Types of
Government
SE 14B – Compare how democracy,
dictatorship, monarchy, republic,
theocracy, and totalitarian systems
operate in specific countries.
Essential
Question
What is the best
form of
government?
Important
Ideas
• There are several different types of
government:
– In a monarchy, a hereditary ruler controls the
government and decides what it should do.
– In a republic, people govern themselves without a
monarch.
– In a democracy, ordinary citizens hold supreme
power because all government decisions
ultimately come from the people.
Important
Ideas
• There are several different types of
government:
– In a dictatorship, power rests in the hands of an
individual or a small group that tells everyone else
what to do.
– In a totalitarian system, a dictatorial government
closely controls every aspect of a citizen’s life.
– In a theocracy, religious leaders control
government.
Geographic
Terminology
• Monarchy
• Constitutional
Monarch
• Republic
• Democracy
• Direct
Democracy
• Representative
Democracy
• Dictatorship
• Totalitarianism
• Theocracy
What is a
government?
The organization that people set up
to protect their community and to
enforce its rules is a government.
What would happen if there was
no government?
Draw the chart on your own paper and write a
description of each type of government and give an
example.
Totalitarian
Theocracy
System
Dictatorship
Republic
Types
Monarchy
of
Government
Democracy
Types of
government
Monarchy
Monarchy is
probably the oldest
form of government.
How does the
monarch usually
come into power?
When the ruler dies, power
automatically passes to one of the
monarch’s children or close
relatives. It is inherited.
What potential
problems can you
think of with this
system?
Kings, emperors, or sultans fulfill
their role as supreme ruler by
surrounding themselves with
people who will help them govern.
Create a list of
countries that you
can think of that
have a monarch.
Rule By
Divine Right
Rulers in monarchies often claimed that
they came to their position by “divine right”
or by the will of God.
This divine right gave the king or queen
absolute power.
The citizens under the monarch did not have
any rights unless they were granted to them
by the monarch.
What options did citizens have if they were
treated unfairly by the king or queen?
King Henry VIII of England
Constitutional
monarchy
Think – Pair – Share
Describe to each
other what a
constitutional
monarchy is.
Do you recognize these people? How
are they related to each other? What
are their responsibilities?
Constitutional
Monarchy
Domestic
Powers
The Chief of State of
the British Kingdom is
Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth II
Foreign
Powers
What governmental
responsibilities do you
think the Parliament in
Britain has?
•Power to appoint and dismiss
the Prime Minister
•Power to issue and withdraw
passports
•Power to summon, prorogue
and dissolve Parliament
•Power to command the
Armed Forces of the United
Kingdom
•And several other powers not
listed
•The power to ratify and make
treaties
•The power to declare War
and Peace
•The power to deploy the
Armed Forces overseas
•The power to recognize
states
•The power to credit and
receive diplomats
How can you explain
the diffusion of this
form of government
around the world?
Do you notice any
patterns to where
the constitutional
monarchies are
located?
Why is the United
States not a
constitutional
monarch?
Why does Canada
use this form of
government? Who
is their monarch?
Constitutional monarchies with representative parliamentary
systems are shown in green. Other constitutional monarchies
are shown in light green.
Republic
A republic is a government without a
king or queen. Often, the people in a
republic choose representatives to
make decisions.
Is the United States a
republic? Explain your
answer and give details
about the United States
government.
Democracy
• In a democracy, the government gets its authority
from the people. How do people tell the government
what they want?
• In a democracy, the people have certain basic rights.
Why is it important
that people have
these rights and
feel comfortable?
What are the
people’s basic
rights in a
democracy?
How are these
rights protected?
Democracy
Direct Democracy
• First known democracy was
in ancient Athens in the
fifth century B.C.
• Democracy is Greek for
“people-power”
• Citizens of ancient Athens
assembled to make
important decisions for
their city-state
• They voted on issues
directly
Representative Democracy
• The ancient Romans
developed the first
representative democracy
• Different social groups elected
their own representatives
• Representatives met in
assemblies
• The nobles were represented
in the Senate
• Governmental power was
divided between these two
branches and they voted on
various issues
Later
democracies
In England, land owners elected
representatives to the House of
Commons, one of the two chambers
in the English Parliament.
When the English originally set up
the colonies in North America,
each colony had its own colonial
legislature.
In the 1800s, several Latin American
countries fought for independence,
won, and set up democracies in
their countries.
After the United States won the
Revolution, it created Congress, a
two part house, to govern. The
two parts are the House and
Senate.
Many countries were not
democratic in Europe till after World
War I.
Many countries in Asia and Africa
became democratic after they
won their independence
following World War II.
Emerging
Democracies
Think about it –
What is an emerging democracy?
An emerging democracy is a country that is
in the process or has recently switched from
an authoritarian rule to a democratic
government.
What problems do emerging democracies face?
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Take a few minutes to look at the map and
analyze the patterns. Know that each of the
colors represents a different ethnic or
religious group that do not share the same
beliefs and ideals.
In 1990 Bosnia and Herzegovina
separated from Yugoslavia. This
separation caused a civil war in Bosnia.
What do you think was the cause of
this civil war after looking at the map?
The Croats wanted to join with Croatia,
the Serbs wanted to unite with Serbia,
and the Muslims wanted Bosnia and
Herzegovina to unite.
After the war ended what do you
think would be a solution to satisfy
each group?
The presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina is held by three elected officials – 1 Bosnian Muslim,
1 Croat and 1 Serb.
Each president is elected for a four year term and they rotate the chairmanship of the
presidency every 8 months.
There are many political parties in Bosnia that fight for elected positions every election.
The Bosnian government plays a huge role in the economics of the country. While businesses
are privatized and 90% of businesses are personally owned, the government owns the huge
conglomerates. Changes to this system are very slow and often times met with resistance. The
black market is still a huge part of the economics of Bosnia.
Building of the Government
in Sarajevo
The Presidency building in
Central Sarajevo
After reading about Bosnia, what
characteristics did you notice that would
make it an emerging democracy?
What struggles will they face in the
future as they continue forming their
democracy?
Take a few minutes to view this map.
It shows you countries that claim to
be democracies and countries that
actually are. It also shows people
who fought to make these countries
democracies.
http://www.nobelprize.org/educatio
nal/peace/democracy_map/producti
on/index.html
You will need the assignment called
“Making Predictions” before you
continue.
Stop on this slide to answer
questions 1-4.
Democracy Index 2010.
Democracy Index 2010
Key:
Full democracies:
9-10
8-8.9
Flawed democracies:
Hybrid regimes:
Authoritarian regimes
7-7.9
6-6.9
5-5.9
4-4.9
3-3.9
2-2.9
0-1.9