What is Government

Government Government – The formal definition = The institution through which a society makes and enforces its laws or public policies. Informal definition – how a country operates Each country’s government prioritizes things differently.

Recall What types of government powers are most common? In our country we have THREE separate powers…. Legislative = Create laws Executive = Enforce or execute laws Judicial = Interpret and review laws

Forms of Government Before we can understand our government, we need to know the different types of government Most countries operate under a Constitution Constitution = a written document that describes the role, organization, and functions of a country’s government Form of government is the set-up of a country’s government. We have three forms of government . There are also methods and systems for carrying out these forms of government

Forms of Government Before we can understand our government, we need to know the different types of government Most countries operate under a Constitution Constitution = a written document that describes the role, organization, and functions of a country’s government Form of government is the set-up of a country’s government. We have three forms of government . There are also methods and systems for carrying out these forms of government

Forms of Government UNITARY – a form of gov’t in which all the political power is given to the CENTRAL (National) gov’t – they do not have separate State/ Local gov’t The centralized government determines how much power is given to state/local gov’t. This is the most common form of gov’t in the World today Ex: Great Britain

Forms of Government Confederal (Confederate) – A form of gov’t in which there is NO strong Central gov’t. The political powers are divided loosely among states. This is a VERY weak form of government NO country today operates under a strictly Confederate style government Ex: Civil War – Southern states succeeded and became a confederation Articles of Confederation 1781-87

Forms of Government Federal – a form of government in which the political powers are divided among the Central (National) gov’t and the State gov’t. The Constitution gives the State gov’t powers that the Central gov’t CANNOT take away!!! The States can establish their own Constitution & gov’t – as long as it does not go against the Central gov’t Ex: The United States U.S. was the first to use Federal Government

Recap Forms of Government Which form of gov’t gives the political powers to the Central gov’t? The Central gov’t dictates how much powers the lower gov’t can have. UNITARY Which form of gov’t consists of a loose association of states with no/weak Central gov’t? CONFEDERAL Which form of gov’t combines the other two types of gov’t, and allows BOTH state and central powers to exercise rights? FEDERAL

U.S. We are a Republic - meaning the ultimate political power belongs to the PEOPLE!!! How are we a Republic? We use Democracy to carry out our Republican form of government – allow people to represent or vote on leaders – this is known as Representative Democracy – we vote on people to represent our ideas! We have a Federal Government – meaning we have a National government and State/Local government that work together. Both have their own guidelines or Constitutions

Why does it matter? Why does understanding different forms of government concern you? As a good citizen it’s your responsibility to understand how other cultures operate. Knowing how another country runs gives you a better understanding The U.S. communicates with the rest of the world---we are NOT isolated! Even though we are our own country and no one tell us how to run our government, we still have to maintain peaceable relations with the rest of the world.

How gov’t is carried out Different countries have different leaders and systems of carrying out government. We will discuss the most common systems used to carry out the THREE forms of gov’t – do not confuse the method/system with the form of government. Parliamentary Presidential Monarchy Dictatorship

Details Within each form a government, there are bodies to help carry out government Parliamentary System –– One body shares the Leg and Exec powers (sometimes judicial too). So, the same people who make laws also enforce them Presidential System – Executive Powers are separate from Legislative powers– usually 3 separate branches of gov’t

Details Monarchy – a king/queen/emperor have the political power. Absolute Monarchy – The figure still has full or majority of political power Constitutional Monarchy – king/queen/emperor is seen only as figurehead and lack any real political power Dictatorship – When an authoritative / militaristic person occupies political control of a country – does not listen to the will of the people Two Types 1. Autocracy – One leader 2. Oligarchy – A few leaders