


#DEMOCRACY 3 MONARCHY FREE#
The values it embodies-particularly the right to choose leaders in free and fair elections, freedom of the press, and the rule of law-are under assault and in retreat globally.Ī quarter-century ago, at the end of the Cold War, it appeared that totalitarianism had at last been vanquished and liberal democracy had won the great ideological battle of the 20th century. Whether it be the allocation of power to a single person, a group of people, or evenly distributed to everyone, power is the shared theme of all types of government systems.Democracy is in crisis. While these types of government systems all vary, they have at least one similarity: the allocation of power. Burundi, Chad, Equatorial Guinea and North Korea are contemporary examples of countries run by a dictator. Dictators are not held accountable for their actions and thus are free to do as they please, including limiting citizens’ rights.

A dictator does not usually inherit their power like a monarch does they either seize control of the state by force or through (usually unfair) elections. Aspects often include military organizational backing, unfair elections (if any) and various human rights violations. It is an authoritarian form of government where one person is in charge of enforcing and enacting the law. It is not necessarily ruled by a theology or belief. In a dictatorship, a single person, a dictator, has absolute power over the state. Examples of communist states include China, Cuba and Vietnam. In some cases, citizens of a communist state are given certain jobs or life duties in an effort to obtain collective citizenship for the state. A single party or group of people usually runs communist states. Only a few countries still have systems where the monarch retains control these include Brunei, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Swaziland.Ī communist government system is usually based on a particular ideology of communism taught by Karl Marx or Vladimir Lenin. Today, the majority of monarchy governments have transitioned to constitutional monarchies, where the monarch is head of state but only performs ceremonial roles and does not have state power. In a monarchy, an individual from the royal family holds the position of power until they die. In a monarchy, state power is held by a single family that inherits rule from one generation to the next. Some examples of countries with a republic government system include Argentina, Bolivia, Czech Republic and France. A republic may be governed by a group of nobles, as long as there is not a single monarch. Broadly defined, a republic is a government system without a monarch. In a republic government system, the power also rests with the people, as they are in charge of electing or choosing the country’s leader, instead of the leader being appointed or inheriting power. Other examples of democratic states include Aruba, Bulgaria, Canada, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. The difference is significant when put into action. In a representative democracy, citizens elect representatives who make the law. In a direct democracy, every citizen is given an equal say in the government. The difference lies in the method of civilian participation. While most use the United States as an example of a democratic government system, the United States actually has what is called a representative democracy. In fact, the word democracy is Greek for “people power”. It can be traced back to as early as the fifth century B.C. Five Types of Government SystemsĪ democracy can be defined as a government system with supreme power placed in the hands of the people. This list details what to know about each. Today, the five most common government systems include democracy, republic, monarchy, communism and dictatorship. Since then, many more have been formulated, but the main themes and ideas have remained. These consisted of monarchy, aristocracy and polity. Aristotle was the first to define three principal types of government systems in the fourth century B.C.
