American GovernmentC1, S2 – Forms of Government

No two are exactly alike Products of human needs & experiences

Classification as a government is based on: Who can participate Geographic distribution Relationship between legislative and executive

branches

Classifying Governments

Two basic forms

Who Can Participate

Democracy Dictatorship

• Political authority rests with the people

• Direct or indirect• Presidential – powers

separated into executive & legislative branch

• Parliamentary – executive branch part of legislature

• Federal – power shared by local & national government

• Confederate – power centered in local governments

• Unitary – power centered in national government

• Rulers not responsible to the people

• Government not accountable for policies of how they are carried out

• Autocracy – one person rules• Oligarchy – small group rules• All are authoritarian• Most are totalitarian• Militaristic

Authority rests with the people In a democracy, people are sovereign Direct or Indirect

Democracy

Also called pure democracy Occurs when the will of the people translates

into public policy Works only on a small, local level

Direct Democracy

Also called representative democracy A group of persons chosen by the people

express the will of the people Widely used on a national, State, and local

level

Indirect Democracy

Exists where those who rule cannot be held responsible to the will of the people

Most common form of government known to history

Identified as either autocracies or oligarchies

Dictatorship

Government in which a single person holds unlimited political power

Autocracy

Government in which the power to rule is held by a small, usually self-appointed elite

Oligarchy

In every system of government, the power to govern is located in one or more places geographically. From this standpoint, 3 basic forms of government exist Unitary Federal Confederate

Geographic Distribution of Power

(Centralized government) All powers held by the government belong to a single, central agency

The central (national) government creates local units for its own convenience

Most government in the world are unitary Parliament

50 state governments

Unitary Government

The powers of government are divided between a central and several local governments Division of powers is based on a geographic

basis Set out in the U.S. Constitution

Federal Government

Alliance of independent states Limited powers in defense & foreign affairs Articles of Confederation (1781-1789) & the

Confederate States of America (1861-1865)

Confederate Government

Political scientists also classify governments based on the relationship between their legislative & executive agencies. This grouping yields two basic forms of government Presidential Parliamentary

Legislative & Executive Branches

Features a separation of powers between the executive & legislative branches of the government Independent and coequal Details spelled out in a written constitution

(i.e., U.S.) Powers to block actions of other branch

Form invented in the United States

Presidential Government

The executive branch is made up of the prime minister or premier, and that official’s cabinet

The prime minister & cabinet are themselves members of the legislative branch, the parliament The executive is chosen by the legislature, is

part of it, and is subject to its direct control Majority of the governmental systems in the

world today

Parliamentary Government