Topics in Government
Political power: Sources of political power Concept of power in government Functions of the executive arm of government Facts on Abraham Lincoln and John Kennedy One-party system explained with its advantages and disadvantages What is Democracy? Definitions of Democracy Types of Government Functions of the Legislature and Judiciary Scheme of Work for Government, SS1, First Term Scheme of Work for Government, SS1, Second Term Scheme of Work for Government, SS1, Third Term Concept, Advantages and Disadvantages of Multi-Party System Concept, Advantages and Disadvantages of Two-Party System What are pressure groups? Types of pressure group Characteristics of Pressure Group Types of Constitution Scope of Government Characteristics of Government Importance of Government One-party system explained with its types and characteristicsAcademic Questions in Government
Which of the following is not a function of government?
A. Government provides all the jobs in the country they govern
B. Government empowers the less privilege and the physically challenged
C. Government provides a support system for the aged
D. Government provides infrastructure for her citizens
E. Government maintains external relations with other countries
F. Government generates revenue for the country they govern
In government, a type of one-party system whereby a single party is officially and legally recognized in a country or state is termed a _____.
A. Hegemonic Party
B. Pre-Dominant Party
C. Dominant Party
D. True Single-State
E. Unique-Ordered State
F. State-Exclusive Party
Which of the following is not a characteristic of the multi-party system?
A. There is an existence of several parties differing in principles and fundamentals.
B. The political parties are legally recognized.
C. It is democratic in nature.
D. Among the various parties, only one dominates the political landscape.
E. Some of the opposition parties can become politically insignificant.
F. It promotes the coalition of governments.
In a two-party system, only 2 political parties are present in countries where they are practised.
A. True
B. False
On February 25, 2023; Nigeria as a country had its presidential election. The party system involved in this election is the _____.
A. Zero Party System
B. One-Party System
C. Two-Party System
D. Multi-Party System
E. APC, PDP and LP Party System
F. Coalition Party System
The following countries practice a zero party system except _____.
A. Cambodia
B. Vatican City
C. Bahrain
D. Saudi Arabia
E. Oman
F. Kuwait
Which of the following is not a characteristic of the two-party system?
A. It is democratic in nature
B. There isn't a third party
C. The two parties are always dominant in the political terrain
D. The president must emerge from one of both parties
E. It encourages freedom of expression at the press
F. It presents a choice of candidates to the people
A type of democracy whereby shura is practiced is termed _____ democracy
A. Direct
B. Indirect
C. Constitutional
D. Islamic
E. Authoritarian
F. Participatory
Government and good governance is a necessity in every society. Without a form of government, anarchy, chaos and confusion will become the order of the day due to the absence of laws governing the nation. Meanwhile, recall the law (constitution) serves as a guide to the people.
One of the duties of the government is to make laws that govern the society. Without laws, some of the rich may oppress the poor. Similarly, some of the highly placed in the society may end up oppressing the weak without being brought to justice.
Please read on the concept of government here.
The absence of government in a society, country, nation, state or community is referred to as anarchy.
An instance of anarchy occurred in Somalia in 1991 after a dictator name Said Barre was overthrown. This made Somalia disintegrate into fractions with local warlords imposing their authority over their land.
In this article, we will look into the various forms of government. Some of these government existed in the past while others are currently adopted by various countries of the world.
To better understand the reasons behind the existence of these forms of government, please read on functions of government here.
Below are explanations on the various forms of government:
Colonialism is a form of government in which a nation or country is governed by another country.
In colonialism, the ruling country (called colonial masters) may utilize or exploit the resources of the nation(s) under them for their own benefits. Also, the colonial masters will likely impose their language, culture and religion on the nation(s) they govern.
Nigeria as a nation underwent this form of government (colonialism) under the British colony until she gained her independence on the 1st day of October, 1960.
When countries gain independence, it means they are now free from colonialism. The people of an independent country are considered to be free because they can now rule themselves.
Nelson Mandela is the the first black South African president who liberated the black people of South Africa from the few whites (colonial masters) who racially discriminated and ruled the black majority. The following points are noteworthy regarding Nelson Mandela:
He lived as a civil right leader, an African nationalist and a socialist.
Please read on Herbert Macaulay, the Nigerian nationalist here.
Monarchy is a form of government whereby power is attributed to a royal bloodline. Typically, a single member of the royal family becomes the king upon whom absolute power and authority is given.
Please read the epic story of the gods are not to blame here.
The people usually celebrate when the king assumes his throne because he is believed to be divinely destined as their king.
Historically, this form of government displayed absolute power but nowadays, some of the powers wielded by the kings may be lost to the federal and state governments if democracy is practiced alongside it.
In a society with absolute monarchy, the king (monarch) is not restricted by the law and constitution. In this regard, states like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Brunei, Oman, Morocco and Swaziland have kings who wields power and political authority.
Nowadays, we have constitutional monarchs. These are elected into office and will exercise their powers in accordance with the constitution.
Please read more on constitution here.
Communism is a form of government whereby the society and all its structure are owned by the public.
According to Karl Marx, there isn’t a lower class among the people; instead, all are considered as equal.
Communism usually retains a single system of government and had been practiced in Soviet Union (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or USSR). Eventually, the USSR disintegrated into 15 different countries in 1991. The countries include: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
If communism isn’t properly checked, it may give rise to a form of dictatorship.
Meanwhile, some countries may refer themselves to as communists but in reality, their form of governance tends to tilt towards dictatorship. North Korea may be considered as an instance here (2019).
