Types of Government

* A monarchy has a king, queen, emperor or empress.

* The ruling position can be passed on to the ruler’s heirs (passed down to their children).

* In some traditional monarchies, the monarch has absolute power.

* A constitutional monarchy, like the UK and Australia, also have a democratic government that limits the monarch's control

MONARCHY

* In a democracy, the government is elected by the people.

* Everyone who is eligible to vote has a chance to have their say over who runs the country.

* A democracy is determined either directly or through elected representatives.

DEMOCRACY

ARISTOCRACY

* A form of government in which a few elite citizens rule.

* In earlier times it was usually rich land owners that ruled, however in more modern times the rulers are usually from the highest social class.

* Power to rule is inherited or passed down from parents to their children.

OLIGARCHY * A few people or a small group, generally those who are richer and more powerful than the others rule the country.

* Women or the wives of the men rulers often tell their husbands what should happen.

* Sometimes they may be elected by the citizens, or they are born into their position,or they have a certain amount of money or land in order to be in the ruling group.

DICTATORSHIP *This is a country ruled by a single leader. Often a strong individual who seizes power and rules alone.

*The leader has not been elected and may use force to keep control.

* In a military dictatorship, the army is in control.

ANARCHY

* A situation where there is no government.

* This can happen after a civil war in a country, when a government has been destroyed and rival groups are fighting to take its place.

* A republic is a country that has no monarch.

* Citizens elect who they want to represent them.

* The head of the country is usually an elected president.

REPUBLIC