Chapter 1Section 2

Forms of Government

Objectives

• Describe the differences between monarchies, republics, and dictatorships.

• Identify the advantages and disadvantages of features of unitary, federal, and confederal systems of government.

• List the major advantages and disadvantages of presidential and parliamentary forms of government.

Opener

• Choose one or two countries that you would like to visit or live in.

• What are your reasons for wanting to go there?

Role-playing Sources of Authority

• 1. Absolute Monarchy• 2. Authoritarian government• 3. Classical republic• 4. Despotism• 5. Feudal country • 6. Liberal democracy• 7. Totalitarian state

Role Playing

• We are going to play a game similar to charades in which each group acts out their assigned form of government and the other groups guess which one is being portrayed.

Reflection Discussion

• What are some of the differences in control of authority among each of the forms of rule?

• Remember that governments vary not only based on who has authority but also on what authority each level of government exerts.

ActivityPower Among Levels of Government

• Directions: Create a table comparing and contrasting the features of governments.

• Headings: federal, confederal, and unitary for the various systems of government.

Power within Levels of Government

• Presidential Systems: A system of government in which the legislative and

executive branches operate independently of each other.United States: has a presidential system of government.

Each branch of government acts as a check on the others’ powers.

In some countries one branch of government may have more power that the others. France would be an example of this type. The president can dissolve part of the legislature and call for new elections.

Parliamentary Systems

• Parliamentary System: A system of government in which power is

concentrated in a legislature. The legislature selects one of its members, usually called a prime minister, as the nation’s principal leader and other legislative members serve as the leader’s cabinet.

The chief executive of the government and the head of state are separate offices. United Kingdom, head of state is a monarch. Israel, the head of state is a president.

Country Activity

-Choose a country where you might want to live.

-Research the form of rule and level of government.

-Discuss whether you would still want to live in this country. Explain your reasoning.

Dictatorships

• Conduct research on dictatorships of the 1900s. • Write a paper about a dictator that discusses

what country was under the dictator’s rule, how the dictator obtained power, abuses that occurred under the dictator, and what happened to the dictator.

• Write your feelings about the actions of the dictator and whether or not you feel that a dictatorship can ever promote the public good.