FOR LLM STUDENTS

1. DIFFERENT FORM OF
GOVERNMENT
ADV. MAYA K G

2. THEOCRACIES
 A system of government in which priests rule in the
name of God or a god.
 Non-democratic states based on a state religion
where the head of state is selected by some form of
religious hierarchy.

3. HISTORY OF THEOCRACIES
 Theocracies have changed over time as religions themselves have
changed. However, multiple ancient societies are recorded as having
been theocracies.
 For example, ancient emperors in multiple kingdoms across the
world were considered to be extensions of gods themselves,
predestined to rule. Then in the Dark Ages of Europe, bishops often
ruled in the absence of “true monarchs”, using religious teachings as
law of the land. In the Middle Ages, multiple kings came forward
claiming a divine right to the throne.
 It is also worth mentioning that it wasn’t until 1924 that Chinese
emperors were no longer considered to have heavenly powers.
Many Asian governments have been influenced by their religious
histories but are not currently theocracies.

4. COMPARISONS WITH OTHER FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
 A theocracy is different from other forms of government
(namely republics and democracies) that make it a point
to not be guided by religion. For example, the United
States government observes no particular religion in order
to allow individual citizens religious freedom.
 The Pledge of Allegiance does say “One nation, under
God”, but this was added in 1954 and has been attributed
to everything from a knee-jerk response to Communism to
corporations wanting the public to believe they were
“blessed”. It does not necessarily indicate the government
observes any particular god.

5.  It is also worth noting that theocracies greatly differ from
governments that have a state religion or are religiously
affiliated. For example, monarchs in the United Kingdom
have a long history of practicing Christianity. However,
the government itself does not make laws according to
the Bible, nor does it view its officials as divinely guided
or chosen.

6. MODERN THEOCRACIES
 Vatican City is the most famous Christian theocracy, with
the Pope as the head of state and voting limited to
bishops.
 Numerous Islamic theocracies also exist, such as
Afghanistan, Mauritania, Yemen, Iran and Somalia, where
the Islamic teachings of “Sharia” are considered law.
 Saudi Arabia is another example, going so far as to have
“religious police” that ensures compliance among citizens.

7. ABSOLUTE MONARCHIES
 Absolute monarchy[(or absolutism) is a form
of monarchy in which the monarch holds
supreme autocratic authority, principally not being
restricted by written laws, legislature, or
customs.[3] These are often hereditary monarchies.
In contrast, in constitutional monarchies, the head
of state's authority derives from and is legally
bounded or restricted by
a constitution or legislature.

8.  In Vatican City, Brunei, Swaziland, Saudi Arab and
Oman absolute power is vested in a single person
and the monarch is the
 head of the state as well as the government.
 Qatar is also an absolute monarchy, but the head of
state and head of the government are different
persons. The UAE is a
 federal presidential elected monarchy, which is a
federation of seven absolute monarchies or the
Emirates. The ruler of Abu
 Dhabi is President or the head of state while the
ruler of Dubai is the Prime Minister or the head of
the government.

9.  A few former absolute monarchies like Morocco and
Bhutan have turned into constitutional monarchies,
but the monarch still retains tremendous power in
forming national policies and passing laws. Nepal
swung between absolute and constitutional
monarchy for several years but in May this year, it
has finally abolished monarchy altogether. While the
powers vested in monarchs are being reduced by
most countries, Liechtenstein has moved towards
expanding the power of the monarch and the Prince
of Liechtenstein was given expanded powers after a
referendum that amended the constitution of the
country.

10. PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT
 a system of government having the real executive
power vested in a cabinet composed of members of
the legislature who are individually and collectively
responsible to the legislature
 Parliamentary government is a democratic form of
government in which the political party that wins the
most seats in the legislature or parliament during the
federal election forms the government.
 This majority party chooses a leader to be the Prime
Minister or Chancellor, and other high-ranking members
of the party make up the cabinet. The minority party
forms the opposition, and its job is to challenge the
majority party.
 If no party is able to win a majority in the election, a
coalition government will be formed with a few political
parties cooperating together.

11.  It's called 'parliamentary government' because all of
the power is vested in the parliament.
 In a presidential system like the United States, the
executive branch is separate, and the president is
popularly elected by the citizens of the nation.
 In a parliamentary system, the head of the
government is chosen from the parliament, and is
often one of the most senior members or ministers
in parliament, which is where we get the term
'Prime Minister.‘
 Often in a parliamentary system, the country will
have a Head of State, who is a ceremonial figure
like the Queen, but does not engage in legislating
or politics.

