FORMS OF GOVERNMENT

Chapter 3

Types of Government

Types of Government

Three ways to classify governments:

1. Systems of government

2. Relationship between levels of government

3. Methods of selecting the executive

Systems of Government

Popular governmentDemocracy

○ Direct Democracy○ Indirect Democracy

Republic

Dictatorship Anarchy

Popular Governments

The people participate. Direct democracy – people directly

affect government’s policies & actionsVery rare today“Today direct democracy is rare because of

geographic and population limitations.”Agree or disagree?

Popular Governments

Indirect democracy – people choose their peers to operate government on their behalf (or REPRESENT them).

Republic – “a state in which the supreme power rests in the people and their elected representatives or officers.

Dictatorship

In a dictatorship, the government acts without the consent of the people.

Totalitarianism- a ruling class holds absolute power and seeks to exercise control over every aspect of people’s lives.

Autocracy – rule by 1 person with supreme authority

Oligarchy – rule by an elite group

Anarchy

An absence of government Because of human depravity, typically

anarchy, instead of leading to maximum liberty, leads to a state of lawlessness.

Jeremiah 17:9The heart is deceitful above all things, and

desperately wicked: who can know it?

Types of Government

Three ways to classify governments:

1. Systems of government

2. Relationship between levels of government

Relationship Between Levels of Government

1. Unitary 2. Federal 3. Confederate

Relationship Between Levels of Government Unitary Governments

Power resides in central governmentAll power from the people (unlike

dictatorship)Local units may help administer

government.

Examples: Great Britain, Japan, France, Israel

Relationship Between Levels of Government Federal Governments – Federalism Power is divided among national,

regional, and local governments. Usually governed by a constitution

which specifies the powers and responsibilities of each level.

Examples: United States, Brazil, India

Relationship Between Levels of Government Confederate Governments Regional governments retain supremacy

and delegate some tasks to the national government.

Examples: Articles of Confederation, Confederate States of America, European Union (EU)

Types of Government

Three ways to classify governments:

1. Systems of government

2. Relationship between levels of government

3. Methods of selecting the executive

Methods of Selecting the Executive Presidential System – people directly

elect the president. Question: Do the people directly elect

the President of the United States? Answer: No. The Electoral College

elects the president.

Methods of Selecting the Executive Parliamentary System

People elect their representatives to Parliament.

○ Candidate of the party with the most votes in each district wins.

The majority party in the parliament chooses the executive (prime minister).

Examples: Great Britain, France, Japan, Indonesia

Which system is better: Presidential or Parliamentary?

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Types of Government by System

List and explain.

American Government

Levels of American Government

National State Local

National Government

The U.S. Constitution LIMITS the power of the national government by allowing it to have certain DELEGATED POWERS.

National Government

Legislative Branch Executive Branch Judicial Branch

Legislative Branch Makes the laws Closest ties to the

people: directly elected

Two housesHouse of

RepresentativesSenate

Executive Branch Enforces the laws President Vice President Advisors

○ EOP○ Cabinet

Judicial Branch Interprets the laws Are the laws passed

by Congress and the states consistent with the Constitution?

Supreme Court Lower Courts

State Government

Fifty (50) states States keep all power not delegated to

the national government (RESERVED POWERS) or prohibited to the states by the Constitution (PROHIBITED POWERS).

States all have their own constitutions.

State Government

Reserved Powers– 10th AmendmentPolice, educate, land-use laws, licensing,

etc.

Prohibited Powers – Keeps certain powers in the hands of the national government.Coin money, make treaties, import/export

taxes, raise a military force in peacetime, etc.

State Government

Separation of Powers – State governments have the same 3 branches as the national (federal) government.Legislative, Executive, Judicial

State Government

Legislative May be BICAMERAL (two houses) or

UNICAMERAL (one house).

State Government

Executive – Governor Lieutenant governor

State Government

Judicial – courts May be elected by the people or

APPOINTED by the governor or legislature

Local Government

Counties – divided into precincts Municipalities – cities, villages, towns Municipalities exist by incorporating

when its population gets to a certain level.

Municipalities get a charter (like a constitution) from the state.

Review Quiz

What are the levels of U.S. government? What are the branches of U.S.

government? What is the function of the legislative

branch? What is the function of the executive

branch? What is the function of the judicial

branch?

Answers

1. national, state, local 2. legislative, executive, judicial 3. make laws 4. enforce the laws 5. interpret the laws