A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as one single unit
in which the central government is supreme and any
administrative divisions (subnational units) exercise only
powers that the central government chooses to delegate. Most
states in the world have a unitary system of government.
Advantages: Single, all decisive legislative and/or executive
offices. Usually more efficient use of tax dollars (fewer people
trying to get in on the money). Simpler management of an
economy. Smaller government.
Disadvantages: Single, all decisive legislative and/or executive
offices. Little in the way of power balances. Slow government
response (for instance no state national guard that could be
dispatched in an emergency, troops would have to be
mobilized from national authority). Easily looses track of local
issues. Is an incredibly divisive form of government (everyone
is forced to compete with everyone else for priority). Since its
trying to take the place of federal and state governments,
unitary governments typical get bloated and bogged down.
Huge bureaucracy (yes even larger that what this country has).
There's two types, the first is the traditional unitary
government. Simply all the authority resides at a national
level.
The second is a "devolved government." There is more local
authority, however the federal authority has the right to
override local decisions. This allows local authorities to
handle more of the mundane duties. Results in a smaller
federal government. The UK would be an example of a
devolved government, minus the Queen.
A Unitary state is exactly the opposite of a federal state ... I
will here list the advantages and disadvantages of a federal:
Advantages of a federal state compared with a unitary
state
Distribution of power
In a federation, the classical horizontal division of the powers
of state (legislative - executive - judicial) is complemented by
a vertical division of power between the state as a whole and
the individual member states. Distribution of power ensures
that there are checks and balances, helping to prevent abuse of
power.
More democracy
Sub-division into smaller political units makes state action
clearer and more comprehensible, thus fostering active
participation and co-deter-mination. Furthermore, each citizen
has two opportunities to exer-ci-se the most fundamental
democratic right, namely the right to vote; in a federation,
elections are held both for the national parliament and for the
parliaments of the individual member states.
Leadership opportunities
Political parties have more opportunities to hold power and
competition between parties is encouraged, as they can
exercise political responsibility in the individual member
states even if they are in the minority nationally. This gives
parties an opportunity to test and prove their capacity for
leadership by offering them a chance to demonstrate how they
perform once elected.
Proximity to tasks
In a federation, public bodies are closer to regional problems
than in a unitary state. There are no remote, forgotten
provinces.
Citizen-oriented action
Citizens enjoy more rapid access to the public authorities. It is
easier for them to contact politicians and the public authorities
than in a unitary state with a remote and anonymous centre.
Competition
The states that make up a federation are always competing
with one another, making them more vital. Exchange of
experience fosters progress and helps to avoid undesirable
developments at the national level.
Balance
Mutual control, reciprocal consideration and the need to seek
compromises prevent or at least hinder extreme positions.
Federalism has a balancing and thus a stabilising effect.
Diversity
The division of the country into federal states or Lander
guarantees that many economic, political and cultural centres
develop. This provides a more favourable environment to
preserve and develop specific regional, historical, economic
and cultural features. This diversity can lead to more freedom.
Disadvantages of a federal state compared with a unitary state
Lack of uniformity
The federal states' autonomy necessarily means there are
differences between the states. Diversity is the opposite of
uniformity. This can result in some difficulties, for instance,
for school children if a family moves from one federal state to
another.
Complicated
As decisions are taken in many different centres in the Federal
Republic,
and power is shared between the Federation and the Lnder, it
is essential that the various tiers of government co-operate and
show consideration for each other. The different bodies that
hold power exercise mutual oversight and function in a
checks-and-balances system. This interweaving of
responsibility is complex and sometimes hard for citizens to
understand
Time-consuming
The parliaments, governments and administrations of the
Federation and the federal states have to wait for initiatives,
decisions or consent from each other and engage in lengthy
negotiations in order to arrive at joint solutions. This can be a
time-consuming process.
Costly
Running individual parliaments, governments and
administrations in the Federation and the Lnder is considered,
on the whole, to be more expensive than maintaining the
corresponding bodies in a unitary state. It is debatable whether
this is indeed a valid assumption, because Lnder institutions
could not simply be closed down in a unitary state, but would
have to be replaced. Federal institutions would certainly have
to be expanded and mammoth centralised bodies might not
ultimately prove to be cheaper.
What is federal government?
In federal states, the federal government is the government at
the level of the nation-state. The structure of central
governments varies from institution to institution. By
delegating powers from the central government to
governments at a sub national level, an autonomous region is
created by many countries. Based on a broad definition of a
basic 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 or other law.
As a basics, the central government has the power to make and
enforece laws for the whole country which are in contrast with
local government. The usual responsibilities of the central
government which are not granted to lower levels of
government are maintaining national security and exercising
international diplomacy, including the right to sign binding
treaties.
