By comparing political systems, we can develop anappreciation for those systems that provide a large degreeof personal freedom and economic opportunity. Choose aforeign country to research. Look for significant historicalevents that influenced the countrys government. Reportyour findings to the class.

To learn more about comparative government, view theDemocracy in Action video lesson 25: Parliamentary v.Presidential Systems.

Compare and Contrast Study Foldable Make this foldable and use it to helpyou identify similarities and differences in governments around the world.

Reading andWriting As you readthe chapter, writeinformation undereach tab to help youcompare and contrastdifferent types ofgovernments and thecountries where theyare in place.

586A woman in Bizana, South Africa,

encourages her fellow citizens to vote.

Cut alongthe fold lineson both sides.

AbsoluteMonarchy

Dictator-ship

PresidentialSystem

Parlia-mentarySystem

Step 2 Fold thepaper in halffrom side toside.

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AFP/CORBIS

Step 1 Mark the midpoint of a side edgeof one sheet of paper. Then fold theoutside edges in to touch at the midpoint.

Step 3 Open andcut along theinside fold linesto form four tabs.

Step 4 Label as shown.

Chapter Overview Visit the CivicsToday Web site at civ.glencoe.comand click on Chapter OverviewsChapter 27 to preview chapterinformation.

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http://civ.glencoe.com

As a teenager in World War II in Italy,Ginetta Sagan joined the underground resistancemovement. During the war, the young girl helpedpublish an underground paper and carriedinformation to the Allies in Switzerland. Sheescorted hundreds of fugitivesJews, antifascists,soldiers who deserted, and many othersacross a barbed wire fence that separated Italy fromSwitzerland. Ginetta immigrated to the UnitedStates in 1951 and over time helped foundAmnesty International USA. Ginetta also workedto abolish torture practices in foreign prisons.For her efforts on behalf of the oppressed, shereceived the Presidential Medal of Freedom,the nations highest civilian award.

Authoritarian GovernmentLike snowflakes, no two governments are exactly alike.

Each country is unique, shaped by its history, culture, politicalinterests, and economic needs; yet for thousands of years, peo-ple have been studying and classifying governments.

Aristotle, for example, was a scholar who lived in ancientGreece. He identified three types of government: rule by a sin-gle person; rule by a small, elite group; and rule by the people.Many scholars prefer to describe governments by using twobroad categories on a spectrum: those that are democratic (onone end of the spectrum) and those that are authoritarian(on the other end of the spectrum). In democratic regimes, asyou know, the people rule. In authoritarian regimes, power isheld by an individual or group not accountable to the people.

Winston Churchill, Great Britains leader during World War II,said that no one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise.Yet most people who live in democratic countriesand manywho dontwould agree that democracy beats the alternatives.Whether power is concentrated to a small group (an oligarchy)or just one person (a dictatorship), the ordinary citizens com-monly have little voice in authoritarian governments.

GUIDE TO READING

Main IdeaMany countries are shiftingtoward a more democraticsystem of government.

Key Termsauthoritarian,absolute monarch,dictator, totalitarian,constitutional monarchy,parliamentary system,prime minister

Reading StrategyContrasting InformationCreate a chart like the one below to explainthe difference betweenauthoritarian governmentand democratic government.

Read to Learn What types of

government exist? Why are many nations

changing from authoritarian rule to amore democratic form of government?

Types ofGovernment

SECTION

Government

Authoritarian Democratic

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Ginetta Sagan,proponent of amnestyand prisoners rights

588 Chapter 27 Comparing Systems of GovernmentAP/Wide World Photos

Forms of Government Democracies likeMexico and Japan endeavor to provide their citizens freedom and opportunities that ThomasJefferson called the pursuit of happiness.Vicente Fox (right) is Mexicos president.Junichiro Koizumi (below) is Japans prime minister. How do democracies and authori-tarian regimes differ?

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Chapter 27 Comparing Systems of Government 589

Absolute Monarchy The word monarchy describes a gov-

ernment with a hereditary rulera king orqueen (or czar, empress, sultan, or otherroyal figure) who inherits this position ofpower. Until about the 1600s, such rulerswere mostly absolute monarchs. That is,they had unlimited authority to rule as they wished.

