THEOCRACY
Government in which rule is directed by the belief in a god or certain religious
beliefs. It may also be the case that the head of a theocratic government is the
head of a specific religion, as in the case of Vatican City. Alternately, the rulers
are guided specifically by their religious beliefs and usually religious advisors, or
see themselves as emissaries of their god, who are meant to rule their people.
In a true theocracy, the state is seen as directed specifically by God, thus it can
rarely be seen as making a mistake or having a wrong view. New rulers are
appointed; inherit their positions, or chosen.
DICTATORSHIP
Form of government in which the ruler has absolute power, not restricted by a
constitution or laws or opposition. A dictatorship is a form of government that
has the power to govern without consent of those being governed. In this
sense, dictatorship (government without people's consent) is a contrast to
democracy (government whose power comes from people). When governments'
power does not come from the people, their power is not limited and tends to
expand their scope of power to control every aspect of people's life.
In modern usage, the term "dictator" is generally used to describe a leader who
holds and/or abuses an extraordinary amount of personal power, especially the
power to make laws without effective restraint by a legislative assembly.
Dictatorships are often characterized by some of the following traits: suspension
of elections and of civil liberties; proclamation of a state of emergency; rule by
decree; repression of political opponents without abiding by rule of law
procedures.
Dictators generally come into power by force: by seizing control of the
government or overthrowing it.
ABSOLUTE MONARCHY
Form of government where the monarch has the power to rule his or her land or
state and its citizens freely. In an absolute monarchy there is no constitution or
body of law above what is decreed by the sovereign (king or queen). As a theory
of civics, absolute monarchy puts total trust in well-bred and well-trained
monarchs raised for the role from birth.
Rule by one person- a monarch, usually a king or a queen – whose actions are
restricted neither by written law nor by custom; a system different from a
constitutional monarchy and from a republic.
In theory, an absolute monarch has total power over his or her people and land.
Many European kings, such as the Czars of Russia, claimed that they held
supreme autocratic power by divine right, and that their subjects had no right to
limit their power.
CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY
Form of government in which a monarch serves largely as a symbol or
figurehead for the country, which an elected body such as a parliament exercises
political control over most if not all aspects of government. The constitution
allocates the rest of the government's power to the legislature and judiciary.
Government established under a constitutional system which acknowledges an
elected or hereditary monarch as head of state. Modern constitutional
monarchies usually implement the concept of “separation of powers,” where the
monarch either is the head of the executive branch or simply has a ceremonial
role.
Several nations, especially in modern times, have passed from absolute
monarchy to a constitutional monarchy, including Belgium, Britain, Denmark, The
Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Sweden.
PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY
Form of government in which executive and legislative functions both reside in
an elected assembly, or parliament. In a parliamentary system of government,
however, the government and members of parliament are elected in a single
election, even when the possibility of differing coalitions exists. Parliament elects
the government in a parliamentary system; parliament also has the power to
vote the government out of office.
The job of the executive is split in a parliamentary system of government.
Representative duties of state are performed by the state president or monarch.
The real power of government is reserved for the head of government, that is,
the prime minister, chancellor or premier.
In a parliamentary system the government may introduce legislation and
sometimes has an absolute right to veto expenditure laws.






Parliamentary governments around the world are largely patterned on the
British model
Bicameral legislature (two-house)
Elected by the people
Prime minister is chosen from one of the houses
If the pm loses the confidence of his/her party they must resign and a
new pm is chosen
No clear-cut separation of power
PRESIDENTIAL DEMOCRACY
Form of democratic government in which a president is both head of state and
head of government. The American president and the members of Congress are
elected during separate elections.
Under normal circumstances the American Congress does not have the power to
remove the president from office. Congress cannot force the president out of
office, for instance, because it holds a different opinion or because the ruling
majority in Congress has changed. Only if the president commits a criminal
offence, can the House of Representatives and Congress force the president out
of office following a vote on impeachment and a two-thirds-majority vote
respectively.
The US serves as the best example of a presidential democracy. It is
characterized by a clear division between the legislature and government.
Only if the president were to commit certain crimes would it be possible for
him/her to be removed from office during an impeachment process. Only one US
president has been subjected to an impeachment hearing during the 19th
century. Richard Nixon resigned from office in 1978 before a hearing was
invoked. This clear division between the government and parliament means that
the president cannot rely on a constant majority.
► How does an absolute monarchy differ from a constitutional monarchy?
► How do citizens in parliamentary and presidential democracies achieve
governmental change?