In general, the difference between a central government and a
federal central government is that the autonomous statuses of
self-governing regions exists by the sufferance of the central
government and are often created through a process of
devolution. It is common for a federal central government to
be brought into being by agreement between a number of
formally independent states and therefore its powers to affect
the status of the balance of powers is significantly smaller. For
example are the United States of America.
What is unitary government?
When the central government possesses much authority and
decision-making power, it is called the unitary government.
The local governing bodies simply serve as administrative
arms of the central government. For an example of a unitary
government are the Great Britain which is a familiar example
of a unitary government; individual British counties have little
of the power commonly exercised by American states. France
also has a unitary form of government where by it has 90
departments grouped into 36 provinces. It is important,
however, to note that unitary governments are not inherently
less democratic than other forms.
Power is distributed completely opposite of a unitary
government in a confederate government. Local governments
protect and preserve their own authority by forming a weak
central government.
In a federal government, power is split between a central
government authority and its constituent states. Usually, 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 power to amend this constitution is usually
granted to the citizens or their governmental representatives.
There are two basic categories in which governments are
classified according to a decision making. In a totalitarian
government, the power of rulers is not limited by outside
forces, such as elections or public opinion. Totalitarian
systems also restrict personal freedom in most cases.
How does unitary government differ from a federal
government?
In a unitary government, the power is held by one central
authority but in a federal government, the power is divided
between national government or federal government and local
governments or states government.
Federal government
has multiple hierarchy levels, with both the central authority
and the states (or provinces) both being sovereign.
the central or national rules override the state rules has a
balance between them. For example are the U.S 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.
Unitary government
there is no hierarchy of sovereign powers.
states have no authority to pass their own laws, and the central
or national govt can order the states to do anything.
the federal government has a huge percentage of the power.
For example are the Japan
What are the advantages and disadvantages to a unitary system
as a form of government?
A unitary government is a government where the vast majority
of authority is held by the federal government.
Advantages
The advantages of unitary government are it is single and
decisive legislative. Usually it is more efficient in the used of
tax dollars but fewer people trying to get in on the money. It is
also has a simple management of an economy and the
government are smaller.
Disadvantages
The disadvantages of using this type of system are it has slow
government response. For example, there are no state National
Guard that could be dispatched in emergency, troops would
have to be mobilized from national authority. It is also easily
loses track of local issues. Other than that, it is incredibly
divisive form of government where everyone is forced to
compete with everyone else for priority. Since it is trying to
take the place of federal and state governments, the unitary
governments typical get bloated and bogged down. Finally, it
has huge bureaucracy that is even larger than what this
country has.
What are the Advantages and the disadvantages of
Federalism?
Advantages of Federalism
Every province has political, social and economic problems
peculiar to the region itself. Provincial government
representatives live in close proximity to the people and are
most of the times from the same community, so that they are
in a better position to understand these problems and offer
unique solutions for them. For example, traffic congestion in
Oahu, Hawaii is a problem that can be best solved by the local
government, keeping local factors in mind, rather than by
somebody living in New York.
Federalism offers representation to different populations.
Citizens of various provinces may have different aspirations,
ethnicity and follow different cultures. The central government
can sometimes overlook these differences and adopt policies
which cater to the majority. This is where the regional
government steps in. While formulating policies, local needs,
tastes and opinions are given due consideration by the state
governments. Rights of the minorities are protected too. For
example, in states like Arizona where there is a large Hispanic
population and therefore, a large number of schools provide
bilingual education.
State governments have the freedom to adopt policies which
may not be followed nationally or by any other state. For
example, same sex marriages are not recognized by the federal
government of USA but they are given legal status within the
states of Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont and Massachusetts.
Division of work between the central and the regional
governments leads to optimum utilization of resources. The
central government can concentrate more on international
affairs and defense of the country while the provincial
government can cater to the local needs.
Federalism has room for innovation and experimentation. Two
local governments can have two different approaches to bring
reforms in any area of public domain, be it taxation or
education. The comparison of the results of these policies can
give a clear idea of which policy is better and thus, can be
adopted in the future.
Disadvantages of Federalism
Sharing of power between the Center and the states includes
both advantages and disadvantages of federation. Sometimes
there can be overlapping of work and subsequent confusion
regarding who is responsible for what. For example, when
typhoon Katrina hit Greater New Orleans, USA, in 2005, there
was delay in the rescue work as there was confusion between
the state governments and the federal government on who is
responsible for which disaster management work. This
resulted in the loss of many lives.
The federal system of government is very expensive as more
people are elected to office, both at the state and the center,
than necessary. Thus, it is often said that only rich countries
can afford it. Too many elected representatives with
overlapping roles may also lead to corruption.