In federalism, each state that makes up the country has the power to govern itself and manage its own resources.
Additionally, each of these states will have a unifying federal presence; that is, a federal government which will represent the country (all the states) on the international scene. The federal government may also get remittance from each of the state in accordance to their resources and generated revenue.
You can read on balance of trade and balance of payments here.
It is said that true federalism is practiced in the United States of America, which comprise of 50 states, with each state having its unique set of laws and customs. Each of these states is considered to have some degree of independent authority although they are still being united by the federal presence.
However, understand that the federal government have their own laws which may override the laws of the states.
An autocratic form of government requires that supreme power must be vested in the hand of one person. The individual on whom this power is vested may be educated or not. Also, external authorities have no say on the decisions made by an autocratic government.
Dictatorship and absolute monarchy are sometimes considered as types of autocracy.
Ecclesiocracy is a form of government whereby religious leaders are recognized as the first citizens of a state. More importantly, these religious leaders do not proclaim themselves as a direct instrument of divine revelation concerning laws governing the society.
A typical example of ecclesiocracy is seen in Vatican City where the pope presides as the leader of the state. However, the pope does not claim to receive direct revelation from God concerning civil laws.
The grand Ayatollah of Iran (Ali Khamenei) and president of Sudan, Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir are also considered as instances of leaders in ecclesiocracy.
It is worthy of note to state that the laws and rules governing the land in ecclesiocracy are based on religious beliefs, thus making it somewhat related to theocracy.
Please read on dictatorship, democracy, meritocracy oligarchy and theocracy here.
Kindly share this article via the links below:
Please click here to contact Alfred if you require any of the following services:
If you need a standard website at an affordable price.
Online training on the academic subjects: biology, chemistry and basic science.
If you require an advanced smart school management system (web application) for your school.
Click here to read on Len Academy Smart School Software.
Please click here to follow Len Academy on Google News.
Amazing facts in Government
The shortest war ever lasted for just 38 minutes. This is the Anglo-Zanzibar War in 1896
174 world leaders signed the Paris Agreement on Earth Day in 2016 at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York. This agreement presents the largest number of countries ever to come together to sign anything on a single day. The agreement aims to combat climate change, accelerate and intensify the actions and investments needed to strengthen the global climate effort
United States of America is comprised of fifty states and Washington D.C.
The letter 'q' is not present in any of the American states
White House in Washington has 132 rooms and 35 bathrooms while Buckingham Palace in London has 775 rooms, including 78 bathrooms
Three United States presidents; John Adams (2nd US president), Thomas Jefferson (3rd US president), and James Monroe (5th US president) died on the 4th of July.
Coincidentally, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson also died the same year, and that's 1826.
Abraham Lincoln, the great human emancipator, freedom fighter and 16th American president was popular for the saying:
Government of the people, by the people and for the people
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States of America was a professional wrestler before he assumed the office of the American President. Interestingly, he was only defeated once in his wrestling career
Notable points in Government
Ecclesiocracy is a form of government whereby religious leaders are recognized as the first citizens of a state.
The religious leaders in ecclesiocracy do not proclaim themselves as a direct instrument of divine revelation concerning laws governing the society.
A typical example of ecclesiocracy is seen in Vatican City where the pope presides as the leader of the state. However, the pope does not claim to receive direct revelation from God concerning civil laws.
The grand Ayatollah of Iran (Ali Khamenei) and president of Sudan, Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir are also considered as instances of leaders in ecclesiocracy.
It is worthy of note to state that the laws and rules governing the land in ecclesiocracy are based on religious beliefs, thus making it somewhat related to theocracy.
One of the duties of the government is to make laws that govern the society. Without laws, some of the rich may oppress the poor. Similarly, some of the highly placed in the society may end up oppressing the weak without being brought to justice.
The absence of government in a society, country, nation, state or community is referred to as anarchy.
An instance of anarchy occurred in Somalia in 1991 after a dictator name Said Barre was overthrown. This made Somalia disintegrate into fractions with local warlords imposing their authority over their land.
Below are some of the functions of government:
It is the role of the government to protect and defend the fundamental human rights of her citizens.
The government maintains law and order through the law enforcement agencies. These will include the police, customs officers and other local securities.
It is the duty of the government to generate revenue. This can be achieved through foreign trade.
It is the responsibility of the government to maintain external relations with other countries. For this reason, the president may visit other countries for business and bilateral trade purposes. Similarly, other presidents may visit your country in this regard.
Government can be defined under the following headings:
1. As an institution of a state.
Government is defined as an institution, agency, machinery or instrument that is established to manage the affairs of general welfare of the people making up a state or country
2. As a process or as an act of governing.
Government is defined as the processes and methods involved in the formulation, administration and implementation of public policies from a procedure which had been specifically spelt out in the constitution of a country or state
3. As an academic field of study.
Government is defined as the study of institutions, theories, ideas, values and doctrines as relating to the acquisition and use of political power for the welfare of the people
The End Sars is considered a pressure group in Nigeria. It campaigned in the interest of Nigerian youths, thus forcing the Nigerian government into scrapping the Special Anti-Robbery Squard (SARS) who had constantly brutalized Nigerians, especially the youths; through extortion, indiscriminate shootings, threats and other violent conducts.
Unfortunately, some Nigerian youths paid the ultimate price with their lives at the Lekki tollgate massacre. This happened on the 20th day of October, 2020.
Burna Boy, a Nigerian musician made a song titled '20 : 10 : 20' in this regard.