1. Government

2. Types of Government Type of Government Who holds power Examples
Direct Democracy
All citizens vote directly on issues.
*Parts of Switzerland
*Some New England towns
Representative Democracy
People vote for representatives who lead the country and make laws.
*United States
*Russia
*France
Constitutional Monarchy
A monarch (King or Queen) inherits the right to rule but is limited by laws and a lawmaking body elected by the people.
*United Kingdom
*Japan
*Sweden
*Jordan
Absolute Monarchy
A monarch inherits the right to rule and has unlimited power. Citizens=No power
*Saudi Arabia
Dictatorship
A dictator makes all laws and suppresses any opposition.
*Cuba
*Germany under Hitler

3. General information on Government
Voting is a form of civic participation. 57% of Americans voted for the 2012 president election. 85% of Scotland’s people voted for their chance at independence.
The government owns the resources in a command economy.
The vast majority of countries have some form of democracy in the Western Hemisphere.

4. Country specific information on government
Canada’s national leader is called the prime minister.
Germany was once split into communist and democratic parts but is now reunited.
In the 1990’s Libya’s government built pipelines to carry water from the desert to coastal areas.
Israel’s government passed “The Law of Return” in This brought an increase in Israel’s Jewish population.
Until recent years, Russia’s farms and businesses were controlled by the government under a system called communism.