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The United States is one example of a federal republic. The U.S. Constitution grants specific powers to the national government while retaining other powers for the states. For example, the federal government can negotiate treaties with other countries while state and local authorities cannot.
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.
- OpenStax
- 2016
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What is a unitary state?
- Examples of Unitary States
- Unitary States vs. Federations
- Unitary States vs. Authoritarian States
- Pros and Cons
Of the 193 member countries of the United Nations, 165 are unitary states. The United Kingdom and France are two well-recognized examples.
The opposite of a unitary state is a federation. A federation is a constitutionally organized union or alliance of partially self-governing states or other regions under a central federal government. Unlike the largely powerless local governments in a unitary state, the states of a federation enjoy some degree of independence in their internal affa...
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. The leader or leaders of an authoritarian state are not chosen by the people, nor are they constitutionally responsible to the people. Authoritari...
The unitary state is the most common form of government in the world. This system of government has its benefits, but as with all schemes of dividing power between government and the people, it also has drawbacks.
Under the Constitution, the President, and no one else, has executive power. The executive is therefore “unitary.” 1 It follows, as the night follows the day, that Congress lacks the power to carve up the executive—to say, for example, that the Secretary of Transportation is a free agent, immune from presidential control, or that the ...
- Cass R. Sunstein, Adrian Vermeule
- 2021
a unitary, centralized, homogeneous, self-sufficient, and politically sovereign polity encompassing a single nation, a territory, and a unitary government. This modern conception of statehood was either derived from or found its original expression in the Westphalian system, based on the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, that put finis to
Division of power can also occur via a unitary structure or confederation . In contrast to federalism, a unitary system makes subnational governments dependent on the national government, where significant authority is concentrated. Before the late 1990s, the United Kingdom’s unitary system was centralized to the extent that the national ...
Identify the three systems of government and how they divide power. Explain what federalism is and why it was chosen as a system for the United States. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of federalism. Describe the ways elements in the U.S. Constitution provide a basis for federalism.
