DE LA SALLE

SANTIAGO ZOBEL
SCHOOL
HIGH SCHOOL SOCIAL
STUDIES DEPARTMENT
SCHOOL YEAR 2011-2012

Volume I, Issue 1

Special points of
interest:
Explain the importance of
the government as a state
element
Compare and contrast
the different forms of
government here and
around the world
Relate the importance of
beliefs and culture to the
establishment of governments
Relate governments to
the preservation of state
ideals

Inside this issue:

Classification Struc- 2
tures and systems
of Government

Classification ac- 5
cording to Distribution of Power
6

August, 2012

Governments: Definition and Roles

A government is a body
of people that sets and administers public policy and
exercises executive, political,
and sovereign power
through customs, institutions,
and laws within a state. It
includes all the personnel,
systems and all powers affecting the enforcement of
state principles and policies.
It is derived from the Latin
infinitive gubernare, meaning
"to govern" or "to manage".
Important roles that the
government assumes in
the state

Government, Def- 1
initions and Importance

Strengths and Weaknesses of Unitary

Federal and Confederated States

GOVERNMENTS

The following are the basic

roles that the government
assumes to make the state
an effective one:
Protects the basic principles and values of the state
and its people
Protects and defends the
human rights of every individual in the state
Creates systems that
will efficiently distribute
wealth to address the needs
of the people
Implements laws for
peace and order efficiently
Ensures better relation
of the state with other state
Provides infrastructure
that will ensure fair and just
taxation system.

Separation of Powers:
Basic Concept
One of the basic concepts of
democratic governments is
the practice of the so
called separation of powers. This concept categorizes the functions and powers
in the government into 3:
the legislative, executive and
the judicial. This political
concept stresses that the no
two governmental body can
do the same duty at the
same time. For example, if
the legislative branch is in
charge of law making, then
the executive branch cannot
make laws but recommend
what laws should be done or
make changes or veto or
reject laws if laws passed by
the legislative branch will
affect the state and the people. This socalled check
and balance system that the
government branches do
ensures that the power existing in the state does not
only lie in the hands of the
few. This should also prevent the possibility of misuse
of power as seen in the past.
This concept also gives more
power to the creation of
agencies that will ensure the
proper distribution of power
in the state. For example, in
our government, we have
the socalled Office of the

Ombudsmanan office
whose role is check if powers among the 3 government
powers are not misused. If
in case there is an alleged
misuse of power, then they
will stand as an investigating
body that will ensure that
the separation of power is
observed.

Philippine Government Seal

Source: http://vhinzsdc.wordpress.com/phil.jpg

Baron de Montesquieu emphasized the

separation of powers of the branches of the government
Source: http://csmh.pbworks.com/f/Power%
20Separation.png

Page 2

GOVERNMENTS

Classification, Structures and Systems of Government

Ruled by One

Ruled by the Few

Ruled by Many

Monarchy

Aristocracy

Democracy

- a government that has a single

person who is generally
considered the ruler by the title
and birthright

- derived from the Greek

etymology aristo which means
best and kratia or kratos which
means rule

- derived from the Greek

etymology demos which means
people and kratia or kratos
which
means rule

- titles include Czar, King, Queen,

Emperor and Caesar

- a government by the best

members of the community

- society is formed around feudal

groups or tribes in which the ruling
family delegates power and
authority based upon the desires
of a single individual
Absolute Monarchy
- the monarch exercises
absolute power and wields
executive, legislative and
judicial powers
- power is absolute and is
either taken through
conquest or passed down
to family members without
regard for ability or
appropriateness
Limited Monarchy
- the monarch delegates
powers; the legislative
body, judicial power by
the court and executive
power by the King or
Queen exercise legislative
power; rules according to
their constitution.
(Examples: Great Britain,
Belgium, Japan, Spain

Aristocrats are presumably men of

the highest intelligence and
integrity. They belong to the
elite in society. Their social
status, wealth and political
power are inherited.
2. Oligarchy
- government of a wealthy few but
they do not come from nobility
like aristocrats
Oligarchs believe that the most
important requisites to claim
of power are wealth, good
social positions and education; it is unlikely that oligarchy could serve the interest of
the masses since they use
their positions in the government for their personal benefit. They build economic empires for themselves and their
family.

- the Constitution guarantees

freedom of speech, freedom of
association, freedom of religion
and freedom of expression
- two essential features of a
democratic government:
Majority Rule - the majority of
citizens choose their
leaders who then have
the mandate to govern
and make public policies
Minority Rights - this is ensured
so long as the minority of
citizens openly attempts
to win majority support
for leaders and policies
without loss of individual
rights just as the majority
enjoys these rights
- a democracy is made to work
when the following interact:
Citizens - play an important role in
making democracy effective.
Active participation is necessary
in order to prevent government
from committing abuses. Citizens
help balance power and authority of government officials

Volume I, Issue 1

Page 3

Classification, Structures and Systems of Government

2. Dictatorship
- a type of government controlled
by a single individual and giving
the people little or no individual
freedom
- typically a person who rules by
threat of force
- people who are loyal to a
Dictatorship swear allegiance to
the person first and the country
second
- Fascism, Theocracies, Monarchies
and Communism = dictatorships
- applicable during a period of
chaos or discontent when the
leader seeks emergency powers
to implement policies
- used by a leader to remain in
office and maintain power
Benito Mussolini (fascist dictator of WWII)
defined it as, everything for the
state, nothing outside the state, and
nothing against the state. This
meant that people needed to surrender themselves totally to the political system.
Authoritarianism - the political actions
and decisions of the ruler are not
constrained, while political rights and
freedoms of the citizens are significantly limited
Totalitarianism - government uses ideology to captivate peoples loyalty to
the leader-dictator; the totalitarian
dictator wields absolute power; the
use of coercion, violence and force
is a tool to maintain obedience from
the people

