Types of Government (Part 1)

Standard: MO SS 2 1.9 Compare and contrast governmental systems, current and historical, including those that are democratic, totalitarian, monarchic, and theocratic, and describe their impact.
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Homework: Read 1-12 in Edwards 

Readings due Thursday:
Pluralism
Pluralism and Democracy
Elite Theory

Identification Terms:
Essential APGOV Terms to Understand (quiz this Thursday)

Unit 1 Identification Terms (Origins)
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Today we are looking at various forms of government found throughout the world. First, discuss this question with your group:

It does not matter what type of government is in place as long as the citizens are well-fed, healthy and safe. Agree or disagree?

There are many ways to classify government systems, but the most common method was developed by Aristotle that is based on the number of rulers. However, you can also classify governments based on where power is located (national vs. state) or based on the relationship between the legislative and executive branches. The types of government that we are going to look at are:

• Anarchy
• Absolute Monarchy
• Autocracy
• Confederal
• Constitutional Monarchy
• Dictatorship
• Direct Democracy
• Federal
• Oligarchy
• Parliamentary
• Presidential
• Republic (Representative Democracy)
• Theocracy
• Unitary

What are the advantages and disadvantages of each government system?

A quick assessment over types of government:

The most common form of classifying types of government is based on the number of rulers. However, there are other methods of classifying government systems. One method is based on where power is mainly located, national or state. Another looks at the relationship between the legislative and executive branch.

Governments classified on where power is located, state vs. national:

• unitary
• confederal
• federal

Governments classified based on the relationship between the legislative and executive branch:

• presidential
• parliamentary

Check for understanding:
1) What three terms would you use to best describe the US type of government?
2) Look at the cards for Denmark and Brazil again. What other type of government could you now add for each?

For Review:

Forms of Government

Systems of Government

What is the difference between presidential and parliamentary systems?

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