Forms of Government

Study Guide

Part 1: Be able to compare and contrast Democracies and Authoritarian governments using the chart below

Democracy GOVERNMENTS Authoritarian

Presidential , Parliamentary Oligarchies, Monarchies,
Constitutional, Republic, Sub-types Dictatorship, Theocracy
Federation

Elected, representative bodies Single person or small, “elite” group

make laws on behalf of the people.
Who Rules & How? makes rules to govern the masses

Free, fair, & competitive elections Born into power, Military take-over
How are they “chosen?” Appointed, Civil war/Revolution

Divided among representatives

(republic)
Divided layers of government Unitary = No layers; or weak layers
(federalism)
How is power divided? Single Party = No competition of ideas
Separate powers: = legislative,
executive, judicial

Liberty & Equality Core (Political) Values Order & Security

 Forms of Government
Study Guide

MANY or ALL:
Limits on Government SOME or NONE
written constitutions, rights, layers,
branches, elections)

Protects individual rights

Local governments can make their Decisive leadership = sense of security
own laws Popular for… Expand influence in the world
“Access points” to challenge Possiblity for “Democratic Reform”
government

Slow decision making

Restrictions on individual rights
Possibility for “Democratic Unpopular for… Unchecked government corruption
backsliding”

Free market economies Associated with… Command economies

Part 2: Be able to identify the type of government being described in various scenarios. Similar to the
descriptions below:

Scenario 1:
The 8th-grade teachers have decided to have a student government. However, they want to ensure the government can make
decisions quickly with little disagreement. Knowing that elections don’t always produce the best student governors, it is decided that
a select group of teachers will appoint 4 to 5 students to run the government. What type of government did the 8th graders create?
Support your answer with evidence.
 Forms of Government
Study Guide

Scenario 2:
SAES has decided to change how student disciplinary issues are handled by creating a student government that will handle student
infractions. Wanting to make certain that all students have representation, liberty, and equality the school has decided to hold
elections for the offices. Those students who win a majority of votes will become the officers. These offices include a president, who
will organize and lead the student government; a small congress of 10 students, who will make student conduct rules; and a court of
5 student judges, who will decide individual cases of student misbehavior. What type of government has SAES created? Support
your answer with evidence.

Part 3: Free Response. Be able to answer the following using complete sentences and evidence

How do citizens in Democratic Republics make certain their rights are protected? Consider the game, "Do I Have a Right" when
answering this question.