12.  Countries with a parliamentary government
 Parliamentary government originated in Great
Britain, and now countries all over the world
use this form of democracy.

13. DIFFERENT KINDS OF
PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENTS
 There are more than half a dozen different kinds of
parliamentary governments. They operate similarly
but often have different organizational charts or
names for positions.

14. PARLIAMENTRY REPUBLIC
 In a parliamentary republic, there is both a
president and a prime minister, and a parliament
acting as the highest legislative body. Finland
operates under a parliamentary republic. The prime
minister is chosen by parliament and acts as the
head of government, a position responsible for
directing the activities of the many federal agencies
and departments. The president is elected by
voters and oversees foreign policy and the national
defense; he serves as the head of state.

15. PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY
 In this form of government, voters choose
representatives in regular elections. One of the
largest parliamentary democracies is Australia,
though its position is unique.
 While Australia is an independent nation, it shares a
monarchy with the United Kingdom. Queen
Elizabeth II serves as the head of state, and she
appoints a governor-general. Australia also has a
prime minister.

16. FEDERAL PARLIAMENTARY
REPUBLIC
 In this form of government, the prime minister
serves as the head of government; he is chosen by
the parliaments at the national and state levels,
such as the system in Ethiopia.

17. FEDERAL PARLIAMENTARY
DEMOCRACY
 In this form of government, the party with the
greatest representation controls the government
and the office of prime minister. In Canada, for
example, the Parliament is made up of three parts:
the Crown, the Senate and the House of Commons.
For a bill to become law, it must go through
three readings followed by Royal Assent.

18. SELF-GOVERNING PARLIAMENTARY
DEMOCRACY
 This is similar to a parliamentary democracy; the
difference is that the nations using this form of
government are often colonies of another, larger
country. The Cook Islands, for example, operate
under a self-governing parliamentary democracy;
the Cook Islands were a colony of New Zealand
and now have what is called a "free association"
with the larger nation.

19. COMMON WEALTH REALMS
 Most people know her as the Queen of England,
but Elizabeth II is actually the monarch of 16
different countries. A vestige of Great Britain's
former colonial empire, these states, known as the
commonwealth realms, recognize Elizabeth as their
Queen, but are otherwise wholly independent
sovereign states.

20.  The Commonwealth realm is any of the 16
sovereign states within the Commonwealth of
Nations, which treat QueenElizabeth II as its
monarch.
 The realms which include Canada, several West
Indian islands, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and
a few small Pacific islands are completely
sovereign states, but Queen Elizabeth II is their
ceremonial head of state.
 As the queen lives in the UK, her constitutional
functions are performed by the Governors General
of these nations, who are appointed by the queen
after consulting the elected head of the
government.

21. COSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY
 Where a prime minister is the active head of the
executive branch of government and also leader of the
legislature.
 The head of state is a constitutional monarch who only
exercises his or her powers with the consent of the
government and is largely a figurehead.,
 In this form of government, a monarch serves as a
ceremonial head of state. Their powers are limited; the
real power in a parliamentary constitutional
monarchy rests with the prime minister. The United
Kingdom is the best example of this form of
government. The monarch and head of state in the
United Kingdom is Queen Elizabeth II.

22.  constitutional monarchy is a form of government in
which a monarch acts as head of state within the
parameters of a written (i.e., codified), unwritten (i.e.,
uncodified) or blended constitution. It differs from
absolute monarchy in that an absolute monarch serves
as the sole source of political power in the state and is
not legally bound by any constitution.
 A constitutional monarchy is the form of government in
which a monarch is the head of state, but unlike in an
absolute monarchy, not the only or even the main
source of political power.
 Political power is vested in the head of the government
who is elected by common citizens. Apart from the 16
commonwealth realms, there are 21 constitutional
monarchies. There are 2 constitutional monarchies in
Africa, 8 in Asia, 10 in Europe and 1 in Oceania.