Other than that, it leads to unnecessary competition between
different regions. There can be a rebellion by a regional
government against the national government too. Both
scenarios pose a threat to the countries' integrity.
It is also promotes regional inequalities. Natural resources,
industries, employment opportunities differ from region to
region. Hence earnings and wealth are unevenly distributed.
Rich states offer more opportunities and benefits to its citizens
than poor states can. Thus, the gap between rich and poor
states widens.
It also can make the state governments selfish and concerned
only about their own region's progress. They can formulate
policies which might be detrimental to other regions. For
example, pollution from a province which is promoting
industrialization in a big way can affect another region which
depends solely on agriculture and cause crop damage.
Finally, it does not eliminate poverty. Even in New York, there
are poor neighborhoods like Harlem with a majority of black
population. The reason for this may be that during policy
framing, it is the intellectuals and not the masses who are
invited by the local government.
Federalism: Its Advantages and Disadvantages
First what is federalism? Federalism is defining as the
allocation of power between the national government and
regional government. A system of government in which the
power is divided between a central authority and constituent
political units. Is it advisable for a country like us to adapt this
kind of government?
According to Jose Abueva, former president of University of
the Philippines and a professor of public and administration
we should take federal kind of government. He said that the
Philippines would take a period of no less than 10 years to
make a successful transition to federalism, involving a period
of consolidation of several regions and intensive
socioeconomic development in each of consolidated regions.
Advantages of federal government are the following: (1) It
ensures that government remains close to the people because
the state government argue that they are more in tune with the
daily needs and aspirations of people especially relevant to
small and isolated places. (2) It encourages development of
the nation in a decentralized and regional manner and allows
for unique and innovative methods for attacking social,
economic and political problems. (3) It provides a barrier to
the dominance of the majority, while the disadvantages are the
following: (1) It can lead to duplication of government and
inefficient, over-lapping or contradictory policies in different
parts of the country. (2) It can lead to inequality between the
states and lead to unhealthy competition and rivalry between
them. (3) It cal lead to over-government that will result to
corruption. I have cited both faces of federal government in
order to inform all of you that federal government is a good
system of government and a good example of successful
federal kind of government is the United States of America.
But the question here is do we really need it? Is it advisable
for our country to change the government into federal?
On my point of view, we do not need here a change of
government all we need is to strengthen the centralized
government. And also its very expensive to have a federal
kind of government. We have no enough funds because we are
still paying our debts. We have already LGUS and NGOS to
monitor the needs of people that have a power equal to the
national government. We are making our situation complicated
if we change our present government into federal. Lastly, the
Philippines is a third world country and according to survey
last September 16, 2006 we have 25 only of the worlds 193
countries have federal political system, and 3 out of 25 is
belong in Asia. It only indicates that a third world country like
us is not ready and cannot afford the federal government.
The disadvantage is that it reduces the ability of different
subsets of the country to self-govern, which can mean some
groups are left out. Some countries have multiple different
cultures or political views, and a unitary system may leave
some of them out. For instance, in the USA, some parts are
very conservative, while some parts are more liberal, and
different parties tend to win in different areas. Having a
federal system allows those areas to run themselves in their
own way, in some aspects of the law anyway.
The advantage, though, is it tends to be more efficient and less
prone to infighting between different levels of government
over who has the power and who is paying for what, which
often slows things down. For example, in Australia, there was
recently a lot of conflict between the state governments and
the federal government over transport projects. One state
wanted to build a certain rail line, while the feds wanted to
build another, so there was no agreement over funding, and for
years, neither were built. Where there is just one group
making the decisions, this is less likely.
Federal Government
Central government is out of touch with local concerns
Slow in meeting local problems
Doesn't always meet the needs of citizens
Disadvantages of Unitary
Prevents national policies
Leads to a lack of accountability
Can be confusing when crossing borders
Disadvantages of Federal
Uniform policies throughout the state
Greater unity
Less conflicts between national and local government
Advantages of Unitary
Leads to political stability
Gives people more opportunities to be involved in the
government
Prevents tyranny
Advantages of Federal
Unitary Government
UNITARY GOVERNMENT- Leaders can be a King, Prime
Minister, or President
It really doesn't matter who the leader of the country is; what
matters, is that the national level of the government has power
and runs the country. A unitary system can be autocratic,
oligarchic or democratic. So, depending on the type of
government that is in place, citizens may play a large role in
the country's politics.
Example #1: United Kingdom. The UK is a unitary
parliamentary democracy. Citizens vote for members of
Parliament. Parliament members then select from themselves
who the Prime Minister will be. The national Parliament runs
the country, and the local governments have very little power.
Example #2: Cuba. Cuba is a unitary communist government.
