Chapter 1
Section 2
Forms of Government
Objectives
• Describe the differences between monarchies,
republics, and dictatorships.
• Identify the advantages and disadvantages of
features of unitary, federal, and confederal
systems of government.
• List the major advantages and disadvantages
of presidential and parliamentary forms of
government.
Opener
• Choose one or two countries that you would
like to visit or live in.
• What are your reasons for wanting to go
there?
Role-playing
Sources of Authority
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1. Absolute Monarchy
2. Authoritarian government
3. Classical republic
4. Despotism
5. Feudal country
6. Liberal democracy
7. Totalitarian state
Role Playing
• We are going to play a game similar to
charades in which each group acts out their
assigned form of government and the other
groups guess which one is being portrayed.
Reflection Discussion
• What are some of the differences in control of
authority among each of the forms of rule?
• Remember that governments vary not only
based on who has authority but also on what
authority each level of government exerts.
Activity
Power Among Levels of Government
• Directions: Create a table comparing and
contrasting the features of governments.
• Headings: federal, confederal, and unitary for
the various systems of government.
Power within Levels of Government
• Presidential Systems:
A system of government in which the legislative and
executive branches operate independently of each
other.
United States: has a presidential system of government.
Each branch of government acts as a check on the
others’ powers.
In some countries one branch of government may have
more power that the others. France would be an
example of this type. The president can dissolve part
of the legislature and call for new elections.
Parliamentary Systems
• Parliamentary System:
A system of government in which power is
concentrated in a legislature. The legislature
selects one of its members, usually called a prime
minister, as the nation’s principal leader and
other legislative members serve as the leader’s
cabinet.
The chief executive of the government and the
head of state are separate offices. United
Kingdom, head of state is a monarch. Israel, the
head of state is a president.
Country Activity
-Choose a country where you might want to
live.
-Research the form of rule and level of
government.
-Discuss whether you would still want to live in
this country. Explain your reasoning.
Dictatorships
• Conduct research on dictatorships of the 1900s.
• Write a paper about a dictator that discusses
what country was under the dictator’s rule, how
the dictator obtained power, abuses that
occurred under the dictator, and what happened
to the dictator.
• Write your feelings about the actions of the
dictator and whether or not you feel that a
dictatorship can ever promote the public good.