23.  Most constitutional monarchies employ a parliamentary
system in which the Monarch may have strictly
Ceremonial duties or may have Reserve Powers,
depending on the constitution. They have a directly or
indirectly elected prime minister who is the head of
government, and exercises effective political power.
 a constitutional monarchy's executive authority is vested
in the head of state. Today constitutional monarchy is
almost always combined with representative democracy,
and represents (as a theory of civics) a compromise
between total trust in the political class, and in well-bred
and well-trained monarchs raised for the role from birth.
Though the king or queen may be regarded as the
government's symbolic head, it is the Prime Minister
who actually governs the country.

24. SEMI-CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHIES
 The prime minister (or equivalent) is the nation's
active executive, but the monarch still has
considerable political powers that can be used at
his/her own independent discretion.

25. FEDERAL PARLIAMENTARY
CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY
 In the only instance of this government, Malaysia,
a monarch serves as the head of state and a prime
minister serves as the head of government. The
monarch is a king who serves as the "paramount
ruler" of the land. The two houses of the parliament
consist of one that is elected and one that is non-
elected.

26. PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRATIC
DEPENDENCY
 In this form of government, the head of state
appoints a governor to oversee the executive
branch of a country that is dependent on the
homeland. The governor is the head of
government and works with a cabinet appointed
by a premier.
 A legislature is elected by voters. Bermuda is one
example of a parliamentary democratic
dependency. Its governor is not elected by voters
but appointed by the queen of England. Bermuda
is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom.

27. PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM
 The presidential system is a form of government in
which the president is the chief executive and is
elected directly by the people. In this system all
three branches – executive, legislative, and
judiciary – are constitutionally independent of each
other, and no branch can dismiss or dissolve any
other. The president is responsible for enforcing
laws, the legislature for making them, and the
courts for judging. Each is given specific powers to
check and balance the others.

28.  This system was invented by America’s founders to
provide an alternative to the parliamentary form of
government. It became known as ‘presidential’
because a directly elected president was its most
salient difference. This doesn’t mean that the
president holds supremacy like the prime minister
or parliament. In fact, power in the presidential
system is divided among many, so no individual or
institution can ever become supreme.This rejection
of legislative supremacy is not the only fundamental
difference.
 Since the presidential system was designed for a
full republic, not a constitutional monarchy, it
doesn’t have a head of state. The government is
not just an executive committee called the Cabinet,
it’s all three branches.

29.  The President, Congress (with two chambers:
House of Representatives and Senate) and
Supreme Court, work together to constitute a
government, and all report directly to the people.
 Elections are therefore held more frequently than
the parliamentary system; every two years for the
legislature, and every four for the presidency.
 The president and legislators are elected for fixed
terms. The judges are appointed for life, jointly by
the president, who nominates, and the Senate,
which approves.

30.  Total executive responsibility is assigned to the
president as an individual, not collectively to a
council of ministers, as in the parliamentary
system.
 The president’s cabinet is not made of legislators
but of any individuals considered able by the
president and approved by the Senate.
 In fact, legislators are barred from holding
executive offices, and vice versa.
 Conversely, the president cannot make laws. He
can veto, but the legislature can override if there is
broad consensus.

31.  The presidential system is designed for a
federation, not for running states from the center.
 Accordingly, its state governments are independent,
cannot be dissolved, and are required to be self
sufficient.
 Federal and state governments are granted
separate and specific powers; residual powers are
left with the states.

33.  The presidential system
--grants limited powers, empowers state governments,
--separates the three branches into different
institutions,
--enables the minority to make laws,
--grants judiciary the power of review,
--and above all, gives the people a direct say.
 Direct elections at all levels of government – federal,
state, and local – is this system’s best known
feature.

34. SEMI PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM
 Semi-presidentialism is where a constitution
includes a popularly elected fixed-term president
and a prime minister and cabinet who are
collectively responsible to the legislature.
 Systems in which a popularly elected president
shares executive power with a prime minister (what
we call semi-presidentialism) have been enjoying a
growing acceptance among countries that were
democratised since 1974.

35.  Based on my own calculations, around 60 per cent
of democracies (18 of 30) in the former communist
region have adopted semi-presidential systems
after the fall of communism.
 But only 30 per cent chose a parliamentarian
system, and 10 per cent adopted presidential
systems in Eastern Europe.
 Semi-presidential systems are not limited to the
post-communist countries. Several democracies in
Africa, Asia, Latin America, and southern Europe
have also embraced semi-presidentialism.

