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1.
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Study the graphic above. What
do you expect to learn from this section?Study the vocabular above. Look for these terms as you work
through this section. You will be tested on these terms.
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Classifying
Governments
No two governments
are, or ever have been, exactly alike, for governments are the products of human needs and
experiences. All governments can be classified according to one or more of their basic features,
however. Over time, political scientists have developed many bases upon which to classify (and so to
describe, compare, and analyze) governments.
Three of those classifications are especially
important and useful. These are classifications according to
(1) who can participate in the
governing process,
(2) the geographic distribution of governmental power within the state, and
(3) the relationship between the legislative (lawmaking) and the executive (law-executing)
branches of the government
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2.
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Which is NOT a method of
classifying governments?
a. | the people who can participate in
government | c. | the relationship
between the people who make the laws and the persons who enforce the
laws | b. | the number of people who live in a country | d. | where the government power is located inside the
state |
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Who Can
Participate
To many people, the
most meaningful of these classifications is the one that depends on the number of persons who can
take part in the governing process. Here there are two basic forms to consider: democracies and
dictatorships.
Democracy
In a democracy, supreme political authority rests with the
people. The people hold the sovereign power, and government is conducted only by and with the consent
of the people.5
A
democracy can be either direct or indirect in form. A direct democracy, also called a pure
democracy, exists where the will of the people is translated into public policy (law) directly by the
people themselves, in mass meetings. Clearly, direct democracy can work only in very small
communities, where the citizenry can meet in a central place, and where the problems of government
are few and relatively simple.
Direct democracy does not exist at the national level anywhere in
the world today. However, the New England town meeting, which you will read about in Chapter 25, and
the Landsgemeinde in a few of the smaller Swiss cantons are excellent examples of direct democracy in
action.6
Americans are
more familiar with the indirect form of democracy—that is, with representative democracy. In a
representative democracy, a small group of persons, chosen by the people to act as their
representatives, expresses the popular will. These agents of the people are responsible for carrying
out the day-to-day conduct of government—the making and executing of laws and so on. They are
held accountable to the people for that conduct, especially at periodic elections.
At these
elections, the people have an opportunity to express their approval or disapproval of their
representatives by casting ballots for or against them. To put it another way, representative
democracy is government by popular consent—government with the consent of the governed.
Some people insist that the United States is more properly called a republic rather than a
democracy. They hold that in a republic the sovereign power is held by those eligible to vote, while
the political power is exercised by representatives chosen by and held responsible to those citizens.
For them, democracy can be defined only in terms of direct democracy.
Many Americans use the
terms democracy, republic, representative democracy, and republican form of government
interchangeably, although they are not the same things. Whatever the terms used, remember that in a
democracy the people are sovereign. They are the only source for any and all of government’s
power. In other words, the people rule.
Direct Democracy Today At this town meeting in New
Hampshire, every citizen in the town enjoys the right to speak out and vote on issues. Critical
Thinking Why are town meetings impractical in large cities? H-SS 12.2.4
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3.
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In a democracy, with whom does
supreme political authority rest?
a. | the
president | c. | the elected
representatives | b. | the people | d. | people who have wealth |
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4.
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What are the two forms of
democracy discussed in this passage?
a. | direct and
indirect | c. | representative and
absolute | b. | popular and direct | d. | absolute and fair |
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Dictatorship
A dictatorship exists where those who rule cannot be held responsible to the will
of the people. The government is not accountable for its policies, nor for how they are carried out.
Dictatorship is probably the oldest, and it is certainly the most common, form of government known to
history.
Dictatorships are sometimes identified as either autocracies or oligarchies. An autocracy is a government in which a
single person holds unlimited political power. An oligarchy is a government in which
the power to rule is held by a small, usually self-appointed elite.
All dictatorships are
authoritarian—those in power hold absolute and unchallengeable authority over the people.
Modern dictatorships have tended to be totalitarian, as well. That is, they exercise complete power
over nearly every aspect of human affairs. Their power embraces all matters of human concern.
