 Autocracy
 Paradox
of
Democracy
 Oligarchy
 Confederation  Social Contract
 Judicial powers  Direct
democracy
 State
 Sovereign
 Presidential
 Evolutionary
Government
 Public Policies  Representative
democracy
 Parliamentary
 Unitary System
government
 Constitution
 Divine Right
 Government
 Democracy
 Legislative
Powers
 Government:
Institution that makes and
enforces law and public policy for a territory.
 Focus of all definitions:



POWER
AUTHORITY
LEGITIMACY
Public Policy – All the different things a
government decides to do. (Defense, Education,
Crime, Health Care, etc.)
 Government Breakdown –
 -Legislative Branch – To Make laws
 -Executive Branch – To execute or enforce the
laws
 -Judicial Branch – To interpret the laws


*Constitution – A body of fundamental laws
setting out the principles, structures, and
processes of a government.
 Government
is considered to be one of
the four requirements of a state
(state=dominant political unit in the
world, the word nation is thought by some
to have an ethnic component)
 The other requirements?



Population
Territory
Sovereignty

Evolutionary – government grew as society became more
complicated (from family to clan, etc.)

Divine Right – rulers get the power to rule from God

Force – the strong conquer the weak

Social Contract – people give their consent to be governed in
exchange for protection of their rights
The most discussed
political theory of the
time was “social contract
theory.”
 The founders knew more
about what they didn’t
want in government than
what they did want in
government.

James Madison – Father of
our Constitution -




John Locke focused on the
freedom of the individual and the
use of reason. Locke stated that
it is rational for subjects to
protest against injustice in a ruler.
In Two Treatises Locke argues the
natural reason of human beings
allows them to choose to form
government. The people give
their consent (called popular
consent).
Locke (like Rousseau later) uses
the word “contract” to describe
the relationship between ruler
and ruled.
The people choose the
government deemed the most
appropriate. Laws must govern
rulers as well as the ruled.
We the People of the United States,
in Order to form a more perfect
Union, establish Justice, insure
domestic Tranquility, provide for
the common defence, promote the
general Welfare, and secure the
Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and
our Posterity, do ordain and
establish this Constitution for the
United States of America.
To form a more perfect union – Articles of
Confederation, Constitution.
Establish Justice - “Equal justice for all”, fair and
impartial.
Insure Tranquility – Federalist papers #51 , “If men
were angels, no government would be necessary”, James Madison.
Provide Common Defense – Defend a nation against
foreign enemies
Promote the General Welfare – Public Schools, water
we drink, air we breathe.
Secure the blessing of Liberty – “God who gave us
life also gave us liberty as well”. “Patriotism and
eternal vigilance is the price of freedom”. – Thomas
Jefferson
Classifying Governments – No two government models
are exactly alike. We will look at 3 classifications to
determine government type.
**Who can participate in the governing process.
The number of people that participate in the
governing process.
*Examples:
Dictatorship -one person
Democracy – direct, indirect,
Representative – all accountable to its people.
Unitary System


All power comes from the central
government – local government
implements policy

All dictatorships are unitary

Many small countries are unitary
Confederal System


All power comes from regional/local
governments – central government
implements policy

Confederal governments fall apart
Federal System


All power comes from the people

Regional/local government and central
government have separate areas of control

The U.S. was the first federal system
Unitary Government – (Britain) All powers held by a single
central agency (Parliament).
Federal Government – (U.S.) Powers of government are
divided between central and several local governments.
(Division of Power) on a geographic basis cannot be
changed.
Confederation – An alliance of independent states. The
central government is weaker than the separate states
usually handling only defense and trade. (The confederate
south)
The relationship between the legislative,
executive branches.
Branches of government are separate, independent of one
another, but co-equal. (Presidential Government)(U.S.)
BIG QUESTION FOR GOVERNMENTS: How much order
should the government provide and how much freedom
should the people have?
Autocracy
No Freedom
Oligarchy
Democracy
Lots of Freedom
Substantive View
Procedural View
Concerned with concepts of
civil liberties, civil rights,
values:
social rights, and economic
 Universal participation: who
rights
should participate in
 A country is judged on what
decision-making?
rights it affords its citizens
 Political equality: how much
should one’s vote count?
 Majority rule: how many
votes are needed for a
decision?
 Concerned
with three

Majoritarian: government by the majority of the people
 Emphasizes elections as the primary part of democracy
 Assumes public is knowledgeable enough to participate
 Pluralist: government by people operating in competing groups
 Emphasizes political parties, interest groups, etc. as primary
part of democracy
 Assumes public is able to deliberate and compromise
 Elitist: government by a small group of people
 Emphasizes that elections are irrelevant in democracy
 Assumes a small group controls decision-making and that
decisions benefit them primarily

 Greek


“Demos” meaning common people
“Kratos” meaning “power”
 What


word
constitutes a democracy?
First idea: democracy is a form of government
(procedural democracy)
Second idea: democracy is about the substance of
policies (substantive democracy)

Democracy = a form of government
where leaders answer to the
people since the people are the
source of all political power.

