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Activity 5.2: In the Name of the People: Governing Forms of the World
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Lesson 5: Government Systems Around the Globe

Activity 5.2: In the Name of the People...More or Less

At present, the People’s Republic of China is a communist state that has had a communist dictatorship in its recent past. The “dictatorship of the proletariat” was led by Mao Zedong (center portrait) who wielded absolute power over the Chinese people from 1949 until his death in 1976. During those years historians estimate that 65 million Chinese died as the result of his disastrous policies.

If the United States is a constitutional republic and the United Kingdom (Great Britain) is a constitutional monarchy, then what does that exactly mean? What about the theocracy that rules the Islamic Republic of Iran or the Communist Dictatorship of North Korea? What are the ideas that motivate these governments and in what ways do they operate? In this lesson, you will evaluate the philosophies, structures and operations of different types of governments around the world with those of the United States.

Benchmark 9.1.5.12.1:

Compare the philosophies, structures and operations of different types of governments in other countries with those in the United States. For example: Different types of governments—monarchies, theocracies, dictatorships, representative governments.

Learning Target:

I can...appraise the philosophies, structures and operations of different types of governments around the world with those of the United States.

Essential Question:

How does the government of the United States compare to the governments of several countries around the world?

To complete Activity 5.2 please follow the steps below:

STEP 1

You will be exploring different forms of governments of different countries around the world. In addition to viewing the basic forms of governments, you will be using the CIA Factbook and other sources of information to provide a detailed description of political freedoms in a selected group of countries.

STEP 2

Respond to the questions below using the hyperlinks contained within them. Write your responses on a Word or Google Doc to keep your work secure. You will be uploading this assignment according to the directions found in

STEP 5.

  1. Describe Anarchy.
  2. Describe Democracy and provide an example.
  3. Describe a Republic and provide an example.
  4. Describe Monarchy and provide an example.
  5. What is a Constitutional Monarchy?
  6. Describe dictatorship and provide a current example.
  7. Describe theocracy and provide current example.
  8. Describe communism and provide a current example.
  9. What is a Federal government?
  10. Provide 2 examples of countries that use a Federal-styled government.
  11. What is a Parliamentary System of government?
  12. How is this different than a Presidential System of government?
  13. Provide 2 examples of countries that use a Parliamentary System of government.
  14. Provide 2 examples of countries that use a Presidential System of government.

STEP 3

You will research the current political freedoms and quality of life in each of the following countries using pages from the CIA World Factbook. You may also refer to the Overview of Types of Governments and Freedom House Map of Freedom Around the World websites to guide your research. For each country answer the following questions. You will have to click on the links on each country’s CIA World Factbook page entitled “Introduction”, “People and Society”, “Government”, etc...

  1. Describe the current form of government in this country.
  2. How free are the people to express themselves?
  3. How would you describe the way people live in this country?
  4. How does government power in this country compare to the power of the government in the United States?

United Kingdom (Great Britain)

France

People’s Republic of China

Cuba

Somalia

Russia

Islamic Republic of Iran

STEP 4

Respond to this lesson’s essential question: How does the government of the United States compare to the governments of several countries around the world?

STEP 5

Upload your work to the add submission box. Be sure to include your name on the document.
o Open document to your computer
o Complete the assignment
o Click "Save As" and save it onto a special place on your computer
o Click "Upload a File"
o Upload the file to this Moodle page
o Click Save