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Politics: Politics is the authoritative allocation of values for a society; who gets what, when and how, in a society. Government: A permanent structure composed of decision makers who make society’s rules about conflict resolution and the allocation of resources and who possess the power to enforce those rules. Authority: The features of a leader or institution that compel obedience, usually because of ascribed legitimacy. In most societies, government is the ultimate authority. Legitimacy: Status conferred by the people on the government’s officials, acts, and institutions through their belief that the government’s actions are an appropriate use of power by a legally constituted governmental authority following correct decision-making policies. These actions are regarded as rightful and entitled to compliance and obedience on the part of citizens. Origins of Democracy: The Athenian system of government is usually considered the model for direct democracy, because the citizens of that community debated and voted directly on all laws. It also featured a legislature composed of all of the citizens. 1. Representative democracy: Form of government in which representatives elected by the