Government and types of power

Military Power

Using your military resources to force another state to take an action
The ultimate hard power
Less used now between countries than in other times in history
Today, more likely to be seen in civil wars, against own population, or with terrorist groups

Economic Power

Hard power: economic sanctions or boycotts
Soft power: investments in a country or economic aid

Social/Cultural Power

How well known and respected is your people's culture? (language, food, religion, values, clothing, etc.)
How dominant is your culture in the community/world?

Structural Power

When a state influences the political ideas or political structures of another country or the world.
Can be achieved through hard or soft power

Anarchy!/Failed State!

No one (never was an official government or it collapsed)
Warlords and strongmen might force people to obey (might makes right)

Autocracy! (Single Ruler)

The single autocrat (dictator, queen, king, emperor) has absolute power
Power often passed down through families

Autocracy (Oligarchy/Ruling Elite)

A small group of people
Perhaps a few families, the nobility, high members of a political party
Official government has little actual control

Theocracy

A small group of religious leaders (oligarchy)
OR an single leader who claims religious authority (autocracy single ruler)

Democracy

Direct democracy: The people
Republic: officials elected by the people

Parliamentary Democracy (kind of republic)

Parliamentary republic: people elect legislators, majority party selects a member to be Prime Minister as chief executive

US Style Democracy (Presidential Republic)

People elect legislators to represent their geographic area (for example, senators)
Whole territory votes to elect chief executive (for example, president)

Constitutional Monarchy!

Monarch (symbolic only usually)
Constitution limits monarch's power
Elected officials have the real power

hard power

You try to achieve goals by coercing or forcing someone to do something

soft power

You try to achieve goals through persuasion and influence

Formal power

Official power granted to someone by their job, by law, etc.
The President has the formal power to veto laws.
The boss has the formal power to hire and fire people from her department

Informal Power

Power someone has that is unofficial.
Respect, charisma, popularity, connections to authority, wealth, etc., etc. influence