AP Gov Notes
notes for ap gov
Forms of Government
- Autocracy - one person with all power
- Monarchy - king or queen
- Power through family line - child gets power
- Modern times king/queen shares power with other parts of government
- Must also follow country’s constitution
- Dictatorship - leader with total control
- May have constitution but constitution is controlled by dictator
- Other branches of government controlled by dictator
- Not representative of citizens
- Democracy - citizens hold power
- Representative democracy - citizens elect representatives to act in their interest
- Elected leaders control issues
- Passing laws
- Work out solutions
- Citizens can vote in new officials if they do not like the current representatives
- Direct democracy - citizens directly vote on governing of country
- Modern countries too large for direct dem
- Oligarchy - few have the power
- Sometimes only certain group has political rights
- Junta - small group (military officers) forcefully take over country
- Theocracy - God has authority
- Religious law
- Can also be other type of government within
- Ex: Iran follow Islamic law but citizens also elect leaders
Public Policy
- Goals and programs created and implemented by govt
- Purpose: create order, care for citizens
- Various inputs - take long time
Liberals and Conservatives
- Liberals
- Gov action to achieve equal opportunity for all
- Duty of gov to reduce/address community issues
- Duty of gov to protect civil liberties (freedoms)
- Role of gov to help provide basic needs for citizens
- Role of gov is to solve society’s problems
- Liberals are referred to as being on the left of the political spectrum
- Conservatives
- Believe in personal responsibility
- Favor limited/smaller government
- Favor free market economy/few regulations
- Support individual liberty and traditional values
- Support a strong national defense
- Role of gov should be to provide people the freedom needed to pursue their own goals
- Conservative policies emphasize empowering people and non-governmental groups to solve problems
- Conservatives are referred to as being on the right of the political spectrum