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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A confederation (a country having a confederal government) is a union of sovereign states which ceded some limited powers to the national (confederal) government. A confederate form of government prerogatives are usually limited to foreign relations, defense, internal trade, and common currency. The members usually retain the right to leave the confederation at any time. Confederations do not generally have directly elected legislatures or executive officials. Ordinarily, a confederation usually has a legislative body in which each member has equal representation, regardless of its population size. Decisions are made and legislation adopted by consensus. It means that each member has a power to veto a decision.
Confederacies also do not have their own (confederal) police force to implement common legislation. They might enact common taxes, but they depend on each member's goodwill to deliver the due funds. If a member ignores common decisions or fails to deliver taxes, confederal governments have limited means of forcing the members to comply.
One may consider an advantage the fact that confederacies leave nearly all the powers in the hands of the constituent governments. Also, because decisions are made by consensus, a member cannot be forced to accept a decision. On the other hand, due to the nature of the decision-making process, it is hard for confederacies to agree on anything. It is sufficient for one member to disagree to veto a decision, limiting the possibility of common action. Hence, confederacies are often very ineffective even within a very limited set of policy areas which are their prerogative (for example, all members must accept new taxes for military spending, which makes enacting such taxes difficult and might prevent effective defense). Hence, historically, many confederal states transformed into federations, which have a more streamlined decision-making process (the United States in 1789, Switzerland in 1848, and Germany in 1871), which is the main difference between a confederation vs federation.
Nowadays, there are no states closely corresponding to the definition of a confederacy, although some unions of sovereign states resemble confederacies. The European Union has features both of an international organization, a confederacy, and a federation. On some issues, such as defense or foreign relations, it makes decisions by consensus of all its member states. It also does not have its own police force or direct tax collecting powers. However, on most issues (such as trade or environment) the European Union makes decisions by qualified majority, which is a feature of federations. Otherwise, Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is formally a federation of two ethnic entities, has such a weak national government that it functions close to the confederal model.
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Confederal Examples
Nowadays, there exist no confederations, but several existed in the past. Here are some confederate government examples:
- Serbia and Montenegro (2003-06), split into separate countries
- German Confederation (1815-1866), formed a federation
- Switzerland (1292-1848), formed a federation
- Holy Roman Empire (app. 14th century to 1804), disintegrated
- The United States (1776-1789), formed a federation in 1789 (and was a set of unitary states - British colonies - before 1776)
- Netherlands (1581-1795), conquered by France
Confederate States of America, despite its name, had a political system which was closer to a federation than a confederation. Hence, it is not a good confederal system example.
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A federal system, similarly as a confederal or unitary system, is a system of spatial organization of power in a country. In terms of how power is concentrated in a federation, it is in between a confederal and a unitary system. In other words, territorial units are the weakest in the countries with the unitary system, the strongest in the countries with the confederal systems, while the federal systems are in the middle.
In a federation, the power is constitutionally divided between the national government and territorial units (in the US called states). Some powers, such as defense or monetary policy, belong usually to the national government, some (for example, education) are shared, while some belong solely to the units. To change the units' powers, borders, or eliminate a unit, it is usually necessary to amend the constitution, which is a difficult process. In federal democracies, the units always have elected legislative and executive bodies. For example, each German state (land) has a legislature and a chief executive (called minister-president) elected by the legislature.
There are some advantages of federal governments. They work better for countries with diverse populations, which can adopt different policies and laws in various regions to accommodate such diversity. For example, various US states implement gun control to various degrees depending on their populations' needs and preferences, while India allows it states to chose different official languages to accommodate its ethnic diversity. Because in a federation some policies vary across territorial units (although federal (national) policies remain the same across the country), federations can easily experiment with various solutions regionally and adopt countrywide those which work best. However, the latter can also be considered a disadvantage. Because federations allow the units the power to tax and spend, wealthier units can afford better public services to their residents. Ultimately, citizens are treated differently by the government (for example, experience different environmental standards) depending on where they live. Moreover, because both territorial units and the national government share power in a federation, coordination problems are more likely to arise during an emergency.
Despite their differences, all governments regardless of the system (whether unitary, federal, or confederal), share a key similarity. In all of them, the national government controls the powers of defense and foreign relations.
Federal Examples
As of 2021, there were 25 federations around the world. Federal system countries include Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Comoros, Ethiopia, Germany, India, Iraq, Malaysia, Mexico, Micronesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Saint Kiss and Nevis, Sudan, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United States, and Venezuela. South Sudan and Somalia are formally federations, but their governments have collapsed. The federal system is likely to be adopted by more ethnically diverse and larger countries, while more homogenous and smaller countries tend to be unitary.
