Forms of Government
Q: Who are these people?
Queen
Elizabeth II
Type #1: Monarchies and Theocracies
• Authority derived from a “higher” power (i.e. GOD)
• Officials and institutions are either based on hereditary or religion
• Subtypes: Absolute Monarchy, Constitutional Monarchy &
Theocracy
Absolute Monarchy
• Belief = power to rule given
to appointed monarch by
divine birth or divine right
• King or Queen has absolute
power and usually passes
rule down on a hereditary
basis
• Exs: Past European nations
(England, France, Spain,
etc…), Russian Czars,
Chinese emperors
-- Today = Brunei,
Oman, Swaziland, Saudi
Arabia, Qatar
Queen Elizabeth I of England
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
King Mswati of Swaziland
Q: What area of the world are absolute
monarchies centered in today?
Constitutional Monarchy
• Def: King or Queen has powers limited by a Constitution
and elected representatives (i.e. Parliament & Prime
Minister) are the real heads of government
• *British Monarchy Reading
• Exs: Britain, Japan, Imperial France under Napoleon
Queen
Elizabeth II
of Britain
Emperor
Akihito of
Japan
Current Constitutional Monarchies
Theocracy
• Def: Head of State is selected by the state church and is also a
religious leader. The official religion of the country often persecutes
other religions and requires strict adherence to religious laws.
• Exs: Iran, Indonesia, Puritan New England
• Exs of Iranian laws (patriarchy):
-- Any women dressed indecently in public shall be subjected to
74 lashes with the whip
-- Any women applying for a passport must have written
permission from her husband
-- The penalty for fornication (i.e. sex by unmarried people) is
100 lashes for either male or female
-- Women in Iran may not legally inherit the same share as a
male, the women’s share is legally set at ½ of a male share due
to her value in Islamic law as being set at ½ of a male’s value
Ex of Iranian abuse of Women:
• Family courts do not provide women any protection from
abusive husbands. The plight of the Iranian women is depicted
in the story of a woman saying:
"I was married at the age of 12, and I had my first child when I was
13. My husband was unemployed and we fought all the time. We
never applied for a divorce because I was afraid of losing my child.
Finally one night, he poured a bucket of acid over my body and I
was completely burned. When I rushed to the sink to flush my face
and body. I realized that he had shut off the main water supply. I
was taken to the hospital. My operation was held up pending
advance money for the surgery, and permission from my husband
to operate on my face. My mother sold all of her valuables and
provided the money. My husband said he would only permit my
operation if I consented to not seeing my children for the rest of my
life. Finally, with hospital's pressure on the family court they
allowed me to receive the operation on my face and body. “
-- Source: UN Report on the plight of women in Iran
Grand Ayatollah Khamenei of Iran
Pros and Cons of
Monarchies/Theocracies
• Pros:
• Cons:
Type #2: Dictatorships
• Authority derived from wealth, military power, status etc… and is
maintained through the use of force
• A dictatorship means that all governmental power is concentrated in
the hands of 1 person
• Subtypes = Junta, Totalitarian Regime, Communist Dictatorship
*Mind of a Monster Reading
Junta
• Def: a Junta is a form of government where a group of military
leaders takes control of the government usually by force (coup)
• Military leaders usually maintain power but sometimes
promise to hand it over to civil authorities
• Exs: Egypt (present), Thailand (1980’s), Nigeria, Burma (1990’s)
Egyptian President
Mohamed Morsi
Totalitarian Regime
• Def: governmental system which imposes absolute control on
all aspects of civilians’ lives.
• Greatest examples are the Fascist dictatorships of Italy and
Nazi Germany in the 1930’s/40’s
-- Adolf Hitler and Mussolini used military conquest,
racism, and patriotism to control the population
• Present Day exs: North Korea, Cuba
Kim Jong Un North
Korean leader
Fascist Quotes Activity
Communist Dictatorship
• Def: government run by one party (Communist party) that
dominates all aspects of life and promises civilians a very
basic standard of living. Government also controls most
major elements of the economy.
• Exs: Soviet Union, Communist China, Vietnam
Joseph
Stalin
of
USSR
Mao
Zedong
of China
Journal Q: What is the worst kind of
dictatorship? Why? (please list and
describe at least two specific reasons)
Dictatorship Pros and Cons
• Same as Monarchies
Type #3: Democracies
• Authority derived from the people, who elect their leaders
in elections
• Most democracies specify rules for elections and
representatives in a document (i.e. Constitution)
• Subtypes: Representative Democracy, Direct Democracy,
Republic
Republic
• Def: form of government in which rulers are elected or
appointed rather than assigned based on birth
• The term republic derives from the Roman Republic and
republics can be democratic or undemocratic
• Exs: Roman Republic, USA, India, Israel, Mexico
Representative Democracy
• Def: government in which the people elect a certain number of
representatives who speak on their behalf & govern the nation
• Power of representatives is limited by a formal document (Constitution)
• Economically these types of government are usually capitalistic (total
private ownership of property) or Socialistic (government owns some
essential industries and provides all citizens with basic necessities)
• Exs: India, USA, Mexico, Brazil, France
– American Voter Turnout Reading
Voting Percentage by Nation
Country
Voting %
1
Italy
92.5
2
Seychelles
90.2
3
Cambodia
90.5
4
Iceland
89.5
5
Angola
88.3
6
Indonesia
88.3
7
Somalia
87.1
8
New Zealand
86.2
9
Uzbekistan
86.2
10
South Africa
85.5
11
Albania
85.3
12
Austria
85.1
13
Belgium
84.9
15
Netherlands
84.8
16
Australia
84.4
17
Denmark
83.6
18
Sweden
83.3
19
Bosnia and Herzegovina
82.8
20
Czech Republic
82.8
25
Rwanda
82.0
29
Germany
80.6
55
United Kingdom
74.9
75
Japan
69.0
127
Russia
55.0
139
USA
48.3
140
Mexico
48.1
172
Mali
21.7
Direct Democracy
• Def: governmental form in which ALL citizens vote on all aspects of
governmental decisions
• Exs: Switzerland (over 240 laws put before the people in the past
100 years)
• Q: Given the level of technology that exists now should the US
move from a representative democracy to a direct democracy?
Why or why not?
Democracy Pros and Cons
• Pros:
• Cons:
Types of Government Graphic Organizer
Oligarchy
• Def: form of government in which only a few wealthy
people/corporations hold power
• Can be “democratic”. The wealthy usually gain/hold power
through military means.
• Exs: South Africa (Apartheid), US???
• US Stats and Facts:
-- In the last 30 years every elected President has
either attended Harvard or Yale Universities
-- All nine current Supreme Court Justices attended
Harvard or Yale law schools
-- 48% of US Congress members are millionaires (1% of
total population are millionaires) => avg. wealth = $2.5 M
-- The top 1% of Americans control 43% of the nation’s
assets/wealth; the next 4% control an additional 28%
Q: Is the US an Oligarchy???? Why or why not???