Hello, welcome to today's lesson.

My name's Mrs. Hastings, and I'm going to be helping you on your learning journey today.

Today's lesson is from the unit "What are the different ways we can become involved in politics?" And today's lesson is called "How do different countries govern themselves?" There's going to be quite a lot to go through with some really important key terms. The learning is going to be quite challenging and hopefully very thought-provoking, and I'm really hoping that through this lesson you will enjoy it and make some really good progress as well.

Let's get on with the learning.

So by the end of today's lesson, you will be able to describe some different forms of government worldwide and investigate which are most effective.

There are some important ground rules that we're going to cover in today's lesson.

Firstly, we must make sure that we listen to others.

It is okay to disagree with each other, but we should listen properly before making assumptions or deciding how to respond.

When disagreeing, challenge the statement, not the person.

We must respect privacy.

We can discuss examples, but do not use names or descriptions that identify anyone, including ourselves.

No judgement.

We can explore beliefs and misunderstandings about a topic without fear of being judged.

And lastly, choose your level of participation.

Everyone has the right to choose not to answer a question or join discussion.

We never put anyone on the spot.

And if we follow those ground rules, then we're all gonna have a great lesson.

So here are the key words for today's lesson.

Democracy, a system of government in which citizens vote in regular, fair, elections for representatives who then make laws and decisions on their behalf.

And authoritarian regime, a system of government where leaders have complete control; people are expected to obey, often limiting individual freedoms. So there are three parts to our learning journey today.

The first learning cycle is what is democracy.

Then, we're going to look at what is authoritarianism, and lastly, what type of government is most effective? So let's start with the first learning cycle: What is democracy? So there are many different forms of government around the world.

Can you think of any of the different forms of government that there are around the world? Have a discussion with your learning partner about the different forms of government.

So countries are often described as either being a democracy or an authoritarian regime.

However, it can be too simplistic to define a country as falling into one of these two categories, and I'll explain that in a little bit more detail.

So one system of government is democracy.

And the word democracy comes from the Greek word demos, meaning people, and kratos, meaning power.

So democracy can be thought of as power of the people, the people hold the power.

A democracy is a government that represents the people's will.

And there are many different models of democratic government around the world.

So democracies don't just fit one mould.

There are different types of democracies and different elements that you would see within a democracy.

So let's check our understanding of the term democracy.

Countries are often described as either a what or an what regime.

However, it can be too simplistic to define a country as falling into just one of these categories because there are many what of government.

So fill in the missing blanks there.

Okay, so countries are often described as either a democracy or an authoritarian regime.

However, it can be too simplistic to define a country as falling into just one of these categories, because there are many different types of government.

So well done if you got that right.

So what characteristics would you expect to see in a democracy? So if you think about the term democracy and democratic countries, what are the key features and characteristics that you would expect to see? Pause the video whilst you just have a quick discussion with your learning partner about that.

Well done for having those discussions.

So you may have come up with something similar to what the Democracy Index does, and they measure, the Democracy Index measures the health of a country's democracy against the following key features.

So the first thing the Democracy Index measures against is, is it a pluralistic system in which at least two legitimate but different political parties coexist? So there must be more than one political party.

Do they have a free and fair electoral process that enables citizens to choose between candidates from different parties, and an open and transparent government that works for the good of all the people, respects the rule of law, is accountable to its citizens through elections, and gives them freedom of choice over their lives.

So when the Democracy Index is measuring how healthy a democracy is, it uses those criteria.

It also looks at whether or not citizens are politically engaged.

Do they support democratic principles, vote regularly, accept the will of the voters and commit to a peaceful transfer of power after each election? They put an emphasis on preserving civil liberties and personal freedoms of both the major and minorities.

And does a country have a free and independent media unhindered by government interference, influence or intimidation? So when the Democracy Index is measuring the health of a democracy, it uses that criteria and looks at overall how healthy a country's democracy is.

