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