Unitary governments, federations, and confederations are
types of governments that can be found operating in the world today. Each is a
potentially successful means of structuring a state. What separates them is the
role of the central government within the state.
Unitary System
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 auspices of the central
government. The United Kingdom is one example of a unitary nation. Parliament
holds the governing power in the U.K., granting power to and removing it from
the local governments when it sees fit. France is also a unitary government.
The national government rules over the various provinces or departments. These
local bodies carry out the directions of the central government, but never act
independently.
1) How is power distributed in a unitary system?
Federalist System
Federalism is marked by a sharing of power between the
central government and state, provincial or local governing bodies. The United
States is one example of a federalist 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. State governments have the
power to set and enforce driving laws while the federal government lacks that
ability. Modern Germany is also a federalist republic. The national government
shares power with provincial political entities, known as “Länder.”
2) How is power divided in a federal system?
Confederations
A confederation has a weak central authority that derives all
its powers from the state or provincial governments. The states of a
confederation retain all the powers of an independent nation, such as the right
to maintain a military force, print money, and make treaties with other
national powers. The United States began its nationhood as a confederate state,
under the Articles of Confederation. However, the central government was too
weak to sustain the burgeoning country. Therefore, the founding fathers shifted
to a federal system when drafting the Constitution. A contemporary example of a
confederation is the Commonwealth of Independent States, which is comprised of
several nations that were formerly part of the Soviet Union. These nations
formed a loose partnership to enable them to form a stronger national body than
each individual state could maintain.
3) List the features of a confederation.
4) In the history of the United States, which systems were used for a national government?
Advantages and
Disadvantages
One has only to look at the advantages and disadvantages of
each system to see the greatest differences among them. In a unitary system,
laws and policies throughout the state are uniform, laws are more easily passed
since they need only be approved by the central government, and laws are rarely
contradictory since there is only one body making those laws. There are
disadvantages of this type of government. The central government may lose touch
with or control over a distant province or too much power in the central
authority could result in tyranny. 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. Confederate
governments are focused on the needs of the people in each state, the
government tends to be more in touch with its citizenry, and tyranny is almost
impossible. Unfortunately, confederations often break apart due to internal power
struggles and lack the resources of a strong centralized government.
5) Of the three types of systems, which gives the greatest amount of power to the central government?
6) List the advantages and disadvantages for each of the following:
6a) unitary
6b) confederation
6c) federal