And then it ranks each of the countries around the world based on those criteria.

So the ones that are more democratic and show that they are more democratic based on those five measurements, sorry, six measurements, go towards the top.

And then the ones that fall very short of those six measurements are near the bottom.

So democracy can take on different forms. For example, representative democracy, this is when citizens elect representatives to make decisions and create laws on their behalf.

The UK is a representative democracy in which people vote for members of parliament to represent them.

Direct democracy is where citizens vote on laws and policies directly, instead of electing representatives to decide for them.

Switzerland uses a lot of direct democracy for many decisions where people can vote on referendums and important national issues.

A participatory democracy is where citizens are encouraged to engage in decision making beyond elections.

So in cities like Berlin, in Germany, public consultations invite residents to shape urban planning policies and community development.

And deliberative democracy.

This is where decisions follow thorough citizen discussions.

So in Ireland in 2015, the same sex marriage referendum used deliberative democracy fostering really good debate before voting.

So let's check our understanding.

Which of the following pupils is describing representative democracy? So Alex says, "Citizens are encouraged to be actively involved in decision making, not just during elections, but throughout the process." Sam says, "Citizens vote on laws and policies directly instead of electing representatives to decide for them." And Jacob says, "Citizens elect representatives to make decisions and create laws on their behalf." So which of them, Alex, Sam, or Jacob, is describing representative democracy? It is Jacob, so well done if you got that right.

So onto our practise task for this learning cycle.

So I'd like you to sort statements below into the correct place in the table.

So feature of a democracy on one side and not a feature of a democracy on the other.

So a one-party system, open and transparent government, free and fair electoral process, restricting civil liberties and personal freedoms, politically disengaged citizens and free and independent media.

So sort those six statements into the correct place on the table.

And then secondly, for any statements which were not a feature of democracy, change one word to make them a feature of democracy.

Pause the video whilst you complete that task.

So well done for completing that task.

So I asked you to sort the statements into whether they're a feature of democracy or not a feature of democracy.

So they should have been sorted like this.

So feature of democracy, open and transparent government, free and fair electoral process, and free and independent media.

Not a feature of a democracy is a one-party system, restricting civil liberties and personal freedoms and politically disengaged citizens.

And then the second part of the task was to, for the statements that were not a feature of a democracy, change one word to make them a feature of democracy.

So you could have said a multi-party system, preserving civil liberties and personal freedoms, and politically engaged citizens.

Well done for completing that task.

So now onto the second learning cycle in today's lesson, what is authoritarianism? So an alternative system of government to democracy is authoritarianism.

The term authoritarianism became widely used by political scientists and sociologists to describe centralised repressive governments, such as the one under Napoleon III in France in the 1800s.

In authoritarian regimes, power is concentrated in the hands of a single leader or a small elite, so a small group of people, who make decisions without considering the will of the people, so they don't hold elections to see what the people would like.

There was a great deal of variation in authoritarian regimes, just as we saw there was variation in the types of democracies that there are around the world.

So to check your understanding of authoritarianism, change one word to make the statement correct.

In authoritarian regimes, power is concentrated in the hands of a single leader or a small elite who make decisions whilst considering the will of the people.

So you should have changed it to the following: In authoritarian regimes, power is concentrated in the hands of a single leader or a small elite who make decisions without considering the will of the people.

So well done if you got that right.

So what key characteristics would you expect to see in an authoritarian regime? For example, no free and fair elections.

So just like you did when we were thinking about the key characteristics of democracy, what would you expect to see in an authoritarian regime? Pause video whilst you discuss that with your learning partner.

So you might have discussed the following and come up with the following characteristics.

So the Democracy Index typically defines an authoritarian regime with the following key characteristics.

One leader or small group in control, a single person or a small group holds all the power.

No free or fair elections.

Citizens do not have the right to vote for their leaders, to choose their government freely, or have fair elections.

Limited freedoms and civil rights: citizens may not have freedom of speech, press or assembly.

