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Unitary states should not be confused with authoritarian states. In an authoritarian state, all governing and political power is vested in a single individual leader or small, elite group of individuals.
Mar 26, 2023 · The GOP-fueled far right differs from similar movements around the globe, thanks to the country’s politics, electoral system, and changing demographics.
- Thor Benson
Oct 18, 2022 · It is better, in the U.S. context at least, to think of authoritarianism as something like a contradiction nestled within the American democratic tradition.
In the United States, all states have unitary governments with bicameral legislatures (except Nebraska, which has a unicameral legislature). Ultimately, all local governments in a unitary state are subject to a central authority.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create or abolish administrative divisions (sub-national units). Such units exercise only the powers that the central government chooses to delegate.
With democratization engulfing much of the world, and with the foundations of our country being rooted in democratic ideals, it is logical to think that the idea of the United States becoming authoritarian is far-fetched.
Local governments are treated very differently than are states. Within their own borders, states are very much like unitary systems; substate governments such as cities and counties get their power from the state, and they exercise only the policymaking authority the state is willing to grant.
