Chapter two powerpoint

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Chapter Two

Forms of Government

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Which groups should have the power to make the rules at

WHS?

• principal • teachers • student council • students • other (specify)

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Comparing Forms of Government

(Introduction)

The United Nation is an international organization that is intended to promote peace and human rights throughout the world. In 2013, there are representatives from 193 different countries.

The governments of these countries are mainly democracies. A few delegates represent monarchies and an even smaller number represent dictatorships.

The Countries of the United Nations have very different populations, forms of governments and economic systems.

Section 2 - The Origins and Evolution of Government

All societies, large and small, develop some form of government.

During prehistoric times, when small bands of hunter-gatherers wandered the Earth in search of food and game, the government might have been as simple as a few elders making decisions for the group.

The tribes settled down into permanent villages due to the invention of farming. This triggered a change to more formal systems of governments. Governments had to change to meet the needs of the new more complex societies they ruled.

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Origins - From City-States to Empires

Over time, some farming villages grew into cities and city-states.

City State: A sovereign state consisting of a city and its surrounding territory

Around 3000 B.C.E., the first city-states arose in Sumer, a region located in what is today southern Iraq.

Gradually, power in many city-states became moved to a single ruler. The strongest of these rulers conquered neighboring city-states to create the world’s first empires.

Rulers often declared that the gods had given them the right to rule. (Divine right of kings)Some rulers even claimed to be gods themselves. As power passed from father to son in these early empires, monarchy became the most common form of government in the ancient world.2.2

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The Origins and Evolution of Government Direct Democracy - Greece

In the fifth century the Greek city-state of Athens made a radical change in its form of government and was no longer ruled by kings and landowners.

The Athenians reorganized their city-state as a direct democracy

Direct Democracy: a form of government in which citizens make public decisions directly, either in an assembly or through a popular vote

The Athenian leader Pericles explained that “Our constitution is a democracy because power is in the hands …of the whole people “. All free men made all the decisions and took turns holding office. However, women, slaves, and foreign-born people living in Athens were not allowed to participate in the government.

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The Origins and Evolution of Government

Representative Democracy- Early Forms of People Power

-Rome-In 509 B.C.E., the Roman people overthrew their

monarchy and turned Rome into a republic. Over time, the Romans set up a representative democracy.

Representative Democracy: a form of government in which elected representatives make public decisions for their citizens

Free men divided into two leadership groups: wealthy and common. The wealthy had more power and appointed senators to make the laws.

The Roman Republic lasted nearly 500 years. During that time, officials elected by Rome’s citizens continued to head the government.

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The Middle Ages: Feudalism

In 31 B.C.E., after 20 years of civil war, the Roman Empire was established. Power passed from elected leaders to emperors who held absolute power for life.

In parts of Europe once ruled by mighty Rome, the empire broke into tiny districts, each ruled by a duke, lord, king, or other noble.

There was no strong central government to provide security, each district had to look out for itself. It often made sense for weak nobles to look to a nearby, more powerful neighbor for protection. The powerful lord or local king protected the people in exchange for their land. In this way, some lords gained control of very large areas.

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The Middle Ages: Feudalism

(continued)

Many lords acquired more land than they could manage. They began granting pieces of land, called fiefs, to tenants. In return, the tenant became the lord’s vassal. This system was know as feudalism.

Feudalism: exchanging the use of land for military and other services.

The vassals also had political obligations. For example, they all sat together at the lord’s court to help settle disputes and make laws. Europe’s parliaments developed from meetings of vassals called by a lord or king.

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The Middle Ages: From Feudalism to Nation-States

The 1300s saw the rise of absolute monarchies, or governments headed by hereditary rulers who claimed unlimited powers.

By the 1700s, several European countries had become nation-states headed by absolute monarchs. These all-powerful rulers based their legitimacy on the divine right of kings theory.

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The Age of Revolutions: Democracies and

DictatorshipsSome monarchs ruled with the best interests of their

people in mind. Others ruled as despots, or tyrants, who used their power for selfish ends.

Growing dissatisfaction with this form of government triggered a series of world-altering revolutions, first in Europe and then in the American colonies.

The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Bloodless Revolution, led to the establishment of Europe’s first constitutional monarchy: a system of government in which the powers of the monarch are limited by a constitution, either written or unwritten

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The Age of Revolutions: Democracies and Dictatorships

The second of these revolutions began in 1775 when American colonists rebelled against what they saw as British tyranny. The American Revolution led to the creation of the first modern constitutional democracy—a government based on a written constitution

A third revolution broke out in 1789, when the French people took up arms against their king. At first the French Revolution seemed likely to produce another constitutional democracy. Instead it took a radical turn and eventually collapsed into chaos. In time Napoleon Bonaparte restored order, but only by establishing an authoritarian regime—a system of government in which the state exercises broad control over the lives of its citizens.

