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Autocracy A form of government in which a single person holds unlimited political power. Citizen A member of a state or nation who owes allegiance to it by birth or naturalization and is entitled to full civil rights. Compromise An adjustment of opposing principles or systems by modifying some aspect of each. Confederation A joining of several groups for a common purpose. Constitution The body of fundamental laws setting out the principles, structures, and processes of a government. Democracy A form of government in which the supreme authority rests with the people. Dictatorship A form of government in which the leader has absolute power and authority. Division of Powers Basic principle of federalism; the constitutional provisions by English governmental powers are divided on geographic basis (in the us, between the national government and the states). Executive Power Those powers that can be exercised by the national government alone. Federal Government A form of government in which powers are divided between a central government and several local governments. Free Enterprise System An economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods; investments that are determined by private decision rather than by state control, and determined in a free market. Government The institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policies. Judicial Power The power to interprert laws, to determine their meaning and settle disputes within the society. Legislative Power The power to make a law and to frame public policies. Majority Rule In a democracy, the majority of the people will be right more often than they will be wrong, and will be fight more often than will any one person or small group. Oligarchy A form of government in which the power to rule is held by a small usually self-appointed elite. Parliamentary Government A form of government in which the executive branch is made up of the prime minister or premier, and that official's cabinet. Presidential Government A form of government in which the executive and legislative branches of the government are separate, independent, and coequal. Public Policies All of the many goals that a government pursues in all of the many areas of human affairs in which it is involved. Sovereign Having supreme power within one's own territory; neither subordinates order nor responsible to any other authority. State A body of people living in a defined territory who have a government with the power to make and enforce law without the consent of any higher authority. Unitary Government A centralized government in which all government power belongs to a single, central agency.