Classifying government : vocab

1.07

anarchy

absence of any form of government

Parliament

a national representative body having supreme legislative powers within the state

authoritarian government

when a government has substantial but not absolute power

autocracy

ruled by one person with absoulate authority

autocrat

a ruler with absolute authority

branch

a major component of government

confederate government

a type of government in which the power of governments is divided evenly among an association of states

democracy

a government controlled by the people, either directly or through elected representatives

despot

a ruler with absolute power; also dictator, autocrat

dictator

a ruler with absolute power; an autocrat

dictatorship

a government led by a single leader with complete authority

direct democracy

a system of government in which the people, rather than elected representatives, directly make political decisions

division of powers

power split between a central government and smaller local or regional governments

enlightened despot

an 18th-century autocratic ruler who used his power to benefit the people

federal government

a central government with certain powers over the states

idealogy

a set of beliefs on economic, social, and governmental issues

indirect democracy

a democracy in which people do not directly govern or directly vote for their representatives; for example, citizens vote for the electoral college, which elects the president

limited government

a form of government in which the people grant the government the right to rule; the governments powers are clearly limited. usually in a written document

oligarchy

ruled by a privileged few over the many

presidential government

a type of government in which the legislative branch and the executive branch are separate and provide checks and balances on each others powers

representative democracy

a form of government in which citizens vote for officials to represent them

republic

a government in which ultimate sovereignty belongs to the people, and the people elect officials to represent them in government decisions

totalitarian government

a system of government that is centralized and dictatorial and requires complete subservience to the state

unitary government

a centralized system of government in which smaller, subordinate governing units can exercise only those powers granted to them by the larger, central government