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- Federal and unitary systems are ideal types, representing the endpoints of a continuum. Most countries fall somewhere in between the two extremes—states can be more or less unitary or more or less federal.
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A unitary state, or unitary government, is a governing system in which a single central government has total power over all of its other political subdivisions. A unitary state is the opposite of a federation, where governmental powers and responsibilities are divided.
Federal and semifederal states. Classifying a particular state as federal or unitary is usually straightforward, though in some cases it can be more difficult. The United States and Switzerland are clearly federal states; all of the above-mentioned characteristics of the federal state are present in their constitutional systems.
Dec 12, 2021 · 1. Centralisation of powers leads to dictatorship. The federal system safeguards the separation of powers and thus prevents tyranny or dictatorship. 2. As power is divided between the union and the state, this structure is efficient in terms of governance and administration. 3. The state or provinces enjoy some separate rights. 4.
unitary state, a system of political organization in which most or all of the governing power resides in a centralized government, in contrast to a federal state. A brief treatment of the unitary state follows.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
In a federal system, a degree of autonomy is given to the individual states while maintaining a strong central authority and the possibility of tyranny is very low. Federal systems still have their share of power struggles, such as those seen in the American Civil War.
Aside from the number of levels, the most important distinction between a unitary system and a federal one is that the states or provinces of a federal state have constitutionally protected sovereignty.
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.
