Government

the institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policies

Legislative

The power to make laws and frame public policies

Executive

The power to execute, enforce, and administer laws

Judicial

The power to interpret laws, determine their meaning, and to settle disputes that arise within the society

Constitution

A constitution is the basic principles and laws of a nation, state, or social group that determine the powers and duties.

4 Characteristics of a state

 population, territory, sovereignty, and government. 

dictatorship

form of government where those who rule cannot be held

responsible to the will of the people

Democracy

a form of government in which the supreme authority rests

with the people

state

a body of people, living in a defined territory, organized

politically, and with the power to make and enforce law

without the consent of any higher authority

Sovereign

when a state has supreme and absolute power within its

own territory and can decide its own foreign and domestic

policies

Autocracy

a form of government in which a single person holds

unlimited political power

Oligarchy

a form of government in which the power to rule is held by

a small, usually self-appointed elite

Unitary Government

a centralized government in which all government powers

belong to a single, central agency

Federal government

a form of government in which powers are divided be-

tween a central government and several local govern-

ments