The
leading examples of dictatorship in the modern era have been those in Fascist Italy (from 1922 to
1943), in Nazi Germany (from 1933 to 1945), in the Soviet Union (from 1917 until the late 1980s), and
one that still exists in the People’s Republic of China (where the present regime came to power
in 1949).
Although they do exist, one-person dictatorships are not at all common today. A few
close approaches to such a regime can now be found in Libya, which has been dominated by Muammar
al-Qaddafi since 1969, and in some other Arab and African states.
Most present-day dictatorships
are not nearly so absolutely controlled by a single person or by a small group as may appear to be
the case. Outward appearances may hide the fact that several groups—the army, religious
leaders, industrialists, and others—compete for power in the political system.
Dictatorships often present the outward appearance of control by the people. The people often
vote in popular elections; but the vote is closely controlled, and ballots usually contain the
candidates of but one political party. An elected legislative body often exists, but only to
rubber-stamp the policies of the dictatorship.
Typically, dictatorial regimes are militaristic in character. They usually
gain power by force. The military holds many of the major posts in the government. After crushing all
effective opposition at home, these regimes may turn to foreign aggression to enhance the
country’s military power and prestige.
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5.
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Those who rule cannot be held
responsible to the will of the people are called ________
a. | democrats | c. | dictators | b. | republicans | d. | libertarians |
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6.
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An _____ is a government in
which the power to rule is held by a small, usually self-appointed elite
a. | democracy | c. | autocracy | b. | democratic power government | d. | oligarchy |
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Geographic Distribution of
Power
In every system of
government the power to govern is located in one or more places, geographically. From this
standpoint, three basic forms of government exist: unitary, federal, and confederate governments.
Unitary Government
A unitary government is often
described as a centralized government. All powers held by the government belong to a single, central
agency. The central (national) government creates local units of government for its own convenience.
Those local governments have only those powers that the central government chooses to give them.
Most governments in the world are unitary in form. Great Britain is a classic illustration. A
single central organization, the Parliament, holds all of the government’s power. Local
governments exist solely to relieve Parliament of burdens it could perform only with difficulty and
inconvenience. Though unlikely, Parliament could do away with these and other agencies of local
government at any time.
Be careful not to confuse the unitary form of government with a
dictatorship. In the unitary form, all of the powers held by the government are concentrated in the
central government. That government might not have all power, however. In Great Britain, for example,
the powers held by the government are limited. British government is unitary and, at the same time,
democratic.
Federal Government
A federal government is one in
which the powers of government are divided between a central government and several local
governments. An authority superior to both the central and local governments makes this division of powers on a
geographic basis; and that division cannot be changed by either the local or national level acting
alone. Both levels of government act directly on the people through their own sets of laws,
officials, and agencies.
In the United States, for example, the National Government has certain
powers and the 50 States have others. This division of powers is set out in the Constitution of the
United States. The Constitution stands above both levels of government; and it cannot be changed
unless the people, acting through both the National Government and the States, agree to that change.
Australia, Canada, Mexico, Switzerland, Germany, India, and some 20 other states also have
federal forms of government today. In the United States, the phrase “the Federal
Government” is often used to identify the National Government, the government headquartered in
Washington, D.C. but it really means power sharing between the central governments and state
governments.
Confederate Government
A confederation is an alliance of
independent states. A central organization, the confederate government has the power to handle only
those matters that the member states have assigned to it. Typically, confederate governments have had
limited powers and only in such fields as defense and foreign affairs.
Most often, they have not
had the power to make laws that apply directly to individuals, at least not without some further
action by the member states. A confederate structure makes it possible for the several states to
cooperate in matters of common concern and, at the same time, retain their separate identities.
Confederations have been rare in the modern world. The European Union (EU), formed by 11 counties
in 1993, is the closest approach to one today. The EU has established free trade among its now 25
member-nations, launched a common currency, and seeks to coordinate its members’ foreign and
defense policies.