Citizens should exercise their freedom and

rights within the bounds of the Constitution
and the law, just as government should
exercise its authority within limits.
Suffrage/Electoral Process - suffrage is the
right conferred by law upon a qualified
group of citizens to choose their public
officials and to participate in the determination of proposed policies whenever these policies are submitted to them for approval. The citizens must use this right prudently to elect qualified people who can
govern competently and responsibly.
Political Parties - intertwined with democratic government. This is a
group of officials or would-be officials who are linked with a sizable
group of citizens into an organization; a chief object of this organization is to ensure that its officials
attain power or are maintained in
power. The partys nature as a
structure, tying together a large
group of officials and citizens, provides an avenue by which one
part may control or communicate
with another. It is this that has
made it such a versatile tool of
modern politics.
Interest Groups - organized group of
citizens whose goal is to influence
government policy based on their
advocacies. They aim to represent public opinion and have it
heard in an organized and effective way by government authorities.

Page 4

GOVERNMENTS

Classification, Structures and Systems of Government

Characteristics of a Totalitarian state:
Government utilizes ideology to captivate the peoples belief and loyalty
to the leader-dictator
A totalitarian leader who wields absolute power
The use of force, violence coercion and
terrorism to control the people
Centralized control by the government
of the nations economy
Everyone must conform and accept the
policies of the dictatorship
To maximize the effectiveness of terror
as a means of mass control, the
government controls all means of
communication and propaganda
(ex. Soviet Union)
Centralized control by the governments economy; every business
enterprise is regulated and coordinated by the existing regime
Examples:
Nazism - Adolf Hitler
Fascism - Benito Mussolini

Ideology
- A set of ideas and principles that explain how society should work
- A political ideology concerns itself with how to allocate power
- We develop our ideologies in such a way that they fit our needs and predispositions, reflecting what
we want;
but they also take on a life of their own and guide our decisions
- One of the most influential and well defined political ideologies of the 20 th century was based on
Karl Marx
and Friedrich Engels original formulations

Marxism - The theory of government was based on the ideals of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in
the book The Communist Manifesto written in the 1848. Marxism advocates the
"workers" (proletariats and petite-bourgeoisie) rise up and overthrow businesses and government, and
take control themselves. Marxism advocates a classless society in which everything is shared and
owned by all.

Volume I, Issue 1

Page 5

Classification according to Distribution of Power

Unitary
- A central government that holds
all legitimate power
- The central government is given
all authority to make all policies,
although it may deputize other
governmental structures to act on
its behalf
Advantage:
- there is clear hierarchical
authority, simple in
structure
Disadvantage:
- over-centralized
administrative control
over
local affairs overburdens
the central government
with numerous local
problems
- retrains local initiative and
interest in managing the
affairs of local government

Federal
- Local governmental authorities
are set-up by the constitution
and these authorities are given
certain political decisions over
which they have a legal monopoly of control
- Government powers are divided
between the central government
and its local government units as
specified in the constitution of the
state
In contrast to a unitary state, there
is an explicit sharing of power
among levels of government in a
federation, and no level has legal
power to dominate any other level
in policy domains. The essence of
federation is coordination, not hierarchy.
Advantage:
- central or local
government is
independent in its sphere
of jurisdiction
- generally well adapted to
large countries
Disadvantage:
- structure and organization
of the political machinery
is complex
- there is duplication of
and personnel in
and local
government; to maintain
would be a heavy
burden on the
government

Confederation
- A union by compact or treaty
between states, provinces, or
territories, that creates a central
government with limited powers;
the constituent entities retain
supreme authority over all matters
except those delegated to the
central government
- Power is distributed completely
opposite of a unitary government
in a confederate government
- Local governments have most of
the power, and they protect and
preserve their own authority by
forming a weak central
government at the top

Page 6

GOVERNMENTS

Strengths and Weaknesses of Unitary, Federal and Confederated States

Strengths

Weaknesses

Unitary

- clear authority
- decisive control
- no stalemates between center
and periphery

- hyper-concentration of power
- weak representation of
diversity and minorities

Federal

- diversity represented
- checks on centers power
- unity created

- duplication and overlap of power

- conflicts over ultimate power
- slow process, compromise
- lack of uniformity

- facilitation of cooperation
- power retained by sub-units

- conditional compliance
- instability
- limited power

Confederation

Presidential and Parliamentary Governments

Presidential
- executive power is exercised by a single president elected by popular vote
- president holds office for a specific period of time fixed by the Constitution of the State
- as head of state, president appoints members of the Cabinet
- separation of powers of the executive, legislative and judicial branches in order to check and balance the branches of government
Parliamentary
- executive power belongs to the prime minister and his/her cabinet
- remain in office as long as they have the confidence and support of the parliamentary majority
- the PM and the cabinet are removable by means of censure and a no-confidence vote against the
PM
- other features of the parliamentary system: collective ministerial responsibility, fusion of executive
and legislative powers, cabinet responsibility to the Parliament, party discipline

Sources:
Castillo, L. T. Governments Political Science Handouts De La Salle Zobel High School Department, Academic Year 20112012.
Rodee, Carlton Clymer and et. al. Introduction to Political Science (2nd ed). USA: McGraw Hill Inc., c1957 pgs. 4367
_____. Government (http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/government.html#ixzz22Rt6bAYq) August 3, 2012
_____. What is the Importance of our Government in the Philippines (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/

What_is_the_importance_of_our_government_in_the_Philippines#ixzz22RzdzFy8) August, 3, 2012