TYPES OF GOVERNMENTS
From Autocracy to Democracy
Instructions: Follow along and fill in the boxes on
your chart to match the information in the slides.
AUTOCRACY
ROOT OF WORD
RULED BY
auto- = self-acting
-cracy = government
One all-powerful person
EXAMPLE
DESCRIPTION
The chief of a tribe
or clan of people
rules without
question.
Oldest and most common
form of gov’t
•Leaders can rule decisively
with little opposition to their
decision
•Other groups have little voice
in decisions
AUTOCRACY
Where did
dictatorships
come from?
One different
type of an
autocracy is a
DICTATOR
DICTATOR
ROOT OF WORD
RULED BY
dictatus = to assert
One autocrat who rules
absolutely
EXAMPLE
DESCRIPTION
Kim Jung Il in
North Korea is a
totalitarian
dictator and uses
his power to make
himself rich
•Dictators
often crush
opposition by jailing and
executing their opponents
•Smart dictators will often use
their power to industrialize
their countries quickly
AUTOCRACY
Where did
monarchies
come from?
Another type
of autocracy
is a
MONARCHY
MONARCHY
ROOT OF WORD
RULED BY
mon- = one
-archy = ruler
One autocrat who gains
their power through birth
EXAMPLE
DESCRIPTION
The King of
Saudi Arabia
gained his
position through
his birthright,
and one of his
sons will take
over when he
•A
monarchy can be
passed for hundreds of
years from parent to
child
•This can be very stable,
but can fall apart when a
country cannot decide
who should be the next
AUTOCRACY
Where did
oligarchies
come from?
Some
autocracies
are ruled by
more than
one person.
This is known
as a
OLIGARCHY
OLIGARCHY
ROOT OF WORD
RULED BY
olig- = few
-archy = ruler
A few people sharing power
together
EXAMPLE
China today is run
by a small group of
communist leaders
that make decisions
for the country
DESCRIPTION
•Similar
to autocracy, but a
small group rules instead of
one person
•Oligarchies tend to serve the
needs of a few people in
society rather than the whole
of society
MONARCHY
Where did
democracies
come from?
•Monarchies conquered the rest
of the world and established
empires.
•These empires opened new
trade routes, and made common
citizens very wealthy.
•These citizens began
demanding new power, and
through revolutions they
established
DEMOCRACY
DEMOCRACY
ROOT OF WORD
RULED BY
Demo = people
-cracy = government
The citizens of a country make
decision, often through voting
EXAMPLE
DESCRIPTION
•All
The United States
elects officials to
make decisions for
the citizens of the
country
citizens have a voice in
government
•The majority decision rules
•The minority loses out
•Many competing groups
means that democracies can
be unstable
THEOCRACY
ROOT OF WORD
RULED BY
Theo = religious
beliefs
-cracy = government
Religious leaders who make
decisions based on their belief
systems
EXAMPLE
DESCRIPTION
•Theocracies
Iran is ruled by a
group of religious
scholars who make
decisions based on
their holy book
are run by people
who try to maintain a lifestyle
that their religion approves of
•People of one religion can live
the way they believe their
religion requires them to
•People of other religions are
often oppressed and cannot
make their own choices