What questions are used to classify government?

Answer 1

#1. How many people participate in the government?

In other words, are there elections? Is there a parliament, cabinet, or assembly?

-People elect rulers: Democracy

-Republic / Representative Democracy*: rulers elected by representatives of the people

-Pure / Direct: people elect rulers

-One supreme ruler: Autocracy

-Totalitarian Dictatorship: one supreme ruler controls all aspects of the state

-Benevolent Dictatorship (debatable): totalitarian dictatorship "where the people come first."

: Monarchy

-Constitutional / Limited Monarchy: monarch is bound by the laws or constitution of the state

-Absolute Monarchy: monarch rules like a dictator, but is born into power and claims "divine right."

-Elite group of rulers: Oligarchy

-Few people rule directly or simply have political power through connections, economic position, etc.

#2. How is power distributed?

Meaning, are there states or provinces?

-Confederate:

-States hold the power and tell the central government what it can and cannot do.

Federal:

-Central government tells the states what they can and cannot do.

Unitary:

-No states / provinces / territories. Government power is in one geographic location; includes dictatorships. Most governments in the modern world are Unitary.

#3. What is the relationship between the legislative and executive branches?

-Presidential government:

-A president is elected separate from a Parliament and holds his own power in the executive branch.

-Parliamentary government

-No separate president: prime minister and parliament rely on one another to pass and carry out laws, etc.

#4. How much power does the government posses?

Authoritarian government:

-Mostly Totalitarian, power is concentrated in one person or group; this person / group can decide what freedoms the people have.

Liberal government:

-People have a hand in who rules them (i.e. Democracy).

Answer 2

(1) Who can participate in the governing process (2) the geographic distribution of governmental power within the state, and (3) the relationship between the legislative and the executive branches of the government.

Answer 3

Who can participate in the governing process, the geographic distribution of governmental power within the state, and the relationship between the legislative and he executive branches of the government.