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Governments and economies of countries around the world are b ecoming increasingly interconnected. Some countries or
groups of countries, such as the European Union, have strong economies that allow them to help improve standards of living in
other countries.

Features of Government
What influences the level and type of a country’s government?

Today the world includes nearly 200 independent countries that vary in size, military might, natural resources, and world influence.
Each country is defined by characteristics such as territory, population, and sovereignty, or freedom from outside control. These
elements are brought together under a government. A government must make and enforce policies and laws that are binding upon
all people living within its territory.
Levels of Government
The government of each country has unique characteristics that relate to that country’s historical development. To carry out their
functions, governments are organized in a variety of ways. Most large countries have several different levels of government. These
usually include a national or central government, as well as the governments of smaller internal divisions such as provinces, states,
counties, cities, towns, and villages.
A unitary system of government gives all key powers to the national or central government. This structure does not mean that only
one level of government exists. Rather, it means that the central government creates state, provincial, or other local governments and
gives them limited sovereignty. The United Kingdom and France both developed unitary governments as they emerged from smaller
territories during the late Middle Ages and early modern times.
A federal system of government divides the powers of government between the national government and state or provincial
governments. Each level of government has sovereignty in some areas. The United States developed a federal system after the
thirteen colonies became independent from Great Britain.
Another similar government structure is a confederation, or a loose union of independent territories. The United States at first formed
a confederation, but this type of political arrangement failed to provide an effective national government for the new nation. As a
result, the U.S. Constitution established a strong national government while preserving some state government powers. Today, other
countries with federal or confederate systems include Canada, Switzerland, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, and India.
Types of Governments
Governments can be classified by asking the question: Who governs the state? Under this classification system, all governments
belong to one of the three major groups: (1) autocracy, or rule by one person; (2) oligarchy, or rule by a few people; or (3) democracy,
or rule by many people.
Any system of government in which the power and authority to rule belongs to a single individual is an autocracy (aw•TAH•kruh•see).
Autocracies are the oldest and one of the most common forms of government. Most autocrats achieve and maintain their position of
authority through inheritance or by the ruthless use of military or police power.
Several forms of autocracy exist. One is an absolute or totalitarian dictatorship in which the decisions of a single leader determine
government policies. The government under such a system can come to power through a revolution or an election. The totalitarian
dictator seeks to control all aspects of social and economic life. Examples of totalitarian dictatorships include Adolf Hitler in Nazi
Germany, Saddam Hussein in Iraq, Raul Castro of Cuba, and Kim Jong Un of North Korea.
Monarchy (MAH•nuhr•kee) is another form of autocratic government. In a monarchy, a king or queen exercises the supreme powers
of government. Monarchs usually inherit their positions. Absolute monarchs have complete and unlimited power to rule. The king of
Saudi Arabia, for example, is an absolute monarch. Absolute monarchs are rare today, but from the 1400s to the 1700s, kings or
queens with absolute power ruled most of Western Europe.
Today, some countries, such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Jordan, and Thailand, have constitutional monarchies. Their
monarchs share governmental powers with elected legislatures or serve as ceremonial leaders.
An oligarchy (AH•luh•gahr•kee) is any system of government in which a small group holds power. The group derives its power from
wealth, military power, social position, or a combination of these elements. Today the governments of communist countries, such as
China, are mostly oligarchies. Leaders in the Communist Party and the military control the government.
Sometimes religion is the source of power in an oligarchy. A theocracy, for example, is a government of officials believed to be
divinely inspired. In a theocracy, a divine power is thought to be the head of the government. Government officials receive their
inspiration, guidance, and authority to rule from this divine power. For example, Islamic sharia law is imposed in parts of North Africa
and Southwest Asia today.
Both dictatorships and oligarchies sometimes claim they rule for the people. Such governments may try to give the appearance of
control by the people. For example, they might hold elections but offer only one candidate. Such governments may also have some
type of legislature or national assembly elected by or representing the people. These legislatures, however, only approve policies
and decisions already made by the leaders. As in a dictatorship, oligarchies usually suppress all political opposition.
A democracy is any system of government in which leaders rule with the consent of the citizens. The term democracy comes from
the Greek demos (meaning “the people”) and kratia (meaning “rule”). The ancient Greeks used the word democracy to mean
government by the many in contrast to government by the few. The key idea of democracy is that people hold sovereign power.
Direct democracy, in which citizens themselves decide on issues, exists in some places at local levels of government. No country
today has a national government based on direct democracy. Instead, democratic countries have representative democracies, in
which the people elect representatives with the responsibility and power to make laws and conduct government. An assembly of the
people’s representatives may be called a council, a legislature, a congress, or a parliament.
Many democratic countries, such as the United States and France, are republics. In a republic, voters elect all major officials, who
are responsible to the people. The head of state—or head of government—is usually a president elected for a specific term. Not
every democracy is a republic. The United Kingdom, for example, is a democracy with a monarch as head of state. This monarch’s
role is ceremonial, however, and elected officials hold the actual power to rule.

Contrasting How does an autocracy differ from an oligarchy?