The government controls what people can say and do.

Censorship and propaganda.

The government controls the media, spreading propaganda and censoring information.

That means stopping people from hearing the truth or the facts to shape public opinion and prevent opposition.

And no checks on power.

The leader or group in power is not held accountable and there are no systems to limit their authority.

And use of force or fear.

Often force, fear or violence is used to maintain control and stop opposition.

So as you can see there, authoritarian regimes are the opposite to democracies.

So choose the correct words in each sentence to identify the key characteristics of authoritarian regimes to check your understanding.

So people may, may not have freedom of speech, press or assembly.

People do not have the right to vote for their leaders to choose their government freely, or their elections are highly manipulated or well regulated.

And the leader or group in power is or is not held accountable and there are no systems to limit their authority.

So which other correct words in each statement? So the first one, people may not have freedom of speech, press or assembly.

Second one, people do not have the right to vote for their leaders to choose their government freely or their elections are highly manipulated.

And in the third one, the leader or group in power is not held accountable and there are no systems to limit their authority.

So well done if you correctly identified the correct words.

So just like democracy, authoritarian regimes can also take on different forms. For example, dictatorship.

This is when a single unelected leader holds absolute power.

So in North Korea, Kim Jong-Un rules with full control with power inherited through the family.

Military regime.

This is when the military controls the government, often seizing power through a coup, that's an overthrow.

In 2021, Myanmar's military ousted elected leaders to take control.

A one-party state.

This is when a single party controls the government, banning opposition.

So in China, the communist party rules exclusively, with no alternative parties allowed.

A monarchy, absolute monarchy.

A monarch holds absolute power with no legal limits.

So in Saudi Arabia, the king rules without elections for top positions.

And theocracy, this is religious leaders governing with laws based on religious principles.

So in Iran, Islamic principles shape laws and leadership.

So let's check our understanding of authoritarianism.

Which type of authoritarian regime is each pupil describing? So Izzy, what type of authoritarian regime is Izzy describing? A single leader has complete control over the government and the people.

The leader makes all the decisions without being elected.

Which authoritarian regime is Andeep describing? Only one political party is allowed to exist and it controls everything.

Opposition is banned or not allowed to challenge the government.

And which type is Jacob describing? The government is run by religious leaders and laws are based on religious principles rather than elected officials or secular laws.

So Izzy is describing a dictatorship, Andeep is describing a one-party state and Jacob is describing a theocracy.

So well done if you got those right.

So onto our practise task, what I'd like you to do is complete this table with an example of the characteristics of an authoritarian regime.

The first one has been done for you.

So characteristic, a one leader or small group in control, Kim Jong-Un in North Korea.

So for each of the rest of the characteristics, no free or fair elections, limited freedoms and civil rights, censorship and propaganda, and no checks on power.

Give an example to support that.

Pause the video whilst you complete that task.

Okay, well done for completing that task.

So I asked you to complete the table with an example of the characteristics of an authoritarian regime.

So your answers could look like this.

So we already had the example of the first one, one leader or small group in control.

The example is Kim Jong-Un in North Korea.

Second one, no free or fair elections.

So China with the Communist Party is an example.

Limited freedoms and civil rights.

There's no freedom of speech or assembly in Saudi Arabia, which is an absolute monarchy.

Censorship and propaganda, media control in Iran through its theocratic regime.

And no checks on power, the absolute monarchy in Saudi Arabia.

So well done for completing that task.

So onto the third learning cycle in today's lesson.

What type of government is most effective? And this is where I really want you to think about the advantages and disadvantages of the types of government.

So measuring how effective a government is can be really challenging as different people value different things.

So what criteria do you think should be used to measure how effective a government is? How can we really measure the effectiveness of a government? Think about that question.

Discuss it with your learning partner and pause the video whilst you do so.

So you may have considered the following criteria in your discussions with your learning partner.