A good example of a federation is Brazil. It is divided into 26 states and one federal district. Each state has a democratic government: a directly elected legislature and a directly elected governor. Compared to the United States, the powers of Brazilian states are more limited. The Brazilian constitution gives the federal government broad exclusive powers to legislate in such domains as civil and commercial laws, foreign and internal trade, or the national employment system. Some powers are held concurrently by the states and the federal government, such as regarding education, healthcare, or forestry. Finally, the constitution specifies that all powers not explicitly excluded from the states still belong to the states (which is similar to the 10th amendment of the US constitution).
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Unitary, confederate and federal systems of government are three basic ways to organize the power in a country across space. In a unitary system, all power and sovereignty belong to the national government which, however, can transfer some of the powers to territorial units (and take it back at any time via legislative change). The same laws generally apply across all the country's regions. Most countries around the world are unitary.
In a federation, the power and sovereignty are shared and balanced between the national (federal) government and territorial units (states). Territorial units enjoy elected governments. To change the units' powers or borders, it is usually necessary to amend the constitution. There are some national (federal) laws, which apply across all the country, while some laws differ across regions (states).
In a confederation or confederacy, power and sovereignty belong in principle to the constituent units (members), while the national (confederal) government is weak, has limited powers, and deals mostly with defense and foreign relations. Decisions are made by consensus of all members. Confederacy is a system of government for those who want to keep the power in each state and give only limited power to the national government. Contemporarily, no confederacies exist formally, although several existed in the past (for instance, the United States in 1776-1789). Thus, a colonist born in the 1760s in British America experienced all types of government in their live (unitary, confederal, and federal).
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Video Transcript
Different Laws
Paulette just moved from one state to another for her new job, with all of her belongings packed up in her car. As part of getting settled in her new state, she goes to register her car at the local motor vehicle office. 'First, you'll need a mechanical safety inspection and an emissions test,' the attendant tells her. Paulette is surprised because her home state doesn't require either. She's wondering how the requirements to register a vehicle are so different within the United States, which is one country. This lesson explains why a federal system of government allows for these differences, and how confederal and unitary styles of government might handle these situations differently.
Unitary
If Paulette lived in a country with a unitary system of government, registering her car would likely be the same anywhere that she moved because laws are typically determined at the national level, and most power is held at the national level. In a unitary system, registering her vehicle would probably not vary much from region to region. Most, if not all, laws would be created by a centralized government. Then regions may become responsible to enforce those laws. It can help to remember the term unitary by thinking of how the word is related to unity or uniting into one common set of guidelines. One benefit of the unitary system is the consistency and efficiency that is created by this approach.
Federal Government
Living in a new state, Paulette will likely find out over time that there are more differences than just the motor vehicle guidelines. The tax rate may be different in her new home, marriage and divorce laws will vary, and the punishment for crimes won't be uniform. Even a big issue, like whether a person can be put to death for their crime, may change when moving from state to state.
In a federal form of government, like the United States, laws are determined at both the state and national level. In federal governments, power is held by states and by federal-level government. In other countries, states may be called by different names like provinces, territories, regions, or cantons.
One benefit of the federal system of government is that the national level of government can play a role in uniting the whole country, yet leaves room for the kind of variations that allow regions to decide what is best for themselves when that's appropriate. Some rules can apply across the board, while others can be determined by each state. For example, a nation may have a law that every driver must be licensed to operate a vehicle. However, the age at which a person can apply for a driver's license is not always the same from state to state. Guidelines for how Paulette registers her vehicle, and whether she needs it inspected, could also vary depending on where she lives.
Confederal Government
And what about the other system of government, a confederal approach? In nations that are considered confederations, laws are determined mainly at the state level and power is held at the state level. You might remember from history lessons that the Articles of Confederation were in place before the Constitution was established in the United States. Colonists had lived as part of the British monarchy and its unitary approach to power. Many were fearful of too much power concentrated at the national level. A confederation in which the states kept most of the control was a fitting way for a country fearing centralized power to get its start.
Yet there were downsides to this approach as well, and soon a stronger national government emerged. The Constitution helped to maintain certain rights of the states, while giving the federal government powers of its own. Colonists living during this era went from living in a British unitary system of government, to a confederal system during the American Revolution, and ultimately to a federation. You can also remember the term confederal by thinking of the Confederacy, the group of states that seceded during the Civil War.
You can imagine if Paulette lived in a confederation and moved between states, that she might encounter more dramatic differences, such as an entirely different structure for developing laws without oversight at a federal level. Instead, the states may grant limited powers to a national government, such as going to war if needed, and making sure that trade operates smoothly.
Lesson Summary
In this lesson, we focused on three systems of government: unitary, federal, and confederal. In a unitary system of government, laws are typically determined at the national level and most power is held at the national level. Then regions may become responsible to enforce decisions made at a higher level of government. In a federal form of government, or federation, laws are determined at both the state and national level. In federal governments, power is held by states and by federal level government. In a confederal government, or confederation, laws are determined mainly at the state level, and power is held at the state level. The states may grant limited powers to a national government, but there is no strong central government as in unitary and federal systems.
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Unitary, Confederal & Federal | Types of Government Systems
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