Types of government

Created by María Jesús Campos, teacher of Geography and History at a bilingual section in Alcorcon (Madrid)
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1. Types of Government María Jesús Campos Fernández . learningfromgeography.wikispaces.com

2. Separation of Powers

3. Types of Democratic Governments Constitutional Monarchy Parliamentary Republic

4. Republic The head of state is an elected president that changes periodically through elections. It is mainly a representation post. It represents the country in public ceremonies, official trips… but has little or no power at all.

5. Constitutional Monarchy The highest authority of the state is a king or a queen. It is usually hereditary. The monarch’s power is limited by the Constitution and the law. The king or queen has little authority as the government is in the hands of a president or prime minister.

6. Non- democratic governments

7. Autocracy/ Despotism It’s the government by a single person who has unlimited power. The citizens have nothing to say in the government.

8. Absolute Monarchy The highest authority of the state is a king or a queen. It is usually hereditary. The king or queen has got absolute power. The citizens have nothing to say in the government .

9. Oligarchy The government is in the hands of a few people, usually a rich group or a dominant clan.

10. Dictatorship The government is in the hands of a single leader. The leader uses force to keep control. He is usually supported by the Army. Citizens’ rights are very few and depend on the will of the leader.

11. Totalitarian It is a regime with only one political party that holds all the powers. The party supports a leader that acts as a dictator. People has few rights. They use the army to maintain power. They may celebrate fake elections.

12. Anarchy It is not a type of government but a situation in which there is no government at all. It believes in people organizing their own lives and society without the surveillance or the guidance of a government. This word is also used when a country does not have a government after a civil war or there has been a coup d’etat and there is no clear leader. Rival groups fight for power .

13. Capitalist /Neoliberal The government does not interfere in economy which is regulated by the market laws (supply and demand). The basic idea is that people can cover their needs with the wages they own through their work (education, healthcare, etc.) Currently most western countries are neoliberal although they provide some public services such as education and healthcare (depending on the state)

14. Communist / Socialist The State interferes in everything. It controls economy, it owns most of the business and banks of the country. The objective is to provide people with everything they need. It gives little space to self initiative or entrepreneurship.

15. Revolutionary A revolutionary government is a temporal government established by a group after overthrowning a previous government. After a short period this temporal government may change into a new type of government (republic, communist…)

16. Centralised The decisions are taken by a National Parliament and a Central Government or by the Central Government in non- democratic states and affect the whole country. The different states , autonomous communities , districts , etc. have little to say in governmental matters .

17. Decentralised / Federal The central government shares power with regional and local governments . The central government establishes the basic structure and legislation and the regional and local governments introduces changes or modifications and implement the decisions .

18. Developed by María Jesús Campos l earningfromgeography.wikispaces.com Chusteacher Wikiteacher