What forms of government are there?

Certain rules apply to everyone in Switzerland: for example, there are laws that say you are not allowed to steal or what is permitted on the roads. There are different ways in which and by whom such rules are established and changed, i.e. what form of government a country has. These are three of them:

Democracy

Switzerland and many other countries have democracy as a form of government in which the people have the say. Here, Swiss citizens over the age of 18 can have a say: For example, they can elect politicians to parliament. They then discuss what new rules there should be in the Federal Parliament. Parliament also elects the Federal Council, which then decides exactly how the rules are to be applied.

In Switzerland, the people can often still vote directly on laws and change them if they don't like them. There are different types of democracy. What they all have in common is that the people decide and that people have certain rights, for example that everyone is free to express their opinion.

Monarchy

Some countries are a monarchy. They have a monarch, for example a king or queen. They are usually not elected, but born into the monarch's family. Not all are equally powerful.

In the UK, for example, the king can have a say and give advice, but the power actually lies with the elected politicians in parliament. In a few countries, on the other hand, there is an absolute monarchy and the king alone decides on the rules of the country, for example in Saudi Arabia.

Dictatorship

In a dictatorship, one person or a small group has all the power. They give orders and don't allow themselves to be talked into it. They often come to power by force. In almost all dictatorships, important human rights are not respected, for example, you can be imprisoned if you have a different opinion to the dictator.