Geography and Government

Governments can be greatly influenced by geography. Geographic areas can actually determine how political and administrative
units are drawn up and how they will be governed. Democratic countries have entities based on location, which are divided into local
bodies that might have different laws.
A government must consider the cultural and religious beliefs of its citizens in order to govern effectively. In autocracies, governments
frequently suppress cultural and religious groups in order to maintain order and power. In democracies, governments usually take
account of cultural and religious beliefs in order to protect their people’s freedoms and ensure their well-being.
Geography influences governments as they develop policy to provide people with goods and services. Governments must also know
where their citizens are moving, why they are moving there, and how that affects their relationship with the environment.
Infrastructures, such as roads, bridges, and power plants, must be built based on the geographic distribution of people using both
current demographic data and future projections.
Several geographic factors influence the development of political boundaries. A natural boundary follows physical geographic
features such as mountains and rivers. For example, the Mississippi River forms the borders between several U.S. states. Natural
boundaries are often more defensible and easy to identify.
Other boundaries develop to separate areas with cultural differences, such as places with different religions or languages. These
cultural boundaries geographically divide two identifiable cultures. For example, when Britain partitioned India and created Pakistan,
it created a religious cultural boundary. Muslims were reorganized into Pakistan and Hindus into India.
At other times, cultural and natural landforms are not considered when boundaries are drawn. In these cases, treaties might create
geometric boundaries to separate countries or nations. Geometric boundaries—which often follow straight lines and do not account
for natural and cultural features—exist between Libya, Egypt, and Algeria.
Political boundaries, referred to as borders, are not always permanent. Many areas of the world have seen changing borders as the
result of wars and territorial disputes. Border disputes arise from unsettled territorial claims or as a result of one state desiring the
resources of a neighboring state. In February 1848, Mexico and the United States signed a treaty which ended the war between them
and gave large portions of the Southwest, including present-day California, to the United States. Several days earlier, gold had been
discovered near the present-day capital of Sacramento. This started the gold rush and sped up California’s statehood.

Identifying What is the cause of many boundary disputes?

Conflict and Cooperation

Cooperation and conflict have contributed to and resulted from the political geographic divisions of the world. Global cooperation is
frustrated by many factors, including border disputes, tensions over larger territories, multiple ethnic groups within one state,
competition for fewer resources, and control of strategic sites.
Nationalism often contributes to political conflicts. Nationalism is a belief that the individual’s loyalty and devotion to the nation or
state surpasses other individual or group interests. After passing through the new countries of Latin America, nationalism spread in
the early nineteenth century to central Europe and from there, toward the middle of the century, to eastern and southeastern Europe.
This period is considered the age of nationalism in Europe. Asia and Africa saw a rise in nationalism at the beginning of the
twentieth century as powerful movements took place. Nationalism can breed conflict if it reaches fanatical levels. This can and often
does lead to war.
Terrorism is also a type of political conflict. Terrorism inspires fear and is any violent and destructive act committed to intimidate a
people or a government. Terrorist attacks are usually carried out in such a way as to maximize the severity and length of the
psychological impact. Not usually government supported, each act of terrorism is devised to have an impact on many large
audiences. Terrorists also attack national symbols to show power and to attempt to shake the foundation of the country or society
they are opposed to. For example, there was a series of terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, at the World Trade Center in New
York City, the Pentagon near Washington, D.C., and in the sky over western Pennsylvania. In 2012 there was an attack on the U.S.
embassy in Libya. Terrorist acts frequently have a political purpose. They desire change so badly that failure to achieve change is
seen as a worse outcome than the deaths of civilians.
Terrorism can be influenced by geographic factors, as in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in which many innocent lives were lost. In
1947 Palestine was divided to establish the nation of Israel, resulting in two separate homelands for the Palestinian and Jewish
peoples. This division of the land has polarized Israelis and Palestinians for over 60 years, resulting in ongoing violent conflicts in
the region.
Alliances and cooperation can also be explored from a geographic perspective. Treaties and international organizations are
examples of how countries work together to resolve conflicts and establish ways to share resources. For example, much of the acid
rain in Canada comes from pollution in the United States. As a result, in the early 1990s the two countries signed a cooperative
agreement that would reduce acid rain.
The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law,
international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and aspirations to achieve world peace. The UN was
founded in 1945 after World War II to stop wars between countries and to provide a platform for international dialogue. The North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an alliance of 16 sovereign Euro-Atlantic countries dedicated to maintaining democratic
freedom by means of collective defense. The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an international body that oversees trade
agreements and settles trade disputes among countries. A country’s membership in the WTO is an important step in its
development, and less developed countries strive to become members. In 2000, hoping that trade might open China to democratic
change, the United States granted full trading privileges to China and supported its entrance into the WTO. The following year China
was admitted to the WTO.

Discussing What is the function of the United Nations?

Reviewing Vocabulary
1. Contrasting Describe the difference between a unitary system and a federal system.

Using Your Notes

Answering the Guiding Questions

4. Discussing How does geography influence a country’s government?

5. Expressing How do cooperation and conflict shape the division of Earth’s surface?
Writing Activity
6. Informative/Explanatory Write a one-page essay explaining the human and physical geographic characteristics that can
influence a country’s foreign policy.