36.  A semi-presidential system of government
represents a republic ruled by an elected
president, a prime minister, and a cabinet. The
president is usually elected and is meant to serve
for the fixed term specified by the constitution.
 Lately, semi-presidential governments have
become popular, especially in Western countries.
This system of governance has taken various
forms in different countries.
 In some countries, the president and prime
minister have equal powers. However, in other
countries, either the prime minister or the president
exhibits more executive powers than the other.

37.  Another form is where the president and the
parliament share powers so that the prime minister
answers to both the president and the legislature.
 Examples of countries that practice a semi-
presidential system of governance are Ireland,
Poland, Slovenia, Austria,
Portugal, Romania, Mongolia, South
Korea, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Finland, Russia,
Lithuania, Sri Lanka, Haiti, Namibia, and Guyana.

38. FEATURES OF A SEMI-PRESIDENTIAL
GOVERNANCE
 Semi-presidential governments will either be
president-parliamentary or premier-presidential.
President-parliamentary republics are closer than
pure presidentialism. In this case, the president is
elected by the electorates. When they assume
office, they choose the parliament and the cabinet
who are accountable to both the legislature and the
president. The prime minister can be removed by
parliament’s “vote of no confidence” or a dismissal
by the president. Countries with president-
parliamentary governance include Mozambique,
Taiwan, Senegal, and Portugal.

39.  On the other hand, the premier-presidential style of
governance entails which resembles pure
parliamentarism. In such a case, the prime minister
and cabinet are selected by the members of
parliament and they are exclusively responsible to
the legislature. Besides, it is the sole prerogative of
parliament to dismiss the cabinet and prime
minister through a “vote of no confidence”. The
president is not involved in the selection and
dismissal of these two executive arms of
government. Examples of such republics are Niger,
Cape Verde, Mali, East Timor, and Lithuania.

40. SIGNIFICANCE OF EMBRACING SEMI-
PRESIDENTIAL GOVERNANCE
 Most governments resorted to semi-presidential
governments to guard their nations against
presidential dictatorship witnessed in many
countries across the world such as Libya, Algeria,
Kazakhstan, Belarus, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and
Cambodia. It is a means of achieving political
stability as well as providing additional checks and
balances to the seat of the president.
 Secondly, the share of power between the prime
minister, president, cabinet, and legislature provide
effective leadership of the country practicing semi-
presidential governance. In spite of these benefits,
one disadvantage of semi-presidential governance
is the confusion as to the specific roles of the prime
minister and the president.

41. PRESIDENTIAL ISLAMIC REPUBLIC
 An Islamic Republic is any state in the world that is
officially governed by Islamic law, which is also known
as Sharia or Sharia law.
 Presently, there are four such states, namely the Islamic
Republics of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Mauritania, and
Iran.
 The first nation to adopt Islamic law and the term
“Islamic Republic” was Pakistan back in 1956 while
Mauritania was second after adopting it on November
28, 1958.
 Iran came third after adopting the name after the
conclusion of the Iranian Revolution of 1979 while
Afghanistan did it recently in 2004 after the collapse of
the Taliban administration.
 Despite the fact these nations are governed by Islamic
law, their individual laws and style of government are
quite different.

42. FEDERAL PRESIDENTIAL REPUBLIC
 Comoros is a federal presidential republic, whereby the
President of the country is both head of state and head
of government.
 The President of the Comoros is both the Chief of State
and the Head of Government. Since Independence, the
country has experienced political upheaval through
numerous coups and military unrest. Presidential
elections are held every four years where the office
holder is elected from one of the three islands in a
rotating manner. The Comoro Islands have a
decentralized system of governance whereby the
Islands run most of their affairs.
 The central government is only charged with critical
issues such as foreign policy, banking, and defense.
Duties of the President include representing the country
in foreign events, appointing judges to the Supreme
Court, and leading the executive arm of government.

43. ONE-PARTY STATES
 Non-democratic states in which political power is
concentrated within a single political party whose
operations are largely
 fused with the government hierarchy.
 People's Republic of China ( Communist Party) ( list)
 Cuba ( Communist Party) ( list)
 Eritrea ( People's Front) ( list)
 Democratic People's Republic of Korea ( Workers' Party) (
list)
 Laos ( Revolutionary (Communist) Party) ( list)
 Syria ( Arab Socialist Ba'th Party) ( list)
 Turkmenistan ( Democratic Party) ( list)
 Vietnam ( Communist Party) ( list)

44. THANK YOU