2. Types of government define who rules and who participates There are three types of governments: Autocracy: Rule by one Oligarchy: Rule by few Democracy: Rule by all Forms: Direct and Representative Methods: Parliamentary and Presidential
3. Governments distribute power through systems. Unitary All decisions and power held at a central level Federal Decisions and power split between national and state or provincial governments
4. Autocracy Government in which the power to govern is held by one person. Generally the power to rule is inherited or taken by military force.
5. There are three types of autocratic government. Dictatorships Absolute Monarchies Constitutional Monarchies
6. Dictatorship A dictatorship consists of rule by one person or a group of people often taken by force. Very few dictators admit they are dictators and almost always claim to be leaders of democracies
7. Dictatorship Description A leader has total power Examples include: Cuba (Castro) & North Korea (Kim Jong Il) .
8. Monarchy A monarchy consists of rule by a king/queen or “emperor”. Absolute Constitutional
9. Absolute Monarchy King or Queen holds all of the power to make laws and govern) Example Louis XIV in France during the 1700s
10. Constitutional Monarchy King/Queen has power that is limited by a set of rules called a constitution) and shares power with elected officials Example Present day England
11. Oligarchy When a family or small group of people control all of the power to govern and make laws The group gets their power from either military, wealth or social status. Elections may be held but offer only one candidate. Examples China Only one party (communist) allowed
12. Theocracy type of oligarchy where religious leaders govern Example Iran
15. Direct Democracy Description The power of government is controlled directly by the people Everyone votes on every issue Example: In some American states, town meetings are held where every citizen votes by publicly proclaiming their vote.
16. Direct democracy is impossible in a political system containing more than a few people. In a representative democracy, delegates are selected by the people through a defined process to make and enforce laws.
17. Representative Democracy The people elect representatives who then make decisions for them Example: Canada, United States
20. Parliaments are bicameral in that they have two houses where decisions are made House of Commons The political party with the most elected members in the House of Commons forms the government. The leader of that party becomes the Prime Minister. Senate or House of Lords Elected government chooses people to govern in the senate. Parliamentary Democracy
21. Presidential Democracy Voters elect legislators and also elect, directly or indirectly,the President. In a presidential system, voters have a more direct say about who will serve as President
23. Canada’s form of government can be described as A constitutional monarchy characterized by a federation of provinces that operate within a democratic parliamentary system.
