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Feb 2, 2022 · Updated on February 02, 2022. 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. In a unitary state, the political subdivisions ...
Unitary Government. 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.
Definition of Unitary Government. A unitary government is a system with a strong central government that controls the actions of subnational governments. All power and authority rest in a single central entity.
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 government held the most important levers of power.
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.
What Is a Unitary Government? A unitary government is a type of government in which all power is centralized in the hands of a single ruler. In the unitary system of government, a single central government possesses total control over all political subdivisions.
The term unitary government refers to a constitutional arrangement by which ultimate political authority is held by the central government of a state. In this system sovereignty is vested in the central government alone. A unitary state does not necessarily imply that only one level of government exists.
