Chapter 2 Flashcards
Political system based on the rule of local lords bound to a monarch by ties of loyalty
Feudalism
The king or queen had almost complete power
Absolute monarchy
The monarch is primarily a ceremonial head of state
Constitutional monarchies
Country in which the governments authority comes only from the people
Republic
Allowed all adults to participate in government decisions
Classical republic
Citizens control their government
Democracy
Power in the hands of a single person or small group of people
Dictatorship
If a single person holds the power
Autocracy
Small group holds the power
Oligarchy
Dictators answer only to themselves not the people
Authoritarian
Rulers seek complete control over all aspects of citizens lives
Totalitarian
Totalitarian type rule, control over everything
Despotism
All legal power is held by the national, or central government
Unitary system
Powers are divided among national, state, and local government
Federal systems
Independent states join together to accomplish common goals
Confederal system
Executive branch and legislative branch are separate from each other
Presidential system
Prime minister chosen by executive branch (parliament)
Parliamentary system
The head of the state is a king or queen
Monarchy
A state of political disorder resulting from the absence of rules or government
Anarchy
When decisions are based on the desire of more than half of the membership of a group.
Majority rule
Form of democracy that protects the rights of the minority
Liberal democracy
Political rights that cannot be abolished in a democracy even though they are held by less than half of the population
Minority rights
System in which laws may be made directly by all citizens
Direct democracy
People elect representatives to conduct the business of government for them
Representative democracy