Many countries still have monarchs, butabsolute monarchy is almost nonexistent.In the Middle East, however, the king ofSaudi Arabia and the emir of Qatar mightstill be considered absolute. Their poweris technically unrestricted, although they doconsult with advisers and are constrainedby Islamic law.

Dictatorships Dictators, like absolute monarchs,

exercise complete control over the state.They usually take power by force, althoughsometimes, when a crisis situation demandsa strong leader, authorities may place themin charge. To stay in power, most dictatorsrely on the police and military. They often

tamper with elections or refuse to holdthem. They also limit freedom of speech,assembly, and the press.

Scores of dictators have ruled through-out history. Those who only seek personalgain are often overthrown quickly. Theruler of Uganda, Idi Amin was deposed(removed from power) in 1979. His brutalregime led to hundreds of thousands ofdeaths and plunged the country into chaosand poverty. With the help of the UnitedStates, Panamanian dictator ManuelNoriega was deposed in 1989.

Others endure for decades. Fidel Castrohas been in power in Cuba since 1959.Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq from 1979until he was overthrown in 2003.

Totalitarianism Many dictators impose totalitarian

rule on their people. In a totalitarian state,the governments control extends to almostall aspects of peoples lives. Totalitarianleaders typically have a master plan for theeconomy and society. They ban politicalopposition. They regulate what industries

(l)AP/Wide World Photos, (r)AFP/CORBIS

590 Chapter 27 Comparing Systems of Government

and farms produce. They suppress individ-ual freedom, dictating what people shouldbelieve and with whom they may associate.To enforce their ideology, totalitarian lead-ers control the media and use propaganda,scare tactics, and violence.

Three of the most notorious totalitarianregimes arose in the 1920s and 1930s.Theywere Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler,Fascist Italy under Benito Mussolini, andthe Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin.Today, China, Cuba, and North Korea areusually considered totalitarian states.

Describing What is atotalitarian government?

Democratic GovernmentsUntil the late 1600s, absolute monar-

chy was the dominant form of govern-ment. As early as the 1200s, however, theEnglish began to place restrictions on theirking. In most countries with monarchs,absolute monarchy has now given way to

constitutional monarchy, in which thepower of the hereditary ruler is limited bythe countrys constitution and laws.

Modern constitutional monarchiesgenerally follow democratic practices. Asyou learned earlier, the characteristics of ademocracy include individual liberty,majority rule with minority rights, andfree elections with secret ballots.

The people participate in governing,and elected officials make laws and policies.The monarchs are heads of state only, pre-siding at ceremonies and serving as sym-bols of unity. The queen of Great Britain,the emperor of Japan, and the queen of theNetherlands are a few examples.

Another type of democracy is the repub-lica representative government in whichno leaders inherit office. As you learned, thevoters hold sovereign power in a republic.The people elect representatives and givethem the responsibility and power to makelaws and conduct government. For mostAmericans today, the terms representativedemocracy, republic, and constitutional

Two Forms of Democracy

Relationship AmongBranches of Government

Method of ChoosingTop Official

Role ofTop Official

PRESIDENTIALSYSTEM

Powers of executive,legislative, and judicialbranches are separated

President is electeddirectly by popular vote

President acts as headof government andhead of state

Executive and legislativefunctions are united;judiciary operatesindependently

Prime minister ischosen by membersof Parliament

Prime minister usuallyacts as head ofgovernment only(monarch or presidentis head of state)

PARLIAMENTARYSYSTEM

C27 01C 825989The branches of government have different responsibili-ties under the various forms of democratic government.How does the method of choosing the top official differ?

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Chapter 27 Comparing Systems of Government 591

republic mean the same thing: a system oflimited government in which the people arethe ultimate source of governmental power.The United States, of course, was the firstsuch democracy. From Argentina toZimbabwe, there are now many more.

The Expansion of Democracy The number of democratic states grew

considerably in the mid-1900s, after WorldWar II. Since t