Types of Government and Political Concepts

Vocabulary flashcards covering systems of government, political socialization, and foundational political structures.

Commodities

Commercially exchanged goods and services.

Socialization

The process by which individuals develop their political values and opinions.

Monarchy

A government system in which a member of a royal family, usually a king or a queen, has absolute authority over a territory and its government, typically inherited from generation to generation.

Constitutional Monarchies

Monarchies in which the monarch plays a ceremonial role but has little say in governance, which is carried out by elected leaders.

Traditional Monarchies

Monarchies in which the monarch is both the ceremonial and the governmental head of state.

Oligarchy

A government system in which an elite few hold power.

Dictatorships

Oligarchies in which a small group, such as a political party or a military junta, supports a dictator.

Democracy

A government system in which the supreme power of governance lies in the hands of citizens.

Republics

Modern democracies, also called representative democracies, in which citizens elect leaders to represent their views.

Totalitarianism

A principle of government where the state essentially controls every aspect of citizens' lives, citizens enjoy neither rights nor freedoms, and the regime tends to center on a particular ideology, religion, or personality.

Authoritarianism

A principle of government where the state holds strong powers that are checked by other forces in society (such as political parties, constitutions, and the military), and citizens may enjoy some rights that are often not protected by the government.

Constitutionalism

A form of government structured by law that provides for limited government.

Limited Government

A government that is restricted in what it can do so that the rights of the people are protected.

Constitutional Democracy

A type of government in which a constitution creates a representative democracy where the rights of the people are protected.

Framers

The authors of the Constitution who structured the American government as a constitutional democracy.