In our own history, the United States under the Articles of Confederation (1781
to 1789) and the Confederate States of America (1861 to 1865) are also examples of this form of
government.
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7.
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In a _____ government power is
shared between the central government and local governments.
a. | federal | c. | parliamentary | b. | democracy | d. | unitary |
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8.
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The United States has a _____
system of government because power is shared between the states and the government in
Washington.
a. | unitary | c. | federal | b. | parliamentary | d. | it is not clear which system the United States
uses. |
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Relationship Between
Legislative and Executive Branches
Political scientists also classify governments based on the relationship between
their legislative (congress) and executive (president) agencies. This grouping yields two basic forms
of government: presidential and parliamentary.
Presidential Government
A presidential government
features a separation of powers between the executive and the legislative branches of the
government. The two branches are independent of one another and coequal. The chief executive (the
president) is chosen independently of the legislature, holds office for a fixed term, and has a
number of significant powers that are not subject to the direct control of the legislative branch.
The details of the separation of the powers of these two branches are almost always spelled out
in a written constitution—as they are in the United States. Each of the branches is regularly
given several powers with which it can block actions of the other branch.
The two branches
regularly have several powers with which each can block actions by the other branch. Usually, as in
the United States, a written constitution provides for the separation of powers between the branches.
The United States is the world’s leading example of presidential government. In fact, the
United States invented the form. Most of the other presidential systems in the world are also found
in the Western Hemisphere.
Parliamentary Government
In parliamentary
government, the executive is made up of the prime minister or premier, and that official’s
cabinet. The prime minister and cabinet themselves are members of the legislative branch, the
parliament. The prime minister is the leader of the majority party or of a like minded group of
parties in parliament and is chosen by that body. With parliament’s approval, the prime
minister selects the members of the cabinet from among the members of parliament. The executive is
thus chosen by the legislature, is a part of it, and is subject to its direct control.
The prime
minister and the cabinet (often called “the government”) remain in office only as long as
their policies and administration have the support of a majority in parliament. If the parliament
defeats the prime minister and cabinet on an important matter, the government may receive a
“vote of no confidence,” and the prime minister and his cabinet must resign from office.
Then a new government must be formed. Either parliament chooses a new prime minister or, as often
happens, all the seats of parliament go before the voters in a general election.
A majority of
the governmental systems in the world today are parliamentary, not presidential, in form—and
they are by a wide margin. Parliamentary government avoids one of the major problems of the
presidential form: prolonged conflict and sometimes deadlock between the executive and legislative
branches. On the other hand, it should be noted that the checks and balances of presidential
government are not a part of the parliamentary system.
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9.
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What do they call the chief
executive (president) in the parliamentary system of government.
a. | President Pro
Tem | c. | Speaker of the
Government | b. | Prime Minister | d. | Majority Leader |
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10.
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Who elects the chief executive
(Prime Minister) in the parliamentary system of government?
a. | the House of
Lourds | c. | the parliament (house of
commons) | b. | the people | d. | the Supreme Court |
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11.
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A majority of the governments
in the world today are
a. | presidential | c. | parliamentary | b. | executive | d. | federal |
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a. | Presidential
government | e. | Federal
government | b. | Division of powers | f. | Unitary government | c. | Parliamentary government | g. | Oligarchy | d. | Autocracy | h. | Confederation |
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12.
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A form of government in which
the power to rule is held by a small, usually self-appointed elite.
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13.
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Basic principle of federalism;
the constitutional provisions by which governmental powers are divided on a geographic basis (in the
United States, between the National Government and the States).
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14.
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A form of government in which
powers are divided between a central government and several local governments.
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15.
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A form of government in which
a single person holds unlimited political power.
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16.
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A form of government in which
the executive and legislative branches of the government are separate, independent, and
coequal.
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17.
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A centralized government in
which all government powers belong to a single, central agency.
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18.
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A form of government in which
the executive branch is made up of the prime minister, or premier, and that official’s
cabinet.
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19.
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A joining of several groups
for a common purpose.
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