1. FOUNDATIONS OF GOVERNMENT

2. TERMS
Government – institution through which society makes and enforces public policy.
Public policy – all things a government decides to do. (regulations)

3. THE STATE
The state is the most dominant political unit in the world. (State? USA 50 states, or Countries)
There are 4 characteristics of a state:
population (people)
territory (area with recognizable boundaries)
sovereignty (state has supreme/absolute power within territory)
Government (politically organized, has a govt.)

4. ORIGINS OF THE STATE There are 4 theories on the origins of state:
Force theory – one person or group claims control by force and force all within territory to submit.
Evolution theory – state developed out of the primitive family. One person is the head (govt.). Through time families became clans, then tribes. When the tribe turned to agriculture instead of a nomadic lifestyle, the state was born.

5. Divine right theory – widely accepted in the western world 15th-18th cent. God had given those of royal birth the “divine right to rule”. People had to obey ruler as they would God, or sin against God.

6. 4. Social Contract theory – Theory developed by English philosophers John Locke, James Harrington, Thomas Hobbes, and Frenchman Jean Jacque Rousseau in the 17th &18th cent. Hobbes believed the earliest humans lived in a “state of nature”, where no govt. existed and all had rights. All lived free and could possess whatever one could take. No authority existed for protection. Locke believed all had right to life, liberty, and property. Life was brutish, and chaotic. People created a state to protect themselves to preserve certain rights. People in a given territory agreed to give up power and rights, and created a government to exercise power, protect and preserve the rights of the state/people. (social contract)

7. FORMS OF GOVERNMENT(sec.2)

8. 3 forms based on Geographical Distribution of Power:
Unitary Govt. – all powers of government belongs to a single, central agency. Most Govt.’s in the world. (not a dictatorship)
Federal Govt. – the powers of govt. are divided between a central govt. and several local Govt.’s.
Confederate Govt. – an alliance of independent states. Government only has power that member states give it.

9. 2 forms based on relationship between legislative and executive branches
Presidential Govt. – separation of powers exists between the executive and legislative branches of govt. The 2 branches are independent of each other and coequal.
Parliamentary Govt. – the executive branch is made up of a prime minister/premier and their cabinet. They are also members of the legislative branch, parliament. The Prime Minister is leader of majority party in parliament and is chosen by that body. 1.The executive is chosen by the legislature, 2.is part of it, 3.and is subject to its direct control.

10. 2 forms based on the number of people who can participate
1. Dictatorship – those who rule can not be held responsible to the will of the people. Govt. is not accountable for its policies nor for the ways they are carried out. Oldest & most common form of govt.
Similar types: Autocracy-single person holds unlimited political power, Oligarchy-power is held by a small, usually self-appointed elite.
2. Democracy – supreme political authority rests with the people
2 Types of Democracy
Direct/true – (pure democracy) the will of the people is translated into public policy directly by the people themselves, in mass meetings.
Indirect/representative democracy/ republic – small group of persons are chosen by the people, acts as their representatives and express popular will.

11. BASIC CONCEPTS OF DEMOCRACY(sec.3)

12. Democracy works only if people believe and practice these basic concepts:
Recognition of worth and dignity of every person.
Respect for the equality for all persons.
Faith in majority rule along with minority rights.
Necessity of compromise.
Individual freedom to the widest degree. (Not anarchy).
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