Forms of Government - Teachoo.png

  • A form of government is a system by which a state or country is governed.

  • The constitution forms the basis on which a country or state will be governed.

  • Government can be Classified on the basis of the objectives, policies, the way power is exercised and the nature of the constitution.

Democratic Government  Vs  Dictatorship

  • On the basis of answerability to people Government can be classified into Democratic Goverment and Dictatorship 

Here is the difference between Democratic and Dictatorship form of Government.

 

Democracy

Dictatorship

Term is derived from two Greek words that mean “ rule by the people

Term comes from the Latin title dictator, which in the Roman Republic designated a temporary magistrate who was granted extraordinary powers

Power is derived from the people

Power is seized by one person or a small group

Rulers are elected and accountable

Rulers are not elected and not accountable

Based on principles of equality, freedom and participation

Based on principles of coercion, fear and suppression

People can express their opinions, form associations, vote in elections, contest in elections, criticize the government , etc.

People have no say in the affairs of the government, no freedom to dissent or protest, no right to information or justice, etc.

Examples : India, USA and France

Examples : North Korea, China and Myanmar

Parliamentary Vs Presidential 

Parliamentary

Presidential

The executive and the legislature are dependent on each other

The executive and the legislature are separated from each other

There is a fusion of powers

There is a separation of powers

The head of the state is separate from the head of the government

The head of the state is also the head of the government

The executive is based on the support of the party or coalition in the legislature

The executive is elected by the people independently of the legislature

The executive can be removed by a vote of no confidence in the legislature

The executive has a fixed term and cannot be removed by the legislature

Examples : Great Britain, India and Canada

Examples: USA, Brazil and Mexico

Unitary Vs Federal 

Unitary

Federal

There is only one government for the whole country

There is a distribution of power between the central and the state governments

The central government makes and executes the laws

The c entral government makes laws that apply all over the country, while the state governments make laws that apply only in the state

The central government can change or abolish the powers of the lower levels of government

The central and state governments have their own areas of jurisdiction and cannot interfere with each other’s powers

Examples : Great Britain, China and Chile

Examples: I ndia, USA, Switzerland, Nigeria, Brazil

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Davneet Singh

Davneet Singh has done his B.Tech from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. He has been teaching from the past 14 years. He provides courses for Maths, Science, Social Science, Physics, Chemistry, Computer Science at Teachoo.