The five major forms of governments in today's era is explained in an easiest way.

1. Five Major Forms of Government
in Today’s World

2. D E F I N I T I O N : A S Y S T E M O F C O U N T RY T H AT
C O N T R O L S A N D M A K E R U L E S F O R T H E
C I T I ZE N S .
Government

3. 1) PROTECT THE STATE
2) MAKE AND ENFORCE LAWS
3) STABILITY AND PROGRESS
Purpose of Government

4. W E D I S T I N G U I S H B E T W E E N D I F F E R E N T F O R M S
O N T H E B A S I S O F O R G A N I ZAT I O N A L
S T R U C T U R E A N D T H E D E G R E E O F C O N T R O L
O V E R T H E S O C I E T Y.
Different Forms of Government

5. 5 of the Major Forms of Government in the
Present day World are:
 Monarchy
 Democracy
 Dictatorship
 Communism
 Theocracy

6. Monarchy
 This is perhaps the oldest form of government.
 Encyclopedia Britannica defines Monarchy as a
“political system based upon the undivided sovereignty or
rule of a single person”

7. Characteristics:
 Power is in the hand of a single person; A King, Queen,
Emperor, Empress, Lord, Ameer, Khalifa or Sultan etc.
 Power shift from one king to the next is usually
hereditary.
 Succession usually passes from father to son or follows
other arrangements within the family or the
monarchical dynasty.

8. Two types of Monarchy
1) Absolute Monarchy:
 When the Monarch has complete authority over all the affairs
of his Kingdom.
 He has the power to enforce any type of law.
2) Constitutional Monarchy:
 A constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a
monarch acts as head of the state within the parameters of a
constitution.
 In most cases, Constitutional Monarchy is practiced in
Parliamentary system in which real authority rests with Prime
Minister and Monarch is just a symbolic head.

9. Some examples in the present day world
 Absolute Monarchy: There are around 7 absolute
monarchies in the present era.
1) Saudi Arabia
2) Qatar
3) UAE
4) Vatican City
5) Oman
6) Andorra
7) Brunei

10. Some examples in the present day World
 Constitutional Monarchy: There are around 34
constitutional monarchies in todays era.
1) United Kingdom
2) Denmark
3) Spain
4) Sweden
5) Cambodia
6) Jordan
7) Japan

11. Democracy

12. Democracy
 Abraham Lincoln defines it “The government of the
people, by the people and for the people”.
 Literal meaning of the word democracy means “rule of
the commoners”.

13. Explanation
 People elect governments of their choice.
 Citizens have share in the authority of the state.
 On major issues a referendum may also be held. For
example Kashmir referendum.

14. General Elements of Democracy
 Guarantee of basic Human Rights to every individual
person, the state and its authorities as well any social group
(especially religious institutions) and any other person.
 Separation of Powers between the institutions of the state:
Government [Executive Power]
Parliament [Legislative Power]
Courts of Law [Judicative Power]
 Freedom of opinion, speech, press and mass media.
 Religious liberty
 General and equal right to vote (one person, one vote)
 Good Governance (focus on public interest and absence of
corruption).

15. Two Types of Democracies
 Direct Democracy
 Representative Democracy

16. Direct Democracy
 People vote on every issue.
 Only practical in a small community.
 Today very few states have direct democracy form of
government.
 Example: In Switzerland, Federal laws and changes to
the constitution are voted on by all citizens.

17. Representative Democracy
 Representative democracy is a system of government in
which all eligible citizens vote on representatives to pass
laws for them.
 People elect representatives who legislate on federal and
national issues.
 Example:
 In Pakistan, MNAs and MPAs legislate on Federal and
National levels respectively.
Similarly, USA officials are elected to make
laws.

18. Types of Representative Democracies
Parliamentary
 Head of the government has real
authority that is Prime Minister.
 Prime Minister is elected by the
Majority Party in the Parliament.
 Examples: Pakistan, India United
Kingdom.
Presidential
• Head of the state has the real authority
that is the President.
• President is elected by people directly.
• Examples: USA, France, Afghanistan

19. Democracy
 Types
1) Direct
2) Representative:
1) Parliamentary
2) Presidentially

20. Dictatorship

21. Dictatorship
 Merriam Webster defines it as “A government or country in
which total power is held by a dictator or small group”.

