Federal versus Uitary By:Bhagat and Butiong on:Fri 07 of May, 2010 01:12 CDT (33162 Reads) Compiled & Organized By Min Maung (Samurai) Article image Countries in Green are Federal and Blue are Unitary Federal vs. Unitary Governments In a unitary government the power is held by one central authority but in a federal government, the power is divided between national (federal) government and local (state) governments. In recent years there has been a strong global trend toward federal governments. Unitary systems have been sharply curtailed in a number of countries and scrapped together in others. France is a good example of a nation-state that has a long tradition of a unitary government in which a very strong national government dominates local government decisions. Their basic form of governments consists of 96 departments that each has an elected general council. The administrative head is elected by the national government as opposed to being elected by the people. The French government has granted additional legal powers to the departments and communes over recent years. Local governments can now borrow money freely to finance local projects without government approval. In a unitary government, the central government possesses much authority and decision-making power. Local governing bodies simply serve as administrative arms of the central government. Great Britain is a familiar example of a unitary government; individual British counties have little of the power commonly exercised by American states. Places like the United Kingdom, where England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have their own internal governments are still subject to the laws created by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The devolved governments cannot challenge the constitutionality of acts of Parliament, and the powers of the devolved governments can be revoked or reduced by the central government (the Parliament with a government comprising the Cabinet, headed by the Prime Minister). In a federal government, power is split between a central government authority and its constituent states. Usually, an overriding law of the land, known as a constitution, allocates duties, rights, and privileges to each level of government. The constitution usually defines how power is shared between national, state, and local governments. The United States is considered the first modern federation. After declaring independence from Britain, the U.S. adopted its first constitution, the Articles of Confederation in 1781. This was the first step towards federalism by establishing the federal Congress. This is a government with strong central powers. Federal Versus Unitary Government The government of any state is organized generally in two main ways: The unitary system or the federal system. As more and more ethnicities move towards self-determinism, governments restructure their system to transfer limited authority to regional or local governments from the national government. In this sense, ethnicities can possess majority control of a local unit of government without compromising a higher power. Unitary State: Places most power in the hands of central government officials. Federal State: Allocates strong power to units of local government within a country. What also must be taken into consideration is that a country’s cultural and physical characteristics influence the type of government that is in existence. An example would be a theocratic government, which is a government based on religion and the law provided. This type of government is in existence in many Middle Eastern countries because the religion that is dominant there encompasses directional law that covers all aspects of life including the system of government. Federal government Federal Government System: This type of government system distributes power from the national government to local governments in order to adopt their own laws within reason of the country. Multinational states tend to adopt a federal system of government to empower different nationalities and avoid political instability. Under a federal system, local government boundaries can be drawn to encompass a region inhabited by a certain ethnicity. The federal system also works effectively for larger states because the capital may be too far away to efficiently control further regions. However the size of state does not always reveal its type of government because Belgium for example, is a small country with a federal system for the purpose of managing two majority ethnicities. Another example would be the large state of China, which has a unitary government to spread and diffuse Communist values. * Has multiple hierarchy levels, with both the central authority and the states (or provinces) both being sovereign. * The central (national) rules override the state rules * Has a balance between them. (The US) * Shared between national and local levels. In a federal form of government, the term federal is also used to refer to the national level of government. Federal Government -a government with strong central powers -Allows much authority -Goes along with a multi national state -Power is diffused -Gives more power to local territories/ provinces to make rules/laws -The U.S. has a federal government -Students of federal governments will note that within a basic federal political system, there are two or more levels of government that exist within an established territory and govern through common institutions with overlapping or shared powers as prescribed by a constitution. Unitary government Unitary Government System: This type of government system works best in nation-states where few cultural differences exist within the state and a strong sense of national pride and unity is prevalent. Since the power is centralized in a unitary system, there must be efficient communication throughout the country, therefore smaller states tend to have unitary government systems. Governments of this type are common in Europe. Although typically nation-states tend to have a unitary system in place, multi-national states have also had a unitary system in the past. When a unitary system exists in a multinational state, it is often predictable that values and beliefs of one nationality are imposed over the lesser ones. When Communist parties controlled government, many Eastern European countries had unitary systems to spread and promote diffusion of Communist values. * There is no hierarchy of sovereign powers. * States have no authority to pass their own laws, and the central (national) government can order the states to do anything. (Just like a state can order a town to do anything, because the town is not sovereign.) * The federal government has a huge percentage of the power. (Japan) Unitary -Government system -Central government possesses most of the authority -Uniformly applied -Tends to be dictatorship/totalitarianism -France is a unitary government but is democratic -Power is centrally concentrated -Little to no provincial authority -Major decisions are made by the central government -Tends to go along with nation-state -A unitary state is a country whose three organs of state are governed as one single unit. -In a unitary state, any sub-governmental units can be created or abolished, and have their powers varied, by the central government. -A unitary state can broaden and narrow the functions of such devolved governments without formal agreement from the affected bodies. Compiled & Organized By Min Maung (Samurai) lewishistoricalsociety/wiki/tiki-print_article.php?articleId=136
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