How effective a government is, maybe you might want to consider whether or not it protects basic rights.

Does it build a strong economy? Does it ensure fairness for all? Does it maintain stability, peace and security? Is it free from corruption and misuse of power? Does it make efficient decisions and provide essential services? Does it protect the environment for future generations? Does it earn public trust and satisfaction? Does it cooperate globally for peace, trade and diplomacy? Does it enhance citizens' overall quality of life? So let's check our understanding of the criteria.

So which of the following criteria for measuring whether a government is successful? Corruption, stability, economic growth, human rights abuses, protects basic rights, and citizens are satisfied.

So the criteria for measuring whether a government is successful, the correct ones are stability, economic growth, protects basic rights, and citizens are satisfied.

So well done if you got those right.

So let's have a look at some case studies.

So of a democracy, we're going to look at the USA as a case study.

So in the USA, the USA could be seen to be an effective democracy because it allows for freedom of speech.

People in the US can protest against government policies like the 2022 Women's March, which was held in response to Supreme Court's decision to overturn abortion rights without fear of punishment.

So people can go and show their anger against, could go and show their anger against that overturning of abortion rights without fear of being arrested or persecuted.

The USA also holds fair elections.

Every citizen over 18 can vote to elect their president and other leaders.

In 2020, the US presidential election, over 159 million Americans voted for their next president.

The election was overseen by multiple independent organisations to ensure fairness.

So people over the age of 18 are allowed to vote.

So they're free, and they are fair, because they're overseen by these independent organisations.

In the USA, there are several checks and balances on the power of the government.

So the US government has different branches.

It has the executive, which is the president, and the president's government, so cabinet.

It has a legislature, which is Congress.

So the legislature make the laws and pass the laws, and then the judiciary, which oversee and uphold the laws, including the Supreme Court.

And these check each other and balance each other out to ensure that nobody is above the law, 'cause it's really important in a democracy that none of those seem to be above the law.

The impeachment of President Donald Trump in 2019 is a good example of how this three part system works.

So the House of Representatives, which is part of Congress, voted to impeach Trump, and then the Senate held a trial.

Even though President Donald Trump was acquitted, so he was found to have not been in impeachment, this process showed how different branches of government can check each other's power.

And just to clarify the term impeachment or to impeach is because they felt that Donald Trump had misused his public office, so had gone against the role of the presidency.

The weaknesses of democracy in the USA, however, are: It can be slow to make decisions.

So major issues like healthcare reform can take years for Congress, the legislature, to address, frustrating those seeking quick action.

There is political division.

So the country is deeply divided between parties such as the two main ones, which are the Democrats and Republicans.

The 2016 election between Donald Trump, who's Republican, and Hillary Clinton, who's Democrat, highlighted that divide.

So that presidential election really highlighted that divide.

And wealth and influence.

Wealthy individuals and large companies can exert excessive influence on politics.

So the 2010 Citizens United ruling allowed unlimited corporate donations to campaigns, often resulting in policies that favour the wealthy.

So let's check our understanding.

Identify whether each statement is a strength with a tick or a weakness with a cross of democracy in the USA.

So A, freedom of speech, B, political division C, wealthy can influence or D, checks and balances.

So which of those are strengths and which of those are weaknesses? Okay, so freedom of speech is a strength.

Political division is a weakness, the wealthy can influence is a weakness, and checks and balances is a strength.

Well done if got those right.

So now we're gonna have a look at an example of an authoritarian regime.

So we are going to look at the People's Republic of China.

So China is a one-party state with the Chinese Communist Party being the only political party in charge.

So the strengths of this system could be seen to be that there is quick decision making in crises in particular.

So the government of China can act quickly and swiftly.

During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, it quickly locked down citizens and implemented strict measures like mass testing without debate.

So they don't need to worry particularly about civil liberties.

They don't need to debate whether or not that's the right thing to do, like we might do in a representative democracy.

