Unitary & Federal Forms of Governance | Definition & Differences

• Uniformity of legislation and policy. First of all, in a unitary country, rules on obtaining licenses and permits are the same everywhere, while in a federal country they differ across states (units). This makes citizens' lives easier if they move across the country as they do not have to apply for new licenses or permits (e.g. driver's license) each time they move to a different unit. In a unitary country, uniformity of legislation and policy also makes it easier to ensure the same standards of welfare, education, healthcare, or environmental protection for all citizens. In federations, such policies vary across states, resulting in different treatment of citizens across the country.
• Ease of action in an emergency. In a federation, both the federal and state governments have the right and responsibility to act during an emergency (such as natural disasters or disturbances). This often makes effective action difficult due to coordination problems. In a unitary country, only the national government has the authority to act during an emergency, which reduces such coordination problems.
• Clarity of responsibility for governance. In a unitary country, only the central government is responsible for policymaking. Hence, it is easy to identify who is to blame during a crisis or policy failure. On the other hand, in a federation, both federal and state governments make policy. For that reason, during a crisis, both government levels may blame each other and it is harder to determine who is responsible for failure.

Still, there are some disadvantages of unitary systems:

• Uniformity of legislation and policy has also drawbacks as it hampers accommodation of ethnic, economic, or cultural differences and needs. In a federation, territorial units have more powers and in this way can create policies accommodating such differences. This is harder to accomplish in unitary systems.
• Less opportunity for policy innovation. In a federation, states often serve as policy laboratories. If a new policy works, it can be subsequently applied at the national (federal) level or in other states. In a unitary system, only the national government makes policies and such a trial-and-error approach is impossible.

Overall, due to its features, the unitary system works better for smaller and ethnically homogenous countries while federalism works better for larger and more ethnically diverse countries.

Examples of federal countries include Canada and Mexico. Canada is divided into provinces while Mexico is divided into states. Both Canada and Mexico have democratically elected national (federal) governments. However, as per the constitution, the powers not explicitly granted to federal governments belong to the provinces or states, which are significantly more powerful than French regions. Canadian provinces and Mexican states have elected legislative assemblies. They also have executive authorities, but the method of their election varies. Mexican governors, as with governors of US states, are elected directly by voters. On the other hand, executive authority in Canadian provinces is held by premiers who are elected indirectly by legislative assemblies. In this way, each country's state-level of government reflects its national level: a parliamentary system in Canada and a presidential system in Mexico.