Type of Government

Monarchy A monarchy is run by a king or queen. A monarch makes all the decisions for their country by themselves. They rule until they die or step down. At that point in time, a relative will take over being king or queen. Many ancient societies believed that kings and queens got their authority to rule from God.

Absolute Monarchy This was the most common form of government until about 200 years ago. An absolute monarchy has a king or queen who inherits the throne by birth and has complete control. Few absolute monarchies exists today.

Absolute Monarchy Example Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud, King, Saudi Arabia

Absolute Monarchy Example Brunei Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah

Constitutional Monarchy A government in which the power of the king or queen is limited by law Most monarchies today are constitutional monarchies. These nations have constitutions. A constitution is a set of laws that define and often limit the government’s power. The king or queen is often only a symbol of the country.

Constitutional Monarchy Example In the UK, the Prime Minister leads the government with the support of the Cabinet and ministers. Parliament decides the laws and make decisions on running the UK. (Some issues in Scotland,Wales and Northern Ireland are now dealt with by their respective parliaments and assemblies.) There has been a parliament at Westminster since the 13th Century. The UK government is normally formed by the leader of the party that wins the most seats in the general election. All actions by the government - and particularly its proposals to amend or create laws - are scrutinised within parliament. Pictured above is Queen Elizabeth II . Pictured to the side is Prime Minister David Cameron.

Constitutional Monarchy Example Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah is the Prime Minister of Kuwait.

Democracy A democracy is a government that is ruled by the people. In a direct democracy, all citizens vote on all issues. In a representative democracy, the people elect lawmakers to make decisions for them

Representative Democracy Representative democracy is a government run by representatives that the people choose. Many constitutional monarchies are also representative democracies. The people indirectly hold power to govern and rule. The representatives create the laws. The people can choose who to reelect or not. A constitution sets rules for elections, defines the rights of the citizens, and limits the power of the government. This system of government ensures shared power.

Representative Democracy Example Stephen Harper is the Prime Minister of Canada.

Socialism Socialism is a range of economic and social systems characterised by social ownership and democratic control of the means of production; as well as the political ideologies, theories, and movements that aim at their establishment. The socialist political movement includes a diverse array of political philosophies that originated amid the revolutionary movements of the mid-to-late 1700s and of a general concern for the social problems that were associated with capitalism.

Socialist Governement Example The Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Republic A republic is a government where the people elect individuals to make the laws for them. In a republic, not all people get to vote. In some republics only men can vote or people of a certain race. If the lawmakers don’t make the voters happy, the voters can vote them out in the next election.

Republic Government Example Independent State of Samoa

Communism advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs. communism is the idea that everyone in a given society receives equal shares of the benefits derived from labor. Communism is designed to allow the poor to rise up and attain financial and social status equal to that of the middle-class landowners. In order for everyone to achieve equality, wealth is redistributed so that the members of the upper class are brought down to the same financial and social level as the middle class. Communism also requires that all means of production be controlled by the state. In other words, no one can own his or her own business or produce his or her own goods because the state owns everything.

Communist Government Examples Cuba, Fidel Castro

Theocracy a form of government in which God or a deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler, the God's or deity's laws being interpreted by the ecclesiastical authorities.

Theocratic Government Example Afghanistan is an Islamic state with a theocratic government. Here, Islam is the official religion of the country, with the major foundations of the political institution of Afghanistan being based on Islamic sharia law. The ultimate aim of the country’s fundamentalist regime is to unify the Afghani people under a common religious law. Political control lies almost exclusively in the hands of the religious leaders of the fundamentalist regime.