22. Explanation
 One person or a group of people controls the country. Such as Musharraf and
Hitler and his Nazi Party.
 He is not elected rather he seizes power.
 He may use force to keep control. Such as Kim Jog-un in North Korea.
 The ruler usually does not call himself a dictator rather he considers himself as a
leader.
 Similarly, the country is usually called a democratic republic but is not in reality.
Like elections are held in North Korea but the contesting candidate is usually one.
 Approximately there are 50 dictatorships in the world:
 21 in Africa
 18 in Asia
 8 in Middle East
 1 in Europe
 1 in Caribbean

23. Types of Dictatorships
 Civilian Dictatorship: Authoritarian rule in which the
dictator is a non-military person.
 Some Examples:
1) North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un.
2) Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe.
3) Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema.

24. Types of Dictatorship Cont.…..
 Military Dictatorship: A form of government in which
military leaders control the country.
 Examples:
 Pakistan has been ruled by military dictators four times. General
Ayub Khan, General Muhammad Yahiya Khan, General Zia-ul-
Haq and General Pervez Musharraf.
 In present day world, Cuba, Sudan and Burma etc. have Military
Dictatorships.

25. Communism

26. Communism
 Merriam Webster Dictionary definition:
 A totalitarian system of government in which a
single authoritarian party controls state-owned means of
production.
 Single Party claiming to bring equality, controls the state.
 Goods are owned in common and are available to all as
needed.

27. Major Characteristics
 In most cases, a communist state is based on the ideology
of communism as taught by Marx and/or Lenin.
 However, some argue that these political systems are not
true to the ideals thought by the mentioned revolutionary
thinkers.
 Communist states are often dominated by a single party,
or a group of people.
 A planned economy is often part of the governing class,
and in many cases resources are taken and then
redistributed to others.

28. Major Characteristics Cont.….
 Sometimes communists call themselves “workers’
states” or “socialist,” but there are very real differences
in their operation.
 In a lot of cases, citizens are required to do certain jobs,
or have some of their life decisions — especially
concerning where they can live and what jobs they can
do.
 Communism is often considered an authoritarian
political system.

29. Examples of Communist States
 Today, there are only 5 communist states in the world. Although
they claim their countries as republics, but in reality they are
communist states.
 China has been a communist country since 1949. It has been
called “Red China” due to the control of the dominant communist
party’s control.
 Cuba has been a communist state since 1961.
 Lao People’s Democratic Republic has been a communist state
since 1975.
 North Korea has been a communist state since 1948.
 Vietnam has been a communist state since 1976.

30. Theocracy
 Merriam Webster’s Definition:
“A form of government in which a country is ruled by
religious leaders”.
 The literal meaning of theocracy is that of rule by god
or gods.

31. Explanation
 Often singular religious group dominates and the ruler is usually from
that group.
 A theocratic ruler legitimizes his rule by claiming it as his divine right.
 In some instances, they are considered appointees of the god or gods
themselves whose sole purpose on Earth is to convey the messages and
directions of their divine descendants.
 Theocratic governments seek guidance from higher powers to cover all
aspects of life, including law, punishment, education and marriage.
 Theocratic government is highly influenced from religion and laws are
often made in the light of their faith.
 A theocratic ruler is a kind of dictator. For instance King Henry 8th of
England.

32. Examples
 Iran has been a theocracy since the religious Islamic
Revolution in 1979, when the people of Iran
established a country based on Islamic law.
 Ali Hosseini Khamenei is the Supreme Leader for
life time.
 Ruler of Iran (Khamenei) makes important
appointments.
 Ruler of Iran (Khamenei) can start and end wars.

33. Examples Cont.….
 The Holy See (Vatican City) is also a theocracy.
 It is headed by a religious figure, the Pope, administered
by clergy and governed by religious laws, in this case
those of the Roman Catholic Church.
 There are other theocratic states also.

34. Conclusion
 Systems of governments may not be adopted without any
modifications rather most countries intermix the features of
different political systems according to their needs. For
instance Britain is a democratic country but the monarchic
trend is strictly practiced so as to preserve their old traditions
of court society.
 Also a country may claim its system of government as one but
practically it may be something else like North Korea claims
itself as a democratic people’s republic but practically it is not
a democratic country. Elections are held in the country in
which there is usually one candidate.
 Thus a broad and realistic approach should be taken for the
identification of a country’s system of government.

35. Thank you