Governance & Civics

Citizen Participation Who has a say in their government- who makes the decisions? Democracy, Oligarchy, and Autocracy

Democracy In a democracy, the government is elected by ALL the people. Everyone who is eligible to vote has a chance to have their say over who runs the country. A democracy is determined either directly or through elected representatives.

Direct vs. Representative In a direct democracy the people have a chance to vote individually on every single issue In a representative democracy the people elect officials who represent them and vote for them for most issues.

Parliamentary vs. Presidential In a Parliamentary Democracy, citizens elect officials to the parliament(lawmaking body) and parliament elects a prime minister. Ex: United Kingdom and Northern Ireland In a Presidential Democracy, citizens vote directly to elect the President Ex: United States and

Oligarchy A government in which a few people control the government. Usually make decisions that benefit themselves financially with little interest to the people that they govern.

Autocracy Rule by one Government by a single person having unlimited power; no laws or constitution that restrain authority.

Monarchy A monarchy has a king, queen, emperor or empress. The ruling position can be passed on to the ruler’s heirs. In some traditional monarchies, the monarch has absolute power. But a constitutional monarchy, like the UK, also has a democratic government that limits the monarch's control.

Communist In a communist country, the government owns property such as businesses and farms. It provides its people's healthcare, education and welfare.

Dictatorship A country ruled by a single leader. The leader has not been elected and may use force to keep control. In a military dictatorship, the army is in control.

Revolutionary If a government is overthrown by force, the new ruling group is sometimes called a revolutionary government.

Power Structure Who has the power in their government-central or local government Unitary, Confederation, and federal

Unitary Central government has all the power to make the laws and decisions for the country Examples include Cuba, Great Britain, and France

Confederation Individual parts of the country/group or local governments make their own laws and decisions, and follow the central government when they want to. Members are allowed to drop out whenever they please. Examples include European Union and OPEC

Federal Power in the country is shared between the central government and parts of the country. They specify who has control over each area Examples include United States and Mexico