Government
Distribution of Power
Each country must decide how to set up its
government. They must decide how to
distribute power and how to organize the
government. Some countries choose to spread
out the power to lower levels of government while others
choose to have one central government. Governments choose
to be unitary, confederation, or federal.
Unitary
The central government has all the power. A constitution
outlines the duties, powers, and people of the central
government. The government can give power to or create
lower levels of government, like states or communities. This
power can be taken back by the government at any time.
Confederation
A group of states or communities that come together to
support each other and to work on common problems. In a
confederation, participants are voluntary, equal members.
They can not take action without first consulting each other.
Membership is voluntary and members are not forced to do
things they do not want to do.
Federal
All Federal systems have a constitution
which explains the rights, responsibilities, and
duties of the central government and the
states. Power is divided between the central
government and the lower levels of government.
Distribution of Power Guided Reading Questions
1.
What are the 3 ways governments distribute power?
• ______________________________
• ______________________________
• ______________________________
2. Who holds all of the power in a unitary distribution of power
system? _________________________
3. Describe a confederation.
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
4. Who holds the power in a confederate distribution of power
system? _________________________________________
5. What documents explains the rights,
responsibilities and duties of the
central and state governments in a
federal government?
__________________________
6. How is power distributed in a federal system? __________
________________________________________________
Government
Citizen Participation
Type of rule
Who holds Who can be
the power?
elected?
Single ruler
-Monarchy
-Dictatorship
No oneUnlimited
citizens have
power for
no choice in
the ruler
the ruler
Oligarchic
Small group
of people
Group
answers
only to
each other
No one
outside the
ruling
group- the
rulers are
selected by
the group
Democratic
Citizens of
the country
The voters
Any citizen
Autocratic
Who can
vote?
No citizen
participation
- no
elections are
held
No citizen
participation
- leaders are
chosen from
with the
ruling group
and by the
group
Any citizen
Citizen Participation Questions
1. In which government(s) do the citizens have no
voting rights?_______________________________
2. In an autocracy, who has the power of the
government?________________________________
3. How do autocratic rulers come to power? ______________
________________________________________________
4. In which type of government do a
small number of people govern?
______________________________