FORMS OF

GOVERNMENT
Prepared by:
JEREMIE F. VILLARIN
 1. Distribution of Power
a. Unitary Government Power is held
by one authority.
Example: Philippines, Denmark, Italy,
Finland, Peru and Rwanda
b. Confederation – it is a
voluntary association of
independent states that often
delegate a few powers to the
central government.
c. The state of being allied or confederated.
Weak or loose organization of states
agrees to follow a powerful central
government.
Example: The Commonwealth of
Independent States (CIS) formerly known as
the Soviet Union, Switzerland’s Canton
System.
d. Federal Government
Power- is divided between
one central and several
regional authorities.
Example: Malaysia, USA,
Nigeria, Australia
 2. Citizen Participation
a. Autocracy- form of government wherein one person
possesses unlimited power. The citizen has limited, if
any, role in government.

In addition, Monarchy is a government in which the

supreme power is lodged in the hands of a monarch who
reigns over a state or territory ,usually for life and by
hereditary right;
 the monarch may be either a
sole absolute ruler or a sovereign–
such as a king, queen, or prince–
with constitutionally limited
authority.
 Forms of Autocratic Government
1. Absolute or Totalitarian Dictatorship
- the idea of a single leader glorified. Government
tries to control all aspects of social and economic
life.

Examples: Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and Joseph

Stalin
2.Absolute Monarchy
- the king, queen or emperor exercises the
supreme and unlimited powers of government
wherein the position is usually inherited.

Examples: King of Saudi Arabia

b. Oligarchy- government by the few.
Sometimes a small group exercises control, especially for
corrupt and selfish purposes. The group gets its power from
military power, social power, wealth, religion or
combination.

Examples: Communist countries such as China.

Leaders in the party and armed forces control
government.
c. Democracy
• It is a government based on the consent of the
governed. The people are the sovereign, thus,
they hold the highest political authority. People
have a high degree of participation in every
government processes.
 2 Forms of Democracy
1. Indirect Democracy or Representative
Democracy- people directly elect their leaders
who will govern them and perform
governmental functions.
2. Direct Democracy- people will convene in a mass
assembly and directly formulate and expressed
the will of the state.
 3. Legitimacy
a. De Jure- form of government wherein it has the
people’s support and process constitutional
mandate. It is a legitimate government.
b. De facto- form of government supported by the
people but no constitutional mandate or legal
support.
4. Executive and Legislative Relationship
a. Presidential- executive branch exists
separately from the legislature. The
president is constitutionally independent of
the legislature because they are elected
directly by the people.
b. Parliamentary- form of government in
which members of an executive
branch (the cabinet and its leader- a
prime minister, premier, or chancellor)
are nominated to their positions by a
legislature or parliament, and are
directly responsible to it.