II. Types of Government
A. Confederation
• Confederation – A loose association of
states
• Characterized by a weak central
government
• Only has power granted by member states
• U.S. has had two – Articles of
Confederation and Confederate States
of America
B. Autocracy
• Autocracy – Single person holds
unlimited power
• Most common form of government in
history
• Authoritarian – Have unlimited
authority over people
C. Types of Autocracy
• 1) Dictatorship – Absolute power is
exercised by one person who usually
obtains power through force
• Dictare (Latin) – “Give commands”
• Totalitarian – Total control over the
lives of people
Totalitarian Government
Modern Autocratic
Leaders
• 2) Monarchy – Government ruled by kings
and queens
• Absolute Monarchy – Have complete
control of the people
– Saudi Arabia
• Constitutional Monarchy – Share power
with elected officials
– Great Britain and Japan
D. Oligarchy
• Oligarchy – Power to rule is held
by a small, usually self-appointed
elite group
• Most communist are oligarchies
• China
E. Democracy
• Demos (Greek) – “People”
• Kratic (Greek) “Rule/authority”
• Democracy – Government that
functions by the authority of the
people
“Government of the people, by the
people, and for the people”
Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln Video
F. Two Types of Democracy
• 1) Direct Democracy (Pure
Democracy) – Political decisions are
made by all people instead of elected
representatives
• Used in ancient Greek city-states
• Not practical for modern society
• 2) Representative Democracy
(Republic) – People elect officials
to carry out the work of
government
• Type of government found in
most countries today
• Founding Fathers admired the Roman
system of government where the upper
classes led the government and military
• Found the direct democracy of ancient
Greece less appealing
• Many believed that history illustrated
the dangers of democracy
G. Two Types of
Representative Democracy
• 1) Presidential – Lawmaking and lawenforcing branches of government
are separate but equal
• Government found in U.S.A
• Federalism – Powers of government
are divided between central and local
governments
• 2) Parliamentary – Lawmaking and
law-enforcing branches of
government overlap
• Found in Great Britain
• Unitary Government – All powers of
government belong to a single central
agency