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Totalitarianism

Napoleon’s approach to governing set the stage for rise of Totalitarianism in the 20th century. A totalitarian government is an extreme form of a government that seeks to control almost every aspect of its citizens’ lives.

Twentieth-century totalitarianism dates back to the Russian Revolution of 1917. That revolution overthrew the Russian monarchy. The revolutionaries established the Soviet Union as the world’s first state based on communism.

Communism: a system of government in which a single political party controls both the government and the economy; also, the theories developed by Karl Marx regarding the development of an ideal, classless society.

Communism appealed to many people in the 1900s. It led to the creation of totalitarian states, first in the Soviet Union and later in other countries, such as China, Vietnam, and Cuba. In these states, dictators like Joseph Stalin used spies, secret police, and government censors to stop all opposition.

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Totalitarianism A form of Totalitarianism known as fascism first

appeared during the 1920s

fascism: a totalitarian system in which businesses remain in private hands but under government control

Fascism is like communism because both have control of citizens’ lives. Unlike communism, however, fascism allows businesses to remain in private ownership under government control. Benito Mussolini, the fascist dictator of Italy, used his power to turn his country into a police state.

A third type of totalitarianism, Nazism, started in Germany. Nazism is a variety of fascism built in part on the myth of racial superiority. After taking power in Germany in 1933, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler launched an extermination campaign against Jews, Gypsies, and other groups he defined as “undesirable.”

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Rise of Democracy

Loss of Democracy Dark Ages

Rise of Democracy again

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Section 3 Forms of Government in Today's

World

With the exception of Antarctica, the landmasses on Earth are divided into nation-states. Almost all have some form of functioning government.

These governments fall into three major groups:

1. rule by the one (monarchies and dictatorships)

2. rule by the few (theocracies and single-party states)

3. rule by the many (parliamentary and presidential democracies).

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Monarchy: a A system of government in which

a single ruler has supremepower based on heredity or

divine right

Pros (+) Cons (-)

• Efficient way of carrying out decisions and policies since decisions are made by one person

• Clear line of succession -Citizens know who is next in line for the throne

• Loyalty to the monarch holds the nation together

• Quality of leadership can vary

• Dramatically different from one generation to the next

• Job of running a modern nation state has become too big for any ,but the most exceptional monarchs to do well

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Modern MonarchiesToday’s monarchs go by many names, including king,

queen, sultan, emperor, and Amir. Most have inherited their power and expect to rule for life. But the modern monarch’s power is rarely as great as in the days of Louis XIV and other absolute monarchs

Most monarchs today face strict legal restrictions on their power, often imposed by a constitution.

A British monarch, for example, has the formal authority to call elections and appoint a new prime minister. However, most jobs are ceremonial. Real power rests with Great Britain’s democratically elected leaders.

In contrast, Saudi Arabia’s king exercises broad powers. He inherits his position and has legislative, executive, and judicial powers. Only Islamic law and Saudi traditions limit his powers.

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Dictatorship:A system of government in which a single

person takes and holds power by force. The leader controls the military and police.

Pros (+) Cons (-)

• Power is in the hands of a single military or political leader who can get things done efficiently

• Control of the military and police allows the dictator to maintain peace and order

• Power can be used to abuse citizens who oppose the dictator

• Dictators face serious legitimacy problems and citizens may want a new leader.

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Modern DictatorshipMuammar al-Gaddafi, took

control of Libya in a military coup, in 1969. A coup is the sudden overthrow of a government by a small group of military officers or political leaders. In February 2011, growing discontent led to a wave of protests in Libya, calling for an end to Gaddafi's rule. Months later, he was overthrown.

Mobutu Sese Seko, Zaire’s longtime dictator, embezzled over $5 billion from his country.

Red colored countries are authoritarian, and most often dictatorships. Most current dictatorships are in Africa and Asia.

Examples of 20th century dictators

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Theocracy:A system of government headed by a religious leader.

In ancient city-states, theocracies were common.Pros (+) Cons (-)

• Single, state-supported religion encourages political and social unity

• Political decisions are in line with the people’s moral values and beliefs

• Difficult to enforce religious unity as the country grows larger

• Religious minorities may not have power or may be mistreated

• Religious warfare may break out

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Modern TheocracyBy 2007, only two theocracies existed in the world:

Vatican City and Iran. Vatican City is the governmental and spiritual center of the Catholic Church. Although located in the heart of Rome, Italy, it is an independent state headed by the Catholic pope.

