Types of Governments
World and U.S. Studies
There are six types of governments
you need to know
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Absolute monarchy
Constitutional monarchy
Parliamentary democracy
Presidential democracy
Theocracies
Dictatorships
1. Absolute Monarchy
• Absolute monarchy is an idealized form of
government, a monarchy where the ruler
has the power to rule their country and
citizens freely with no laws or legallyorganized direct opposition telling the
monarchy what to do.
• In order of importance:
1. King
2. People
Kings and Queens
• Get their power
through birthright or
heredity.
• Raised to become
head of state.
• Highly educated and
cultured
• Louis XIV of France
was an absolute
monarch. (16811715)
Today’s absolute monarchies
1. Swaziland
2. Vatican City
3. Saudi Arabia
4. Oman
2. Constitutional Monarchies
• A constitutional monarchy is a political
system in which the head of state is a
king or queen ruling to the extent
allowed by a constitution.
• In order of importance:
1. The constitution
2. King or Queen
3. People
The biggest is…
• United Kingdom with
the commonwealth
nations of
• New Zealand
• Canada
• Jamaica
• Queen Elizabeth II is
the monarch
Other constitutional monarchies
3. Parliamentary democracy
• This political system is based on
the idea that Parliament is
supreme.
• The people choose
representatives at regular
elections
Who has this?
• Australia
• The people elect the
parliament. Then
Parliament makes the
laws and decisions for
the country.
• Then Parliament
elects a president.
4. Presidential democracy
• The U.S.A.
• The people elect the
president to a 4 year
term.
• Congress is elected
separately.
• All branches of
government work
together within a
system of checks and
balances.
Is this good?
• It is effective, everyone can be heard.
Every voice counts.
• It is ineffective, it takes time to hear
all points of views, discuss and vote.
5. Theocracy
• A government by a god or priests.
Who has it?
• In the contemporary world, Iran and
Afghanistan are considered theocracies
because ultimate political authority in each
is in the hands of religious leaders and a
fundamentalist regime whose purpose is
to organize society under religious law.
6. Dictatorship
• A form of government in which
absolute power is concentrated in a
dictator.
• What is a dictator - a ruler who is
unconstrained by law and usually rules
with terror.
• A dictator can do what he wants, when he
wants to whomever he wants. If you
question a dictator’s rule you can be killed.
The World's Worst Current Day Dictators
1.Kim Jong-il (North Korea)
2.King Fahd and Prince Abdullah (Saudi Arabia)
3.Charles Taylor (Liberia)
4.Than Shwe (former Burma, now Myanmar)
5.Teodoro Obiang Nguema (Equatorial Guinea)
6.Saparmurat Niyazov (Turkmenistan)
7.Muammar Gaddafi (Libya)
8.Fidel Castro (Cuba)
9.Alexander Lukashenko (Belarus)
10.Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe)
What is better?
There can be pros and cons for all forms of government.
• Try to name one pro and one con for:
1. absolute monarchy
2. constitutional monarchy
3. parliamentary democracy
4. presidential democracy
5. theocracy
6. dictatorship
Now let’s rate the forms of government
1=best 6=worse