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Depending on how a constitution organizes power between the central and subnational governments, a country may be said to possess either a unitary or a federal system (see also federalism). In a unitary system the only level of government besides the central is the local or municipal government. Although local governments may enjoy considerable ...
Figure 3.2 There are three general systems of government—unitary systems, federations, and confederations—each of which allocates power differently. In a confederation, authority is decentralized, and the central government’s ability to act depends on the consent of the subnational governments.
In a unitary system of government, the central government holds most of the power. The unitary state still has local and regional governmental offices, but these are under the direct control or authority of the central government. The United Kingdom is one example of a unitary nation.
Unitary governmmental systems place high emphasis on the central government, while federal governments delegate more power to individual regions of the country. A confederacy is formed when separate states consolidate their power into a weaker federal government, kind of the opposite of a unitary government.
Unitary states, like federal states, can be constitutional democracies or unfree non-democracies. Both the unitary Republic of France and the Federal Republic of Germany, for example, are constitutional democracies, but the unitary states of Algeria, Libya, and Swaziland are unfree non-democracies.
Mar 29, 2024 · federalism, mode of political organization that unites separate states or other polities within an overarching political system in a way that allows each to maintain its own integrity.
Nov 21, 2023 · A unitary system of government is a political structure in which one level of government retains the bulk of political power. Governments divide into two main categories: unitary and...
