SS7CG6a

Describe the ways government systems

distribute power: unitary, confederation,

and federal. Concept:

Governance

Vocabulary Words To Know

Unitary Confederation Federal

UNITARY

•characterized by or constituting a form of government in which power is held by one central authority.

CONFEDERATION

•voluntary associations of independent states that, to secure some common purpose, agree to certain limitations on their freedom of action and establish some joint machinery of consultation or deliberation.

FEDERAL

•characterized by or constituting a form of government in which power is divided between one central and several regional authorities.

SSCG6a

Below are distribution of power examples

CHINA UNITED NATIONS INDIA

FEDERAL

UNITARY CONFEDERATION

Form of government where one central group holds ALL the power.

Group of independent states that have a common interest or purpose that SHARES the power.

Form of government where power is DIVIDED between one central group and several regional groups.

DISTRIBUTION OF POWER

SS7CG6b

Explain how governments determine

citizen participation: autocratic, oligarchic,

and democratic. Concept:

Governance

Vocabulary Words To Know

Autocratic Oligarchic Democratic

AUTOCRATIC

•government in which one person possesses unlimited power and the citizen has little if any role in the government. (like a dictatorship or even a monarchy)

OLIGARCHIC

•government by the few, sometimes a government in which a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes. The citizen has a very limited role.

DEMOCRATIC

•a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people an exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.

SSCG6bBelow are citizen participation examples

CITIZEN PARTICIPATION

AUTOCRATIC

DEMOCRATIC

Government where the citizens have all the power either directly or indirectly through free elections.

Government where a small group of people who have all the power and the citizen has a very limited role.

Government where one person has unlimited power and the citizen has little if any role or rights.

OLIGARCHIC

NORTH KOREA CHINA INDIA and JAPAN

SS7CG6c

Describe the two predominant forms of

democratic governments:

parliamentary and presidential. Concept:

Governance

Vocabulary Words To Know

Parliamentary Presidential

PARLIAMENTARY

• a democracy having a parliament, a system of government having the real executive power vested in a cabinet composed of members of the legislature who are individually and collectively responsible to the legislature. May have a Prime Minister elected by the legislature.

PRESIDENTIAL

•a system of government in which the president is constitutionally independent of the legislature.

SSCG6cBelow are democratic government examples

DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENTS

INDIA and JAPAN SOUTH KOREA

PARLIAMENTARYA cabinet (group of people) or Prime Minister elected by the legislature and not the citizens. Legislative branch that makes the laws have a large share of the power.

PRESIDENTIALThe President is elected by the citizens and is part of the executive branch, not the legislative branch.

SS7CG7aCompare and contrast the federal

republic of The Republic of India, the communist state of The People’s Republic China, and the constitutional monarchy of

Japan, distinguishing the form of leadership and the role of the citizen in

terms of voting rights and personal freedoms.

Concepts:Governance

COUNTRY

TYPE OF GOVERNMEN

T

FORM OF LEADERSHIP

VOTING RIGHTS

PERSONAL FREEDOMS

Republic of India

FEDERAL REPUBLIC: a govt. in which the

powers of the central

government are limited

and the component

parts (states, colonies, or provinces) have some

self-government

also; ultimate sovereign

power rests with the

voters who chose their

governmental representativ

es

PRESIDENT

How does the president become the leader? President is elected by an electoral college consisting of elected members of both houses of Parliament and the legislatures of the states for a five-year term (no term limits)

PARLIAMENTARY

DEMOCRACY

Universal (men and women)

voting age 18 years and up

India is the world’s largest

democracy.

These include individual rights common to most democracies, such as equality before law, freedom of speech, freedom of association and peaceful assembly, freedom to practice religion, and the right to constitutional protection of civil rights. These rights are guaranteed regardless of race, religion, caste, sex, or place of birth. Discrimination against women is still a major problem, and the caste system is still observed in many aspects of life.

