USG.1.4+Define+and+provide+examples+of+different+forms+of+government,+including+direct+democracy,+representative+democracy,+republic,+monarchy,+oligarchy,+and+autocracy.

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__Direct Democracy__ "A form of democratic government whereby citizens have the right to participate in decision making through referenda on legislative initiatives. Direct democracy can exist in parallel to representative democracy, for example, where ballot initiatives allow citizens to vote on legislative initiatives, or replace representative democracy[|.] "

__Representative Democracy__ "A form of democratic government whereby citizens’ interests are represented by elected officials in open elections. Representatives act in the interests of their electors, either by martialling together electors’ views, or through personal initiative and independence between elections[|.]"

__Republic__ "A political system in which a country is ruled by law, has representative government, and is democratic in nature[|.]"

__Monarchy__ "A form of government in which political power belongs largely to one ruler, generally called a king or queen, who receives his or her position by claim of divine or inherited right[|.] "

__Oligarchy__ A form of government where a select few, usually considered the "ruling class," holds all of the political power.

http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/SARC/E-Democracy/Final_Report/Glossary.htm http://www.regentsprep.org/Regents/global/vocab/topic_alpha.cfm?topic=r http://www.multied.com/Civics/M.html