Learn about the advantages and disadvantages of unitary, confederal, and federal governments. Also, find out which countries use which system of government.
Updated: 11/21/2023
Unitary, Confederal & Federal | Types of Government Systems
Table of Contents
- Types of Government Power Structures
- Unitary Government
- Confederal Government
- Federal Government
- Lesson Summary
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main difference between federal and confederal?
The main difference is how much power constituent units vs. national government have. In a confederacy, power and sovereignty belong primarily to the units, while in a federation they are shared between the units and the national government.
Is the EU a confederation or federation?
The EU (European Union) is a union of states. It has some features of a traditional international organization and some features of a federal state. It also has some features of a confederacy, such as making decisions by consensus on some issues such as external policy. Yet, it functions as a federation when members make decisions on trade, environmental or industrial standards, or agricultural policy.
What countries are confederal?
Nowadays there are no confederal countries (confederations), but some historical examples include Switzerland (in 1291-1848), union of Sweden and Norway (1814-1905), or Senegambia (1982-89).
What are examples of unitary government?
Most countries around the world are unitary. Under a unitary government, power and sovereignty belong primarily to the national government. Some examples include China, Japan, France, or Britain.
Who has the power in unitary government?
In a unitary government, all power belongs in principle to the central (national) government. It does not mean that there are no smaller units (e.g. regions) in such a country, but that the national government decided the powers of such smaller units and can take it away at any time.
Which countries are confederations?
Nowadays there are no confederations. Some historical examples include Serbia and Montenegro (2003-06), German Confederation (1815-1866), or the United States (in 1776-1789).
Table of Contents
- Types of Government Power Structures
- Unitary Government
- Confederal Government
- Federal Government
- Lesson Summary
There are various methods to classify countries regarding their systems of government. One method is to look at the way the power is organized in a country across space. Every country is divided into smaller geographical units, which have different names in different countries. For example, the United States is divided into states, Canada into provinces, and Japan into prefectures. Every country needs to decide how to divide the power between the center and the units. In this regard, countries can be divided into three systems of government: unitary, federal, and confederal.
- In a unitary country, all power and sovereignty belong to the national government, which might, however, delegate some powers to the geographical units (but has the authority to take this power back at any time)
- In a federal country (federation), the power and sovereignty are constitutionally divided between the national (federal) government and geographical units.
- In a confederal country (confederation or confederacy), the power and sovereignty belong mostly to the geographical units, which, however, delegated some limited powers to the national (confederal) government.
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Unitary government is the most popular form of spatial organization of power in a country, Nowadays, 170 out of 195 sovereign countries (or 87%) have a unitary government. Nearly all countries with a unitary government are divided into smaller territorial units. These territorial units are creation of the national government. The national government also defines their powers and borders, which can be changed via ordinary legislation at any time. Thus, some unitary states have quite powerful territorial units with elected regional legislatures and governments (e.g. Spain or Italy), whereas some have weak units with no elected institutions (e.g. Portugal or Barbados). Still, most of contemporary unitary democracies are divided into territorial units with elected regional governments. Such regional governments are usually absent in very small countries.
The main advantages of unitary government include uniformity of legislation and policy, quick decision-making in an emergency, and clarity of responsibility for governance. In contrast to federal or confederal states, where legislation and policy differ across territorial units, those are generally the same countrywide in unitary systems. This means that one needs only one occupational or driver's license for the entire country, and that citizens receive public services of similar quality everywhere. During an emergency, only the national government is responsible for decision-making, which eliminates coordination problems and may result in quicker action. As well, because only the national government makes policies and laws, it is easy to identify who is to blame in case of a policy failure.
Still, the disadvantage of the unitary government is the 'one-size-fits-all' approach. Citizens' needs, values, and identities may differ across the country, but accommodating such diversity is more difficult if only the national government makes important decisions.
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Unitary Examples
Most countries in the world have unitary governments (if a country is not listed as a federation below, it means its government is unitary). An example of a unitary government is Japan. Japan is divided into 47 prefectures. The prefectures and their powers are not mentioned in the Japanese constitution; their powers and borders are decided by the national government through ordinary laws. Each prefecture has a directly elected governor, who heads the executive branch, and a directly elected assembly, which is the legislative branch. The national governments delegated to the prefectures numerous tasks regarding the management of education, healthcare, infrastructure, and the police force. The prefectural governments also issue regulations and ordinances in certain limited areas pertaining to their authority. Yet, the national government controls the overall tax rates and transfer funds from wealthier to poorer prefectures to ensure a similar quality of public services.
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Unitary, Confederal & Federal | Types of Government Systems
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