Difference Between Unitary And Federal Government

A federal government shares the power between the states and central government. Many countries use federalism as their political structure, and the United States is one of those countries. “In a federal system, the participating political communities agree to pursue some objectives together and other objectives on their own…they agree to establish a central government and to empower it to make and administer laws in some areas; and they agree to retain the power…themselves in other areas” (Smith 13). So what other type of political structures are out there? Two different types of political structure, that students have rarely heard of or discussed, are unitary and confederal structures. A unitary structure is one where the government has all the power and rules as a single entity. It is where a central government is totally in control of the weaker states, which

In a unitary system, the central government is able to give lower levels of government power but can easily take it back; lower levels do not have the right to power. “...A unitary state can devolve considerable powers to local and regional governments...unitary state cannot remain a taken-for-granted notion” (Carmichael 6). A federal government lets states have the right to their power, and as stated before has a constitution unlike a unitary. Unitary political structures resemble dictatorships, unlike a federal government which does not. A unitary government is a more centralized form of government compared to a federal, “...a federal state is a more decentralized form of government than a unitary government” (Carmichael 6). Similarities between the two include both governments see the aspect of elections as very important, are systems of national administration, are in charge of creating policies, and both are responsible for representing the country in discussions and