Anarchy A situation where there is no government. Canada The provinces in Canada keep their power and the central government has limited power. Confederation a political system in which the central government is relatively weak and member states retain considerable sovereignty. Constitutional Democracy A government "bound" by the law. Constitutional Monarchy When the king or queen must follow the written law or constitution of their country. They share powers w/an elected legislature
Democracy a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them Direct Democracy One Citizen = One Vote. People vote on issues directly. Federal A system of government in which the national and state/provincial governments share power. The national government has more power than that of state/province. France The French national government in Paris has total authority over several provinces, known as departments, which are the subordinate administrative components of the nation-state. Germany In the country of Germany the national or federal government in Berlin shares political authority with the governments of several Lander, or political units within the nation-state. However,as in all similar states, including Australia, India, and the United States of America, the central or national government of Germany is supreme within the sphere of authority granted to it through the constitution.
Monaco The throne of Monaco is hereditary in direct and legitimate line, by order of primogeniture. Male heirs take precedence of female heirs. If a prince has no heirs, the brothers of the prince and their direct and legitimate children succeed, and if there is no brother, the eldest sister or her direct and legitimate children succeed. If an heir to the throne dies or renounces his rights to the throne, the succession passes to his direct and legitimate descendants. If there is no heir at all, a council of regency will take power until the Crown Council selects a new reigning prince from among the more distant descendants of the House of Grimaldi. Only persons with the Monegasque nationality are eligible. Monarchy A country ruled by a king or queen. Power is inherited New England Town Meeting New England Town Meeting where anyone from the town who wants to show up to debate and vote on town policy can do so. Until recently, this worked for scores of communities, but low attendance at many modern town meetings has raised questions about whether they are truly democratic. North Korea Politics: A family dynasty heads a secretive, communist regime which tolerates no dissent Economy: North Korea's command economy is dilapidated, hit by natural disasters, poor planning and a failure to modernise International: The armistice of 1953 ended armed conflict on the Korean peninsular, but the two Koreas are technically still at war; tensions have been exacerbated in recent decades by North Korea's nuclear ambitions Oligarchy a political system governed by a few people
Oligarchy A type of government in which a small group of people control decision-making. Representative Democracy When citizens elect elect representatives & give them the power to vote Republic A representative democracy in which the people's elected representatives, not the people themselves, vote on legislation. Sparta Ruling Sparta were a group of twenty-eight men over sixty years old, joined by the two kings. This group of thirty, called the "council of elders" ( gerousia 1), formulated proposals that were submitted to an assembly of all free adult males. The United Kingdom The power of the monarch in the modern British system is mostly symbolic and ceremonial, summed up by the saying, "the Queen reigns but she does not rule." The Queen plays an important role in the government, but does not have any real power. She cannot make or pass legislation and must remain politically neutral. As Head of State, she performs many official duties but almost always acts on the advice of her elected ministers.
The United States of America People elect the representatives who serve them. The ultimate power is with the people. Theocracy A government ruled by officials believed to have divine (from God) guidance. Totalitarianism A government that has "total" control over all aspects of its citizen's lives Unitary centralized government system, generally has a central capital as the focus of power. Vatican City It is the smallest independent nation state in the world in terms of area and population. The head of state is the Pope. The Pope has executive, legislative, and judicial power.