Social Science : Civics : Chapter 4 : Forms of Government
I. Fill in the blanks
1. ……………, …………… are a few examples for unitary form of government.
Ans : England and France
2. The Parliamentary government is also known as ……………
Ans : Cabinet /ministry
3. In the parliamentary form of government …………… is the leader of the majority party.
Ans : Prime Minister
II. Fill in the blanks
Country | Name of the Parliament |
1. USA | Congress |
2. Norway | Storting |
3. Denmark | Folketing |
III. Distinguish Between
1. Unitary and federal forms of government.
Unitary forms of Government | Federal forms of Government |
1. In a Unitary form of government, all the powers are vested in a single centre. | In this government, powers are divided between the national and the regional governments. |
2. England, France, Japan and Sri Lanka are examples of Unitary form of government. | U.S.A., Russia, Canada and Brazil are the examples of Federal form of government. |
2. Parliamentary and presidential forms of government
Parliamentary forms of Government | Presidential form of Government |
1. President is supreme | Central Legislature is supreme |
2. Separation of power | Absence of separation powers centralisation |
3. Individual leadership | Collective leadership |
4. Prime minister is from the majority party | President is directly elected by the people |
IV. Give short note on
1. Democracy in Nepal.
- On April, 2006 the leaders of Nepal vibrant pro-democracy civil society movement “Seven Party Alliance” (SPA) called for a million strong demonstrations to be staged at 7 different points along the Ring road encircling the capital Kathmandu.
- The millions of citizens who made up the people’s movement demanded end to autocratic rule of monarchy and restoration of total democracy in the Himalayan kingdom.
- An unprecedented development forced the King Gyanendra to step down and paved the way for democracy.
2. Unitary form of government
- The Unitary form of government is a sovereign state governed as a single entity.
- In a Unitary form of government, all the authority and power is vested in a single centre.
- England, France, Japan and Sri Lanka are examples of Unitary form of government.
V. Answer the following
1. List out the types of constitution.
- Written constitution/Unwritten constitution
- Federal/Unitary constitution
- Flexible/Rigid constitution
2. What are the merits of a federal government?
- Division of power between centre and states leads to administrative efficiency.
- It gives rise to big states.
- Distribution of powers check the despotism of the Central government.
- More suitable for bigger countries.
- It is good for economic and cultural progress.
3. Write down the differences between unitary form of government and federal form of government.
Unitary forms of Government | Federal forms of Government |
1. Only one Level Government or sub units. | Two Levels of Government. |
2. Mostly single citizenship. | Dual citizenship. |
3. Sub Unites cannot operate independently. | Federal units are answerable to Central Government. |
4 No Division of power. | Division of power. |
5 Centralization of power. | Decentralisation of power. |
VI. Answer in detail
1. Write about the merits of Unitary form of government.
The merits of the Unitary form government are-
- Suitable for small countries.
- There is no conflict of authority and responsibility.
- A Unitary government will make prompt decisions and take speedy action.
- A unitary government is less expensive.
- Amendments to the constitution are easy.
- There is unity, uniformity of law, policy and administration.
2. Write about the presidential form of government and what is the difference between presidential and parliamentary forms of government?
- In the Presidential form of government, President is the head of State.
- He is elected by an electoral college for a fixed tenure.
- The President governs with the help of a cabinet or a small body called ‘Kitchen Cabinet’.
- This government is also known as non-parliamentary or fixed executive system of government.
- The difference between the Presidential and Parliamentary form of government are
Presidential forms of Government | Federal form of Government |
1. President is directly elected by the people. | Prime Minister is from the majority party. |
2. President is supreme. | Central Legislature is supreme. |
3. Separate powers. | Absence of separation powers. |
4. Independence branches. | Independent branches with overlapping functions. |
5. President is the head of state. | President is the head of state. |
6. President is the head of the government. | Prime Minister is the head of the government. |
7. Individual leadership. | Collective leadership. |
8. President is not accountable to Congress. | Collective and individual responsibility |