Dictatorship = an authoritarian
form of government where leaders
have absolute power and do not
answer to the people.

Citizens in democracies generally
have many rights and freedoms.

Citizens in dictatorships generally
have few rights and freedoms.

Most modern democracies have
elections, constitutions and
powerful courts and legislatures.

There may be no elections, nor
constitution, nor meaningful courts
and legislatures.
Democracy
Dictatorship

Democracy can be direct or indirect

In an indirect democracy there are
elections.

Indirect democracy = representative
democracy = republic

Popular consent is key to democracy
– expressed through elections.

Democracies can be structured as
presidential democracies or
parliamentary democracies.

Democracies can be structured as
either unity, confederal, or federal
systems.

In a presidential system, the
legislative and executive branches
are separate and coequal.

Legislative and executive branches
are elected separately, generally by
the people directly.

Checks and balances between the
legislative and executive branches
are common.

The U.S. has a presidential form of
government.
Presidential

In a parliamentary system the leader
of the executive branch of
government is also part of the
legislative branch.

The legislative branch is generally
elected by the people directly and is
call a “parliament.”

The leader of the executive branch is
the leader of the majority party in
the legislature and is called a “prime
minister.”

Some parliamentary democracies also
have a president, but in these cases,
the president generally performs
more ceremonial duties.
Parliamentary
VI.
Paradox of Democracy
Potential for conflict between individual
freedom and majority rule.
Solution: Constitutional government.
*Constitution – A body of fundamental
laws setting out the principles,
structures, and processes of a
government.
VII. Types of democracy
Direct – all members of the society vote on
and participate in each issue.
Representative democracy – a government
rooted in the consent of the governed
(we elect decision-makers)
Four descriptions of Democracy

Representatives are selected by vote of
all the people.

Elections are open to competition.

Candidates and voters can freely
express themselves.

Representatives are selected
periodically.
 Worth
of the individual
 Equality of all persons
 Majority rule, minority rights
 Necessary compromise
 Individual freedom
Foundations of Democracy
1.A recognition of the fundamental worth and
dignity of every person
2.A respect of the equality of all persons
3.A faith in majority rule and insistence upon
minority rights
4.An acceptance of the necessity of compromise
5.An insistence upon the widest possible degree
of freedom.







Dictators often take control through
violence in the form of a coups d'état or
overthrow.
Many dictators have military backgrounds or
alliances with the military.
Dictators rule with absolute authority
(power is NOT limited by a constitution nor
any other means).
Most dictatorships are totalitarian in nature
– the government exercises total control
over all activities (entertainment, media,
etc.).
Dictatorships may have elections, but they
are not competitive nor free and fair.
Dictatorships may have branches of
government, but the only branch with real
power is the executive.
Dictatorship is the oldest form of
government.
Oligarchy = government where a

Autocracy = government where
one person holds unlimited
political power.


Leadership is often hereditary.


Death of a leader can result in a
power vacuum.
The group with power is usually selfappointed (they put themselves in the
position of power).

If elections occur, they are generally
within one political party. Often only
one political party exists.

Communist countries are often
oligarchies.
small elite group holds unlimited
political power.
North Korea
Autocracy
China
Oligarchy
 Divide
in Half.
 The groups choose one person from group to
represent the others up front.
 What type of government are we illustrating?
Vs.
VS.
This is the best school and you have to
agree.
Groups
 1.
 2.
 3.
 4.
Four descriptions of Democracy

Representatives are selected by vote of
all the people.

Elections are open to competition.

Candidates and voters can freely
express themselves.

Representatives are selected
periodically.
 1.
 2.
 3.
 4.
 5.
Foundations of Democracy
1.A recognition of the fundamental worth and
dignity of every person
2.A respect of the equality of all persons
3.A faith in majority rule and insistence upon
minority rights
4.An acceptance of the necessity of compromise
5.An insistence upon the widest possible degree
of freedom.