Iran changed from a monarchy to a theocracy in 1979. That year, Iranians expelled their hereditary ruler and formed an Islamic republic headed by a religious leader known as the Ayatollah Khomeini.

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Single-Party State:A government in which only one political party is allowed to rule under the constitution.

Rule by the political elite or leaders of the party who have more power or wealth then others

Pros (+) Cons (-)

• Easier to pass laws by avoiding the political arguing common in multi-party states

• The views of the party elite may differ from the interests of the people as a whole, leading to social unrest

• People with differing political views are often shut out of the political process

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Modern Single-Party States

There are a few single-party states today and they are mainly socialist republics, in which the Communist Party rules. In Vietnam, for example, the Communist Party is the only legal political party. Syria is an example of a non-communist single-party state. It is controlled by the Ba’ath Party, which supports Arab nationalism and unity. Other single-party countries include: Cuba, China, North Korea, Laos and Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.Brown color represents current

single party countriesGreen color represents past single party countries

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Direct Democracy:

A system of government in which public decisions are made directly by citizens meeting together in an assembly or voting by ballot

In the direct democracy of ancient Athens, several thousand citizens met regularly as an assembly to make decisions for their city-state.

Pros (+) Cons (-)

• Each citizen has an equal say in public affairs

• Decisions have widespread support

• Very time-consuming for citizens

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Modern Direct-Democracies

In the modern world, no country is governed as a pure direct democracy. The country that comes closest is Switzerland. Swiss citizens regularly vote to approve laws passed by their legislature. Citizens may also propose laws and submit them directly to voters. Voter turnout is often low, because people are tired of frequent elections.

Limited forms of direct democracy exist in the United States. One is the New England town meeting, where townspeople meet to discuss and solve local problems. Public policy can also be changed through the referendum process. Citizens may also be able to vote an elected official out of office by means of a recall election.

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Parliamentary and Presidential Forms of Democratic Governments

Most countries today have adopted one of two forms of representative democracy: 1. parliamentary democracy 2. presidential democracy. Both forms use elections to choose national leaders, but they are different in other ways.

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Parliamentary Democracy:A system of government in which voters elect lawmakers to represent them in the nation’s parliament; The leaders of the executive branch come from the ruling party in parliament.Pros (+) Cons (-)

• members of the legislative majority usually vote with the prime minister or chancellor on key issues, making it easier to get laws passed.

• no clear-cut separation between the executive and legislative, so no real check on the prime minister’s powers

• prime minister can be forced to

resign, leading to an unstable government

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Modern Parliamentary Democracies

The United Kingdom, India, and Australia are examples of parliamentary democracies.

In a parliamentary democracy the voters elect lawmakers to represent them in the nation’s parliament. The legislative majority then selects a member of parliament to serve as the nation’s prime minister, or chief executive.

In a parliamentary democracy, there is no real separation between the executive and legislative branches of government.

Prime ministers remain in power only as long as they have the support of the parliament. If the parliament has a vote of no confidence, the prime minister must resign

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Presidential Democracy:::

A system of government in which voters elect lawmakers to represent them in the legislature and a president to lead the government as head of the executive branch

Pros (+) Cons (-)

• President may be more responsive to the public than to the party

• Separation of executive and legislative

• Powers allow each branch to watch over the other to prevent abuses of power

• Fixed terms of office creates stability

• No easy way to remove an unpopular president from power

• Gridlock may result when a president is not from the party that controls the legislature

• Difficult to remove the president from office before their terms end

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Modern Presidential DemocraciesThe U.S. was not formed as a pure democracy, but as a

republic where voters elect representatives and electors

Most modern democracies are organized as a representative republic, where citizens vote in elections with two or more people who run for office. These people have actual powers to change current laws in the country and bring about reforms (either more liberal or more conservative).

The reason why democracy has succeeded over every other form of government is because people have a peaceful way of removing leaders they no longer want.

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Greener colors represent Democratic Countries

Modern Presidential Democracies - continuedThe United States, Russia, and most countries in Latin America are presidential democracies.

Countries categorized by the Democracy Index 2011 as Full democracy include: Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, Canada, Finland, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Ireland, Austria, Germany, Malta, Czech Republic, Uruguay, United Kingdom, United States, Costa Rica, Japan, South Korea, Belgium, Mauritius and Spain

Democracies that are troubled with one or more of the following problems: Non-Elected people have a Strong Say in Government, Voter Fraud, Election Non-Recognition, Frequent government overthrows (coups). A list of such countries would include: Mexico, Venezuela, Ukraine, Russia, Iran, Most of Sub-Saharan Africa, Thailand, Italy, Lebanon, and Egypt.

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Conclusion