Current Event: When Governments Change

2024 was a year of political turmoil in many parts of the world. Some were momentary attempts of a leader to expand their power, like the attempted ‘self-coup’ in South Korea. Others were dramatic regime changes resulting from a long, bloody civil war, as in Syria. Parliamentary governments in France and Germany used procedural no confidence votes and scheduled new elections, which demonstrated the desire for a leadership change; meanwhile, in August, what began as student protests in Bangladesh ended by toppling the government. This week’s current event focuses on some examples of how different countries have recently experienced changes in government, and what might happen in 2025.

In some of these cases, a stable interim government is overseeing the transition, while in others, former revolutionaries are in control. As power changes hands, international alliances will shift, economic trade will be impacted, and military intervention may occur. Meanwhile, the United States is going through its own transfer of power, as the Biden Administration hands off to the incoming Trump Administration. As we begin 2025, new governments in different regions will change how different countries engage with each other, both diplomatically and economically.

The resources below give students a chance to see the many ways people of the world bring about governmental change. Included are lesson plans on why government is needed, how parliamentary systems work, some historical background, and analyzing the governmental changes happening now.

Essential Questions:

What are the different ways the control of a government can change?

What circumstances have lead to the collapse of a government?

How do interim governments keep order during a transition of power?

What do you think will happen next in each of these situations?

How do you think the United States should respond to international situations like these?

Vocabulary:

coup d’ etat – the sudden, violent, and illegal overthrow of an existing government by a small group, usually by or with the help of military or police forces

self-coup (autocoup) – when an elected head of state retains or extends control over government, through an additional term, an extension of term, an expansion of executive power, the dismantling of other government branches, or the declaration that an election won by an opponent is illegitimate

no confidence vote – a formal vote by which the members of a legislature or similar deliberative body indicate that they no longer support a leader or government, usually leading to the resignation of the leader and/or the dissolving of the government and a new election

regime change – when there is a complete transformation of the political system, such as a transition from authoritarianism to democracy

political revolution – significant change in a government or political system, usually with mass mobilization of the populace and through the use of violence, in order to overturn the established order