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Government Systems Comparison

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Government Systems Comparison

Read the country profiles and use them to compare how government works in New Zealand and the United States. Answer using evidence from the profiles. Some questions ask you to judge or explain, so more than one well-supported response may be possible.

Country profiles

NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy. The monarch is the Head of State and is represented in New Zealand by the Governor-General. The Prime Minister is Head of Government. Voters elect members of Parliament (MPs), usually every three years, using the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system. The party or group of parties able to command support from a majority of MPs forms the government. New Zealand is a unitary state: national law-making authority is not divided between national and state governments. UNITED STATES: The United States is a federal presidential republic. The President is both Head of State and Head of Government. Voters elect the President for a four-year term, and also elect members of Congress. Congress has two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate. House members serve two-year terms; senators serve six-year terms. Power is divided between the federal government and state governments, and the President, Congress and courts have separate roles. The President does not need to be a member of Congress.

Feature

New Zealand

United States

System

Parliamentary democracy; constitutional monarchy; unitary state

Presidential republic; federal state

Head of State / Government

Monarch / Prime Minister

President / President

Representation and elections

MPs elected usually every 3 years under MMP

President elected every 4 years; House every 2 years; Senate every 6 years

Decode the systems

Use the profiles and comparison grid to solve each civic question.

1.Which description best fits New Zealand's system of government?

A presidential federal republic
A parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy
A military government
A direct democracy with no elected representatives

2.Complete the roles: in New Zealand, the Head of State is the and the Head of Government is the .

3.Match each government term to its meaning.

Federal system
MMP
President

In the United States, this person is both Head of State and Head of Government.
Government authority is shared between national and state governments.
An electoral system used to choose New Zealand's MPs.

4.In New Zealand, the Prime Minister is directly elected by voters in a separate nationwide presidential election.

TrueFalse

5.Give one important feature the New Zealand and United States systems share.

6.Explain one difference between how executive leaders are chosen in New Zealand and the United States.

7.A New Zealand general election is usually held every three years. How many years longer is the usual gap between US presidential elections?

8.The US Congress has a House of Representatives and a Senate. Name one fact from the profile that shows these chambers have different election cycles.

9.Imagine a state government and the federal government disagree about who has authority in a policy area. Which country profile describes a system designed to share authority between those levels?

New Zealand, because it is unitary
The United States, because it is federal
Both, because they have the same structure
Neither, because both are monarchies

10.A student says, “The US President and the New Zealand Prime Minister are chosen in exactly the same way.” Use evidence from the profiles to correct this claim.

11.Which feature would you personally prefer: New Zealand's parliamentary approach or the US separation of the President, Congress and courts? State your choice and give one reason based on how the systems work.