How Governments Distribute Power

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How Governments Distribute Power

• Unitary
• Confederation
• Federal

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Unitary

• Definition A form of government in which power
  is held by one central government.
• Power is NOT shared between states, counties, or
  provinces.
• Example United Kingdom

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Unitary
Ways Government Distributes Power
Regional Authority
Regional Authority
Central Authority
Regional Authority
Regional Authority
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Confederation

• Definition
• A form of government based on a voluntary
  agreement under which separate countries work
  together
• Voluntary association of independent states that
  often only delegate a few powers to the central
  authority.
• Secure some common purpose.
• Agree to certain limitations on their freedom
  of action.
• Each unit has final control of its own laws and
  citizens.
• Confederations can be unstable because members
  often want to do things their own way!
• Example European Union and OPEC

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Confederation
Ways Government Distributes Power
Regional Authority
Regional Authority
Central Authority
Regional Authority
Regional Authority
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Federal

• Definition A form of government in which power
  is divided by a powerful central government and
  states or provinces that are given considerable
  self-rule, usually through their own
  legislatures.
• Examples The United States, Germany, Australia,
  Canada, Russia, Mexico

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Federation / Federal
Ways Government Distributes Power
Regional Authority
Regional Authority
Central Authority
Regional Authority
Regional Authority
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Ways Government Distributes Power
State/regional authorities hold most of the power
All key powers are held by the central government
Unitary
Federal
Confederation
Strong central government
Weaker central government
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How Governments DetermineCitizen Participation

• Autocratic (Autocracy)
• Oligarchic (Oligarchy)
• Democratic (Democracy)

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Autocratic

• Government in which one person possesses
  unlimited power
• Citizens have little if any role in the government

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Oligarchic

• Government by the few A small group exercises
  control especially for corrupt and selfish
  purposes
• The citizen has a very limited role.

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Democratic

• A government in which the supreme power is vested
  in the people and exercised by them directly or
  indirectly through a system of representation
  usually involving periodically held free
  elections.
• Citizens vote for leaders.

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Two Types of Democracy

• Parliamentary
• Presidential

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Parliamentary

• A system of government having the real executive
  power vested in a cabinet composed of members of
  the legislature who are individually and
  collectively responsible to the legislature.
• May have a Prime Minister elected by the
  legislature.

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Parliamentary Systems

• The executive and legislature are fused.
  Survival and origin of each branch are not
  separate.
• The people elect the Parliament the Parliament
  elects the cabinet and Prime Minister.
• Many parliamentary governments have a
  dual-executive. One ceremonial (the monarchy),
  one political (prime minister and cabinet).

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• Queen Elizabeth II,
• Britains Head of State

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Parliamentary Systems

• Survival not separate
• Cabinet must maintain the confidence of
  parliament (sustain the support of a majority of
  MPs) or resign.
• Terms of office are not fixed, so cabinet can
  dissolve parliament and call new elections when
  it sees fit.
• Thus, the executive can dissolve the legislature
  and the legislature can axe the executive!

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Countries with parliamentary system
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Presidential Democracy

• A system of government in which the president is
  constitutionally independent of the legislature.
• Original presidential system ours! But also
  very common in Latin America, Africa, and parts
  of Asia. Not popular in Europe.

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Presidential Democracy

• Separate origin Both branches are elected
  separately, in different elections.
• Separate survival Both branches are elected for
  a fixed term, neither can dismiss the other.
• Cabinet answers only to president.
• Personnel of each branch is non-overlapping.

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How Governments Determine Citizen Participation
High Participation
High Participation
General Citizens Participation
Select Citizens Participation
Citizen Participation
Government Power
Government Power
Citizen Participation
Government Power
Low or No Participation
Low or No Participation
Low or No Participation

• Democracy

Oligarchic
Autocratic
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You live in a small country ruled by one man, who
is also the head of the military. The only tv
and radio stations you have are owned and run by
the government. You can access the internet, but
can only see certain government-approved
websites. Although your country has elections,
you are only allowed to vote for your current
leader. People who criticize or protest against
the government are jailed or executed. Which
form of government best describes the government
where you live?

• A. autocratic
• B. parliamentary
• C. democratic
• D. oligarchic

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• A. autocratic

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You are the chief executive in your countrys
democratically-elected national government. You
came to power in the last election after your
political party won a majority of seats in the
national legislature. As the leader of your
political party, you were chosen to be the head
of the government by your co-workers in the
legislature.Which form of government do you have?

• A. presidential
• B. autocratic
• C. parliamentary
• D. oligarchic

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C. parliamentary

• The United Kingdom has a parliamentary democracy.

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The country in which you live has a central
government that shares the power with several
state and local governments.Which word best
describes the way your government distributes
power?

• A. unitary
• B. confederation
• C. federal

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• C. federal
• America has a federal system of government.
• Germany also has a federal system of government.

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I live in a country that has regular elections.
The legislature is elected separately from the
head of government. What type of democracy does
my country have?

• A. oligarchic
• B. autocratic
• C. parliamentary
• D. presidential

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• D. presidential

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Anne lives in a country that has a strong central
government that does not share power with states
or provinces within the country or with any other
country. What type of government best describes
how Annes country distributes power?

• A. Unitary
• B. Confederation
• C. Federal

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A. Unitary
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In Georges country, there are a few leaders.
They were not chosen by the people. They make
decisions for the country based on what is best
for them not for the country. They are mostly
interested in making themselves rich. What type
of citizen participation does Georges country
have?

• A. autocratic
• B. oligarchic
• C. democratic

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• B. oligarchic

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• In which system of government does the
  legislature elect the executive leader of the
  government?
• A. democratic
• B. communist
• C. parliamentary
• D. totalitarian

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• C. parliamentary

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• Which statement about Great Britain's
  parliamentary system of government today is true?
• A. Members of both houses of Parliament are
  elected for life.
• B. The queen decides which laws Parliament will
  debate.
• C. Members of Parliament do not belong to
  political parties.
• D. The prime minister is not directly chosen by
  voters.

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• D. The prime minister is not directly chosen by
  voters.