Autocracy is a system of government in which supreme power over a state is concentrated in the hands of one person, whose decisions are subject to neither external legal restraints nor regularized mechanisms of popular control (except perhaps for the implicit threat of coup d’état or other forms of rebellion).

What two factors led to the development of constitutional democracies in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries? Some governments began giving citizens political voice through the vote. Governments started recognizing legal limits on their power. You just studied 35 terms!

10th amendment

Name and describe each.

• unitary – centralized government where all powers are held by a single government.
• federal – dual government where powers are divided between central and local government.
• confederate – alliance of independent states where confederate government only has limited powers.

Local government manages those services that are nearest to your day to day life – water, roads, public safety, parking and so much more. Although we can pack our bags and testify before Congress and state legislature, it’s much easier (and more impactful) to give your opinions before county or city government.

It improves the quality of life. Cleaner air, safe food, and repaired roads are just a few of the ways that bureaucratic regulations make life better for its citizens.

Examples of Bureaucracy State departments of motor vehicles, health maintenance organizations (HMOs), financial lending organizations like savings and loans, and insurance companies are all bureaucracies that many people deal with regularly.