Geography and History of the World Name:

Comparing Political Systems: How should you measure different governments?

Introduction
You live in a democracy. That means, as Abraham Lincoln said, that you live under a “government of the people, by the people, and for the people.” You also live in a republic,
in which elected representatives exercise power on your behalf. Does that mean that the government of the United States is the same as that of the Democratic Republic of
Congo or the People’s Republic of China? To make that determination, you will need to ask the question, “How should you measure different governments?”
In this activity, you will explore the basic features of democracy, create a “democracy index” based on your research and use the index to compare various world governments.
You will be comparing and sharing your findings with your classmates. We will also have a class discussion comparing the different governments.

Resources:
Use the World Factbook to find information about your country. Link: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
Reporters without Borders: Information on freedom of press: https://rsf.org/en/ranking#
https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/freedom-world-2016
Minority Rights: http://minorityrights.org/directory/

Region: ___________________________________ Country: ____________________________________

Democracy
Category Question: Answer: Briefly describe what it is like in your country. Index Score:
1 to 10
Who holds supreme power?

Are there elections?

Is there a constitution?
Yes, at the age of 18 voting is universal and compulsory. If you are over 18, you vote. There 7
Is there universal suffrage (voting rights)?
is no choice.
Freedom of the press is limited in Mexico, not because of the government’s censorship, but 4
Is there a free press? the power of drug cartels. Reporting on the drug wars is a death wish to reporters, resulting
in self-censorship.
Minority’s rights are protected, but these rights are not easily enforceable, though it seems 8
Are minority rights protected?
to be doing fine.
Are individual freedoms guaranteed?

Are there multiple political parties?

Is there universal religious freedom?

To figure out your country's score - add up all of the individual index scores and divide by 9. Country’s overall score: ______________
Geography and History of the World Name:
USA EXAMPLE:

Category Question:
Who holds supreme power?
Are there elections?
Is there a constitution?
Is there universal suffrage (voting rights)?
Is there a free press?
Are minority rights protected?
Are individual freedoms guaranteed?
Are there multiple political parties?
Is there universal religious freedom?
Democracy
Answer: Briefly describe what it is like in your country. Index Score:
1 to 10
The people ultimately hold power over the president. 8
Yes, everyone qualified can vote. It is every four years. 9
Yes, it describes the laws and rights of this country. 9
Yes, for all people above 18, and are not a felon, you can vote. 8
Yes, the press has the freedom to say whatever they want. 10
To an extent, the rights of minorities are protected, but many majorities still hold 7
power and oppress the minority groups.
There are some freedoms we have, but there is still some unlawful imprisonment 7
or violence against peaceful protesting.
Although there are multiple parties, many do not get nearly as much 7
representation as the republican and democratic parties.
Although by law you can express any religious beliefs you want, many still hate 7
against certain religions, or favor some over others.

To figure out your country's score - add up all of the individual index scores and divide by 9.

Country’s overall score: ______________