Government Types and Power Distribution
Government Types: Distribution of Power and Citizen Participation
In order to compare and contrast actual governments, you must first be able to understand the general, basic organizations of government. This means understanding how different government systems distribute power and what role citizens play in different types of government.
The first thing you need to be able to do is describe the ways governments distribute power. Governments distribute power in one of three ways:
The first is through a unitary system of government. This is the most common way that governments distribute power. The unitary system of government gives political power to a central authority. The central authority controls weaker regional authorities, meaning power is not shared between the central authority and the regional authorities. The regional authorities do not make laws but simply carry out laws made by the central authority. The central authority may assign duties to regional authorities, but it retains final authority and can take back any duties it has given out. Examples of countries with unitary systems of government are France, China, and the United Kingdom.
Diagram showing unitary distribution of power:
The second way governments distribute power is through a confederation system of government. This system distributes power in the opposite way a unitary system does. A confederation is a political system in which a group of regional authorities agrees to put certain limitations on each member of the group’s freedom of action in order to unite for a common purpose. Regional authorities have more power than the weaker central authority. Examples of confederations are the European Union, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) formerly known as the Soviet Union, and the Confederate States of America 1861-1865.
Diagram showing confederation distribution of power:
The third way governments distribute power is through a federal system of government. A federal system divides power and resources between one central authority and several regional authorities. Regional authorities have considerable self-rule, usually through their own legislatures. The United States is an example of this system. Both the national (central authority) and the state (regional authority) governments have decision-making power. Some powers are reserved for state governments while others are given to the federal government. Other examples are Australia and the Federal Republic of Germany.
Diagram showing federal distribution of power:
Now that you can describe how governments distribute their power, the second thing you need to be able to do is explain how governments determine how much participation their citizens will have. Governments determine how involved their citizens will be in decision-making in one of three ways:
The first way is through an autocratic type of government. Autocracy means “rule by one person.” This type gives one person unlimited power and the citizen little, if any, role in the government. All political power is held by a single, self-appointed ruler. Examples of this would be monarchies (monarchy means “the rule of the one”) and dictatorships.
The second way governments determine their citizens’ participation is through an oligarchic type of government. Oligarchy means “rule by the few.” This type gives a small, elite group of people power, which they typically exercise for corrupt and selfish purposes. The group could be distinguished by wealth, family, military powers, or other characteristic. The citizen has a very limited role in this type of government. An example of this would be South Africa’s government under apartheid. The elite group of that oligarchy was determined by race.
The third way governments determine their citizens’ participation is through a democratic type of government. Democracy means “rule by the people.” This type gives the supreme power to the citizens, which they exercise either directly or through elected representatives chosen periodically through free elections.
There are two main types of democratic government: parliamentary and presidential. The difference between the two types is which branch of government acts as the head of government.
In a parliamentary system, the executive power is vested in a cabinet made up of members of the legislature. This cabinet chooses the prime minister who acts as the head of the government. So in a parliamentary system, the executive power is combined with the legislative power and both exist in the legislative branch. Israel has a parliamentary democratic government.
In a presidential system, the executive power exists in its own branch, the executive branch. The executive branch is separate from the legislative branch and executive power is vested in one person, the president, who is elected independently of the legislature. The United States has a presidential democratic government.
Name: __________________________________ Date: ________________
Which type of government is illustrated in each situation described below?
(Autocracy, Oligarchy, or Democracy) Write the type and then tell me why using complete sentences to compose your answer. Use your government reading as a reference.
1. The school board must decide whether a school should close at the end of the year. One of the members of the board makes a motion to close the school. Another one seconds it. The motion is discussed, voted on, and defeated.
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2. The director of a school division must decide which social studies text books will be purchased for all of the grade seven students in that school division. The director meets with a principal and a grade seven teacher. They discuss the five recommended books and select one as their choice. This text is ordered for all grade seven classes in the school system.
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3. The students in grades seven and eight want to have an all-day basketball tournament at their school. The principal says “There is no way that you are running a basketball tournament! Absolutely not!”
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4. You are getting a group together to do something on Saturday night. You do not know what you are going to do, but you could go to the show, go roller-blading, or watch movies at Krista’s house. The group will decide when it meets at your house.
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