Instead, they could make those quick decisions to stop the spread of Covid.

Economic growth.

So in China, policies like "Made in China 2025" boosted manufacturing and technology.

While major infrastructure investments like high speed rail have helped make China one of the world's largest economies.

However, recently growth has slowed due to challenges like trade issues and changes in population.

So China is seeing a bit of a population reduction.

The birth rate is declining, has declined significantly, and so that has had an impact, as well as some of the trade tariffs that are being imposed.

The weaknesses of authoritarian rule are that in China there is a lack of freedom.

People who criticise the Chinese Communist Party or call for democratic reforms can be arrested like Ai Weiwei, a famous artisan activist who was detained by the government for speaking out against human rights abuses, and China, another weakness is that it could be seen to have an abuse of power.

So President Xi Jinping has increased his control over China, eliminating term limits so that he can potentially stay in power forever until he dies, and that the Communist Party can remain in power.

Critics argue that he has used his position to silence opposition and control almost all aspects of life in China.

So it's a very restrictive country, very strict controls over your life, and there are limited human rights in China as well, as part of that.

So the Uyghur Muslims in China have faced restrictions on their religious freedom.

There have been reports of people being sent to reeducation camps for practising their religion or speaking out against government policies.

Additionally, freedom of the press is severely restricted with journalists being punished for reporting stories that criticise the government.

Identify whether each statement is a strength or a weakness of authoritarianism in the People's Republic of China.

So strength with a tick and a weakness with a cross.

So A, limited human rights, B, abuse of power, C, lack of freedom, and D, economic growth.

So which of those are strengths and which of those are weaknesses? So A, limited human rights is a weakness.

B, abuse of power is also a weakness.

C, lack of freedom is a weakness, and D, economic growth is a strength.

Well done if you've got those right.

So onto the practise task for the third learning cycle.

So I'd like you to discuss with a partner the strengths and weaknesses of a democracy like in the USA and an authoritarian regime like in China.

Really consider factors such as freedom and rights, decision making, citizen involvement and economic growth.

And overall, which system do you think provides the best balance of these factors? So pause the video whilst you have those discussions.

So well done for having those discussions.

So I asked you to discuss with a partner the strengths and weaknesses of a democracy like in the USA and an authoritarian regime like in China.

So you might have discussed some of the following: The US democracy has strengths like freedom of speech where people can protest without fear.

For example, during the 2022 Women's March against the abortion rights decision.

They also have regular, fair elections where every citizen over 18 can vote to elect their president and other leaders.

This allows citizens a say in how their country is governed.

The system of checks and balances such as the impeachment of President Trump in 2019 helps prevent any one branch of government from having too much power.

However, democracy can be slow, especially on big issues like healthcare, political division between parties and the influence of wealthy individuals and companies on politics like the 2010 Citizens United ruling are also problems. You might also have discussed, China on the other hand, has an authoritarian regime.

Whilst this regime does allow for fast decision making, which was seen during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, there are serious downsides.

People do not have freedom of speech, and critics of the government can be arrested like the artist Ai Weiwei.

Human rights abuses like the treatment of Uyghur Muslims in reeducation camps and restrictions on the press are also major issues.

I think a democracy is a more successful form of government because it gives people more freedom and protects basic human rights.

And citizens have a voice in decision making, even if it is slower and sometimes more divided.

In contrast, an authoritarian regime takes away rights and does not let citizens participate in their government.

So well done on completing today's lesson.

So in summary, what we have learned today is that countries are often described as either democracies or authoritarian regimes.

Democracies feature free elections and a pluralistic system and can be either representative, where officials are elected to make decisions or direct, where people vote on issues themselves.

Authoritarian regimes concentrate power in a single leader or small group, making decisions without considering the people's will.

When evaluating a government system, we should consider a range of factors such as rights protection and fairness for all citizens.

So I hope you have enjoyed learning with me today on how do different countries govern themselves, and I look forward to seeing you again soon.