In a communist government the citizens don't have a say in
how the country is run. But again, the national government
runs the country and local governments do not have much
power.
Best Answer: A great majority of all the world's nation-states
are unitary systems, including Belgium, Bulgaria, France,
Great Britain, The Netherlands, Japan, Poland, Romania, the
Scandinavian countries, Spain, and many of the Latin-
American and African countries. There are great differences
among these unitary states, however, specifically in the
institutions and procedures through which their central
governments interact with their territorial subunits.
In one type of unitary system, decentralization of power
among subnational governments goes so far that in practice,
although not in constitutional principle, they resemble federal
arrangements. In Great Britain, for example, there are
important elements of regional autonomy in the relationship
between Northern Ireland, Wales, and Scotland and the
national government in London; and the complex system of
elected local governments, although in constitutional theory
subject to abrogation by Parliament, is in practice a fixed and
fairly formidable part of the apparatus of British government.
In other unitary systems of this type, decentralization on a
territorial basis is actually provided for constitutionally, and
the powers of locally elected officials are prescribed in detail.
Thus, the Japanese constitution, for example, specifies certain
autonomous functions to be performed by local administrative
authorities.
A second type of unitary system makes substantially less
provision for territorial decentralization of authority and
employs rather strict procedures for the central supervision of
locally elected governments. The classic example of this type
is France . Until March 1982, when a law on decentralization
went into effect, the French administrative system was built
around dpartements , each headed by a prfet , and
subdivisions of the dpartements, termed arrondissements ,
each headed by a sous-prfet. The prfets and sous-prfets
were appointed by the government in Paris to serve as agents
of the central government and also as the executives of the
divisional governments, the conseils gnraux, which were
composed of elected officials. The system thus combined
central supervision of local affairs through appointed officials
with territorial representation through locally elected
governments. (Following the passage of the decentralization
law, the executive powers of the prfets were transferred to the
conseils gnraux.)
Yet a third type of unitary system provides for only token
decentralization. In such cases, the officials responsible for
managing the affairs of the territorial subdivisions are
appointees of the central government, and the role of locally
elected officers is either minimal or nonexistent. Examples of
this kind of arrangement include Germany under Adolf Hitler
and also several formerly Communist countries. The Third
Reich was divided into 42 Gaue, each headed by a gauleiter
chosen for his personal loyalty to Hitler. In eastern Europe, the
people's councils or people's committees were named by the
centrally organized Communist parties; their appointment was
confirmed by elections with one slate of candidates.
A system of government distributes power among different
parts and levels of the state. Political scientists study the uses
of power, including how power is distributed within a state.
The amount of power held by the central government
determines the system of government a state has. There are
three main systems of government used today: unitary
systems, federal systems, and confederate systems.
THREE SYSTEMS OF GOVERNMENT
Unitary (e.g., China, France, Japan, United Kingdom)High
Sets uniform policies that direct the entire nation
Disregards local differences
Federal (e.g., United States, Germany, Australia, Canada)
Medium Gives local governments more power
Sacrifices national uniformity on some issues
Confederate (e.g., Confederate States of America, Belgium)
Low Gives local/regional governments almost
complete control Sets no significant uniform national policies
Unitary Systems
A unitary system has the highest degree of centralization. In a
unitary state, the central government holds all the power.
Lower-level governments, if they exist at all, do nothing but
implement the policies of the national government. In a purely
unitary state, the same set of laws applies throughout the
nation, without variation. Unitary states create national policy,
which is then applied uniformly. This uniformity sometimes
serves as an advantage because people and businesses know
exactly what to expect from the laws, regardless of
geographical location. At the same time, to maintain its
uniformity, a unitary government must overlook local
differences that might call for different rules or policies.
Example: Most absolute monarchies and tyrannies operate
under unitary systems. But democratic unitary states exist as
well. In France, for example, the central government makes
virtually all of the decisions.
Federal Systems
A federal system has a mix of national and state or local
governments. The federal government usually trumps local
governments in matters of defense and foreign policy, but
local governments have a great deal of say over most other
policy areas. Sometimes local governments administer
national policies, which mean that, in practice, the national
policy varies a great deal from place to place.
Example: In the United States, state governments administered
Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) throughout
the length of the program, 19351997. Although the federal
government set certain rules for how the money was to be
spent, state governments had the power to administer it as they
saw fit. Some states, therefore, gave little money through
AFDC, whereas others were much more generous.
Often, the boundary between national and local power is
blurred. Federal systems have the opposite strengths and
weaknesses of unitary systems: They excel at factoring in
local circumstances but often fail to have a coherent national
policy.
Example: The United States, Mexico, and Canada operate
under federal systems. These states have a mix of national and
state governments that share power and policymaking
responsibilities.
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 countrys
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.