FORMS OF GOVERNMENT

1. FORMS OF GOVERNMENT

2. Classifying Governments • Who can participate in the governing process? • The geographic distribution of governmental power within the state • The relationship between the legislative (lawmaking) and the executive (law-executing) branches of government.

3. Who can participate • To many people, the most meaningful of the classifications is the one the depends on the number of person who can take in the governing process.

4. Democracy • Supreme political authority rests with the people. • The people hold the sovereign power. • Government is only conducted by and with the consent of the people. • Abraham Lincoln gave immortality to this definition in his Gettysburg Address in 1863:”government of the people, by the people, for the people.”

5. Democracy • Can either be direct or indirect. • Direct democracy, also called a pure democracy, exists where the will of the people is translated to public policy (law) directly by the people themselves in mass meetings. • Does not exist on a national level. • Usually can work in small communities.

6. Democracy • Also called a representative democracy. • Indirect Democracy- representative democracy, a small group chosen by the people acts as the representatives to express the popular will • These agents of the people are responsible for day to day conduct of government. • Held accountable to the people for that conduct, especially in periodic elections.

7. Democracy • People can either express their satisfaction or disapproval by casting ballots. • Representative democracy is government by popular consent.

8. Democracy • Some people call the United States a republic. • Republic, sovereign power is held by those eligible to vote. • Political power is exercised by representatives chosen by and held responsible to those citizens. • In a democracy people are the only source for any and all of the government’s power.

9. Dictatorship • Those who rule cannot be held responsible to the will of the people. • The government is not accountable for its policies, nor for how they are carried out. • It is the oldest, and it is certainly the most common, form of government known to history

10. Dictatorship • Autocracy- is a government in which a single person holds unlimited political power. • Oligarchy- is a government in which power to rule is held by a small usually self appointed elite. • All dictatorships are authoritarian- those in power hold absolute and unchangeable authority over the people.

11. Dictatorship • Modern dictatorships have tended to be totalitarian. • They exercise complete power over nearly every aspect of human affairs. • Their power embraces all matters of human concern.

12. Examples of Dictatorships • Nazi Germany (1933-1945) • Soviet Union (from 1917-until the late 1980’s) • People’s Republic of China (1949-present)

13. Dictatorship • One person dictatorships are not that common today. • Example are Libya (Muammar al-Qaddafi) and some Arab and African states. • Several groups are usually behind a dictator; army, religious leaders, industrialists. • Typically are militaristic and power was gained through force. • After crushing opposition at home, these regimes mat turn to foreign aggression to enhance the country’s military power and prestige.

14. Geographic Distribution of Power • Unitary Government • Federal Government • Confederate Government

15. Unitary Government • All power held by a central agency. • Great Britain-Parliament holds all the power • All of the powers held by the government are concentrated in the central government. • Power can be given to local governments but only those that that central government decides to give them. • Most governments in the world are Unitarian

16. Unitary Government • All power is held by central government. • The government might not have all the power. • In Great Britain the power held by the government is limited. It is both unitary and at the same time democratic.

17. Federal Government • Power of government is divided between central and local governments. • An authority superior to both the central and local governments makes this division of powers on a geographic basis. • In the US the National Government has powers and the 50 states have others. • Division of power is set out in the constitution.

18. Federal Government • Constitution stands above both levels of government. • Can not be changed unless people acting through both the National Government and the States agree to change. • Each of the 50 State governments is unitary and not federal in form.

19. Confederate Government • Alliance of independent states a central organization. • The confederate government handles only those matters that member states assign to it. • Most often they do not have the powers to make laws that apply directly to individuals. • Typically the power of this government is limited to defense and trade. • Example-European Union

20. Confederate Government • This type of government is rare in the modern world. • EU has 25 members and was launched to find a common currency and to coordinate foreign defense. • In our own history • Articles of Confederation (1781-1789) • Confederate States of America (1861-1865)

21. Relationship Between Legislative and Executive Branches • Presidential Government- The executive and legislative branches, are separate and independent and coequal. • The President (chief executive ) is chosen independently of legislatures. • Holds office for a fixed term. • Has broad powers, not subject to direct control of the legislative branch. • U.S. leading example of presidential government. • Most presidential systems found in the Western Hemispehere.

22. Parlimentary Government • Parliamentary Government- the executive is a prime minister or premiere and the official’s cabinet. • Prime minister’s cabinet are members of the legislative branch, the Parliament. • Remains in office only as long as their policy and administration have the support of the majority of Parliament. • If vote of no confidence the Prime Minister and the Cabinet must resign and new government is formed

23. Parliamentary Government • Majority of the world’s governments are Parliamentary. • Avoids one of the major problems of the presidential form. • Prolonged conflict and sometimes deadlock between executive and legislative branches. • On the other hand the system of checks and balances are not part of the Parliamentary system.