C.3 Political Science, Skill #6

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C.3 Political Science, Skill #6

Compare various political systems in terms of elements, structures, and functions.

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Describing government based on where authority lies

centralized

government can have more uniform policy, equity, and less conflict

decentralized

considered closer to people, more responsive and flexible to meeting their citizens' needs and open to innovation

three types

unitary: all of the authority lies in a sole, central organization; every citizen entitled to the same rights and benefits so it is easier to maintain unity and form a common national identity

confederal (confederation): most of the power is allocated tor regional governments who can defy national government to whom they allow only a limited amount of power

federal: member states give up most of their power to a central gov but retain some power as well; shared powers tend to work well in countries where variations in economy/ condition/ culture make it difficult to impose a single system

shared

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Describing gov. by how the executive and legislative branches interact

parliamentary system

fusion of the executive (law making) and legislative (law enforcing) branches

executive leader referred to as the prime minister/ premier

executive not separated from the legislative branch but is a member elected by other members to preside over it

must resign if lose a vote of confidence

strength

deliver effective, but responsible government

prime minister can easily implement legislative agenda with the confidence of the parliament

problem

must rely upon catering to minority parties in order to gain power

presidential system

based on the application of separation of powers

executive, legislative, judicial functions divided into separate branches that retain an equal amount of power and have a set of checks and balances that give each branch their own jurisdiction of power and limit the power of each

weakness

because power is shared, if the parties in power in the executive and legislative branches are different, legislative agendas may be hindered by one party refusing to negotiate with the other

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Defining government based on the number of decision makers who participate in government operations

anarchy

no one is making the decisions in government

believes in the elimination of the state and the instead advocates self-rule by individuals in autonomous communities (stateless societies)

"stateless society" can also apply to groups of people without a physical area/ leader to call their own

autocracy

only one person has dominant power and makes all the decision in government

power controlled by a monarch, political dictator, or a religious leader

do not hold elections

oligarchy

political power rests with a small, elite group that makes all of the decisions in government; tend to be exclusionary and not allow new groups into it

hold elections; tend to engage in practices that limit opponents

competitive oligarchy

share power but tend to arise as transitional governments that have come out of a dictatorship

plutocracy

led by only a few, super wealthy individuals

polyarchy

hold elections; tend to hold fair elections

consist of a rule by a group with mass participation that relies on a leadership that is managed by competing elites

democratic in that there is some choice and competition for power, but undemocratic in that mas participation is limited to only what the wealthy elites permit

democracy

everyone given the opportunity to participate in government and power distributed evenly and more widely diffused

representative democracy

people choose individuals to run government and to make decisions for them

communist

all goods and production are owned equally, no individual ownership

socialist

operates under the belief that the inequalities that exist in society are unjust and the government provides extensive social services to its citizens

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Defining government by how the leaders get their positions

monarchy

leader obtains position by hereditary means

constitutional monarchy

monarch but also a government that is elected and a constitution that sets to how the government should function

republic

leaders are elected

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Defining government based on whether there are effective constraints on the government

constitutional

effective constraints on the gov

dictatorship

no effective constraints on government

oldest form of government

does not require the permission of the people for an individual to take hold of gov

has absolute control over a gov, often have complete control over citizen's lives

military dictatorship

systems based on military power

authoritarian government

rulers can make decisions without consent of those they are governing

totalitarian government

extreme form of authoritarian government

attempts to achieve complete conformity with no disagreement tolerated

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Defining gov by rights of citizens

monarchies

historically, majority of citizens didn't have voice in public life; main contribution of citizen is as a subject

historically, political power reserved for aristocrats who controlled most of land/ wealth

over time nobles began to demand greater role in society and eventually the king's power became restricted and political rights extended to a greater number of people

Marxist

citizen sacrifices the expense of the individual for the greater good of the state

Democracy

everyone involved in political process so everyone has responsibility