Switzerland 

Citizens elect representatives to sit in two different  lawmaking assemblies. But citizens also vote several  times a year to decide on laws. Citizens can vote to  propose their own laws or undo laws passed by their  representatives. All citizens may vote directly on  these laws. 

North Korea 

One man leads North Korea and controls its  government. He also controls its ruling political  party. The ruling party chooses candidates for an  Assembly, and citizens vote. The candidates do not  have opponents, so citizens have no choices. 

Forms of government: 

Denmark 

The people of Denmark elect representatives to sit  in Parliament, a lawmaking body. The Queen of  Denmark heads the country, but she only has a  small role in government. The government is led by  a Prime Minister, who is appointed from among the  elected representatives. 

South Africa 

From 1948–1994, official policy in South Africa  gave white people all the political power. Even  though the majority of South Africans were Black,  non-whites could not influence government. White  South Africans elected representatives to sit in a  lawmaking body. 

Saudi Arabia 

Saudi Arabia is led by a king. The king appoints a  Council of Ministers to help govern, but there are no  elections. Saudi Arabia’s Basic Law states that the  country’s constitution is the Islamic holy book the  Qur’an and other religious traditions. 

Brazil 

Brazil is led by a president who is elected by the  citizens. Citizens in Brazil elect a new president every  four years. Citizens also elect representatives to  serve in two different legislative bodies. 

Who Rules? 

Someone’s Got to Be In Charge 

If you compared all the governments in the world, you would find  one thing in common: Someone is in charge. The question is, who?  There are many different forms of government. Some have one  leader who has all the control. Others give power to the people.  Here are some forms of government that exist (or have existed) in the world: 

Me, Myself, and I 

Sonja. Norway is a constitutional  monarchy. The king is the head of state  and has a mainly ceremonial role. The  actual government is a democracy. 

Power to the People! 

An autocracy is a government in which one person has all the power.  There are two main types of autocracy: a monarchy and a dictatorship. 

In a monarchy, a king or queen rules the country. The king or queen  is known as a monarch. Monarchs usually come to power through  their family line: The current king or queen’s oldest child becomes the  next king or queen. In some monarchies, especially those in historical  times, the monarch held all the power and had the final say over the  government. In modern times, monarchs usually share power with  other parts of government. Often they are also subject to the country’s  constitution. 

A dictatorship is a form of government where one leader has absolute  control over citizens’ lives. If there is a constitution, the dictator has  control over that, too—so it doesn’t mean much. Although other parts  of the government may exist, such as courts or a lawmaking body,  these branches always do what the dictator wants them to do. They do  not represent citizens.  In a democracy, citizens hold the political power. There are two  fundamental types of democracies: 

In a representative democracy, citizens elect leaders to represent  their rights and interests in government. The elected leaders, or  representatives, do the day-to-day work of governing the country:  They consider the issues, work to find solutions, pass laws, and do  all of the other things necessary to keep a country going. Citizens  hold the ultimate power, though, because if they don’t like what their  representatives are doing, they can vote in new ones! 

In a direct democracy, there are no representatives. Citizens are  directly involved in the day-to-day work of governing the country.  Citizens might be required to participate in lawmaking or act as judges,  for example. The best example of this was in the ancient Greek city state called Athens. Most modern countries are too large for a direct  democracy to work. 

A man votes in Peru. 

The Peruvian legislature 

© 2023 iCivics, Inc. 1 

Who Rules? 

We, Ourselves, and… um… Us 

In an oligarchy (OH-lih-gar-kee), a small group of people has all  the power. Oligarchy is a Greek word that means “rule by a few.”  Sometimes this means that only a certain group has political rights,  such as members of one political party, one social class, or one race.  For example, in some societies, only noble families who owned land  could participate in politics. An oligarchy can also mean that a few  people control the country. For example, a junta is a small group of  people—usually military officers—who rule a country after taking it  over by force. A junta often operates much like a dictatorship, except  that several people share power. 

Religious Rule 

From 1962 to 2011, Myanmar (also  known as Burma) was ruled by a military  junta that was condemned by the world  for its human rights violations. 

Crown of the Holy Roman Empire,  which was tied to the Catholic church  and lasted from the 10th—19th century. 

Rule by None 

A theocracy is a government that recognizes God or a divine being  as the ultimate authority. (“Theo” is a Greek word that means god.)  In a theocracy, religious law is used to settle disputes and rule the  people. A theocracy can also be a democracy, dictatorship, monarchy,  or just about any other kind of government. For example, the Republic  of Iran recognizes Islamic law, but Iran’s citizens vote to elect their  leaders. Modern theocracies are usually found in countries where the  population is strongly religious. 

In an anarchy, nobody is in control—or everyone is, depending on how you look  at it. Sometimes the word anarchy is used to refer to an out-of-control mob. When  it comes to government, anarchy would be one way to describe the human state  of existence before any governments developed. It would be similar to the way  animals live in the wild, with everyone looking out for themselves. Today, people  who call themselves anarchists usually believe that people should be allowed to  

freely associate together without being subject to any nation or government.  There are no countries that have anarchy as their form of government.

True or False? Use what you learned in the reading and in Activity A to complete the chart. 

1. A monarchy can be like a dictatorship or it  can be part of a democracy. 

 True  False 

Example or Reason: 

2. A dictatorship can also be a democracy.Example or Reason: 

3. A democracy can have both representative  and direct characteristics at the same time. 

4. An oligarchy can include representative  democracy. 

5. A government can be both a monarchy and  an anarchy at the same time. 

Example or Reason: Example or Reason: Example or Reason: 

6. Theocracy can co-exist with monarchy.Example or Reason: 7. Theocracy can co-exist with democracy.Example or Reason: 

8. An oligarchy can be like a dictatorship. True  False 

Example or Reason: