StandardsSS7CG1 The student will compare and contrast various

forms of government. • a. Describe the ways government systems distribute

power: unitary, confederation, and federal. • b. Explain how governments determine citizen

participation: autocratic, oligarchic, and democratic. • c. Describe the two predominant forms of

democratic governments: parliamentary and presidential.

There are two main ways to think about governments:1.Government divides power among itself. Who has power the central government or regional (state ) government? Examples of this are Unitary, Confederation, and Federal governments.2.Government shares power with the citizens. This is called Citizen Participation. If one person has all the power citizen participation is low, if many people have power (can vote) citizen participation is high.Governments ALWAYS divide power among themselves (Central and Regions) and between the government and people (citizen participation). You need to know both for all governments studied.

Unitary: Confederation Federation

Central Power Has all power Has little or no power

Shares power with Regional/State power

Regional / State Power

Very limited power, given by Central government

Hold MOST power

Shares power with Central / Federal power

Autocracy Oligarchy Democracy

Number of people in Government

1 few Most

Role of Citizen Participation

None Small or small number of people

Almost all

How government divides power to

itself

Citizen Participation

Central Authority

UnitaryPower is held by one central power:

Regions may have limited power given to them by the stateRegional

Authority

Regional Authority

Regional Authority

Regional Authority

Central Authority

Regional Authority

Regional Authority

Regional Authority

Regional Authority

• Voluntary association of independent states that often only delegate a few powers to the central authority.•Less binding than a federation.

Confederation

Federation / Federal

Regional Authority

Central Authority

Regional Authority

Regional Authority

Regional Authority

Power is divided between one central and several

regional authorities.

Citizen Participation

DemocracyOligarchicAutocratic

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AutocraticOne person possesses

unlimited power.The citizen has limited, if any, role in government.

Autocracy• The oldest form of government.•Maintain power through inheritance or ruthless use of military and police power.•Types: DictatorshipMonarchy

OligarchyGovernment by the few.

The citizen has a very limited role.

•The group gets its power from military power, social power, wealth, religion or a combination.• Political opposition is usually suppressed- sometimes violently.

• Examples- Communist countries such as China or Nobility in Medieval Europe

Democracy

Parliamentary:People vote for the

Political party they feel best represents their

views.

May have a Prime Minister elected

by the legislature.

Presidential:A system of government in which the president is

constitutionally independent of the

legislature.

President is elected directly by people.

People play greater role in deciding government leaders, often by voting.