COUNTRY

TYPE OF GOVERNMEN

T

FORM OF LEADERSHIP

VOTING RIGHTS

PERSONAL FREEDOMS

The People’s Republic of China

COMMUNIST STATE:

a system of government in

which the state plans

and controls most of the

economy and a single - often authoritarian party holds

power. In other words there is only ONE political

party that matters or has any power and

that is the Communist

Party.A true

democracy has multiple

political parties.

PRESIDENT

How does the president become the leader? President is elected by National People's Congress for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); National People’s Congress is made up of all Communist Party members. No substantial political opposition groups exist.

PARLIAMENTARY

“DEMOCRACY”

Universal (men and women)

voting age 18 years and up vote for the

National People’s

Congress, but the people

have little say for change with only one party

to vote forIn other words, it is not a TRUE “democracy”

Although the constitution guarantees freedom of speech, the Chinese government often uses a state power clause to imprison those who are critical of the government. China is known for its intolerance of organized opposition towards the government. Opposition groups are routinely arrested and imprisoned, often for long periods of time and without trial. Incidents of torture, forced confessions and forced labor are widely reported. Freedom of assembly and association is extremely limited. Also, there is very heavy government involvement in the media, with most of the largest media organizations being run directly by the government. Peasants (a majority of the population) have fewer rights in reality. Families in urban areas are restricted by the One Child Policy.

COUNTRY TYPE OF GOVERNME

NT

FORM OF LEADERSHIP

VOTING RIGHTS

PERSONAL FREEDOMS

Constitutional

Monarchy of Japan

CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY

AND PARLIAMENTAR

Y

a system of government in which a monarch is guided by a constitution

whereby his/her rights,

duties, and responsibilities are spelled

out and limited by

written law or by custom.

PRIME MINISTER

How does the Prime Minister become the leader? The Diet (legislative branch consisting of House of Councillors and House of Representatives) chooses prime minister; constitution requires that prime minister commands parliamentary majority so following legislative elections, leader of majority party in House of Representatives usually becomes prime minister; monarch is hereditary. In the case of Japan, they have a monarch who is not actively involved in national policy formation or implementation (the monarch is a symbolic/ceremonial position only); true governmental leadership is carried out by the Prime Minister who comes from the legislature (Diet).

PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY

Universal voting age 20 and up

Since the United States helped rebuild Japan after WWII and write the constitution, many rights are similar and fall under life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness including freedom of speech, freedom of thought and conscience; academic freedom; the prohibition of discrimination based on race, religion, social status, or family origin. However, Human trafficking and discrimination against women and ethnic minorities are still problems.

Constitutional Monarchy

form of government that is guided by a constitution

(written set of laws); the head of state is a king or queen that

has limited powers; the real power typically lies with a

prime minister that is elected by the citizens

Diet

legislative/law-making body or parliament in Japan; it is bicameral

consisting of the House of Representatives and

the House of Councillors

Communism

an economic and political system in which property is owned collectively and labor is organized in a way that is

supposed to benefit all people; the government controls all resources

(natural, capital, and human)

Which country is a federal republic with a parliamentary system with

three branches of government; has a president who is chief of state and a

prime minister who is head of the government; has a bicameral

legislature; citizens 18 and older can vote in the world’s largest

democracy.

Which country has an authoritarian communist government with three branches; a president (head of state), vice president, State Council, a premier (head of government); a unicameral legislature (National People’s Congress); a large communist political party that supervises 8 minor parties; men and women 18 and older can vote but have little influence; citizens are censored from speaking out or favoring democratic ideals.

Which country has a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary form of government with three branches; a prime minister (head of government) and ministers of state who are civilians who are appointed by the prime minister; there is an emperor, but he lacks any power and is more of ceremonial figure and symbol of the state; a bicameral legislature called the Diet who select the prime minister; people can vote by the age of 20 and elect their representatives by popular vote?