all of the power in the government.
Auto=one or self.
The State is more important than
Individuals. (Very few rights)
Two types:
Monarchy (King and/or Queen)
Authoritarian (totalitarian dictatorship)

Autocracy Power Map

Monarchy

Dictatorship

king or queen inherent

Takes absolute
unlimited power
power by force.

Laws
Monarch or Dictator imposes
laws on people. State is more important than individual
rights.

People
People ruled from above and no political voice

Monarchy

Rule based on one person.

This person is considered royal and passes
power to a family heir.
Absolute- Monarch that has extreme power ex.
Saudi Arabia
Constitutional- monarchs follow a constitution
ex. United Kingdom

Authoritarianism
Also called Dictatorship

A single person holds unlimited power.

Most modern examples are totalitarian (the dictator controls
ALL aspects of life)
Cult of Personality used to control every aspect of life.
Ex:
Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia 1960s-1979
Stalins Russia. 1920s-1949
Nazi Germany 1937-1945
North Korea1953- modern day

Cult of personality
Used in Totalitarian dictatorship in order to
control people.
Makes the leader, god, like.
Examples:

Oligarchy

Rule by a small group of people, usually

family, that control all aspects of
government.
Often times rulers are connected by family,
wealth, or military power.
Ex: Sparta, Renaissance Italy,
Africa during the Apartheid era

South

Modern examples- China and Venezuela

Democracy

Supreme authority rests in the hands of the

people.
Government operates in accordance to the
wishes of the people
Direct- People give their votes directly- ex.
Local Town hall meetings and modern
Switzerland
Representative- people elect representatives
for their vote U.S.A.

Direct
Democracy

Public decisions are made by all of the

people meeting together and voting, or
voting by ballot.
Ex: Ancient Athens
Modern Switzerland
Issues?

Direct Democracy Power Map

People

Laws
Created by the People

Representative Democracy
Also know as a Republic
Citizens elect leaders to represent them
and make decisions in government
Two types, Presidential and Parliamentary
Presidential= US
Parliamentary= Great Britain, Sweden, and
Japan. (Most popular form of Democracy in
the world)

Representative Democracy
Power Map
People
Representatives
Elected by the people

Laws
Enacted and enfroced by elected representatives

Parliamentary
Democracy
Voters elect lawmakers to represent them
in the nations parliament; the leader of
the Executive Branch, called the Prime
Minister, comes from the ruling party in
parliament.

Ex: Most European Nations, India

Parliamentary
Democracy Power Map
People vote for a political party
(Head of the
political party)

Legislature Prime Minister

Laws
Enacted and enforced by elected representatives

Presidential Democracy
Voters elect lawmakers to represent them
in the legislature and voters elect a
president to lead the government as head
of the executive branch.
Example-USA

Presidential Democracy
Power Map
People
Legislature

President

Laws
Enacted by legislature and enforced by president

Forms of Government Case Study poster.

Read though the case study of your country
and make a poster answering these following
questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Indentify your country and draw your county's flag.

Include what kind of government the country has.
Include important dates and places from your country.
Add important information for your country (Voting age,
political parties, election info, ect.)
5. Lastly, compare your country with the US. Give at least
three similarities and three differences between your
country and the US.