Types of Government

Anarchy

• Description• No gov’t and no laws• Total disorder

• Example• Usually comes from

gov’t failure, overthrown

Theocracy

• DescriptionDescription• The leaders of gov’t are also the leaders of The leaders of gov’t are also the leaders of

the religionthe religion

• ExampleExample• The Vatican & IranThe Vatican & Iran

Oligarchy• Description

• When a family or small group of people control all of gov’ts power

• Example• Saudi Arabia’s Royal Family

Dictatorship

• A dictatorship consists of rule by one person or a group of people

• Very few dictators admit they are dictators and almost always claim to be leaders of democracies• The dictator may be one person

• Castro in Cuba• Hitler in Germany

• Or a group of people• The Communist Party in China

Dictatorship

• Description• A leader

takes control over the gov’t and has total power

• Example• Cuba

(Castro) & Iraq (Saddam Hussein)

Monarcy

• A monarchy consists of rule by a king or queen

• Sometimes a king is called an “emperor”

• There are no large monarchies today• The United Kingdom, which has a

queen is really a republic because the queen has virtually no political power

Absolute Monarchy

• Description• When the King/Queen has total power over the gov’t

• Example• Louis XIV in France

Constitutional Monarchy

• Description• The King/Queen is limited by law and shares

power with elected officials

• Example• Present day England

Democracy

• The word “democracy” literally means “rule by the people”

• In democracy, the people govern

Direct Democracy

• Description• The power of gov’t is controlled directly by the people• There is no modern example of Direct Democracy

Representative Democracy

• Description• The people

elect representatives who then make decisions for them

• Example• The United

States

Republic

• A literal democracy is impossible in a political system containing more than a few people

• All “democracies” are really republics

• In a republic, the people elect representatives to make and enforce laws

Aristocracy

• An aristocracy is ruled by the aristocrats• Typically the wealthy, educated

people

• Many monarchies have really been ruled by aristocrats

• Today, the term aristocracy is used negativeley to accuse a republic of being dominated by rich people

Democratic Republic

• Usually a democratic republic is not democratic and is not a republic

• A government that officially calls itself a “democratic republic” is usually a dictatorship

• Communist dictatorships have been especially prone to use this term• The official name of North Korea is “the

Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea”• China uses “The People’s Republic of

China”

4 Corners• Which type of government would you want

to live in?• Back right (by the currencies poster) – Anarchy• Front right (by my desk) – Theocracy• Front left (by the pencil sharpener) –

Dictatorship• Back left (door) - Democracy

• Why did you pick your choice?