How Do Government Systems Distribute Power? Unitary, Confederation, & Federal Thanks to Ms. Bennett Lanier Middle School

So why do we need governments anyways?... Discuss with your elbow partner.

Why Do We Have Governments? All countries require governments to function. Governments provide laws, structure, public services, and national defense.

Federal, Confederation, Unitary How Is Power Shared?

Federal Government Federal– Power is shared by a powerful central government and the state or local governments. States or provinces are given considerable self rule, usually through their own legislatures. Examples: United States Russia Germany

Federal Government Power is Shared State Governments

Federal Governments of the World (All countries in green)

Unitary Government Unitary – a system in which the power is held by one central authority All power is given to one branch of government. Examples: France United Kingdom (U.K.) Sweden Spain Former Soviet Union

Unitary Government Central has ALL power State Governments

Unitary Governments of the World (All countries in blue)

Confederation Confederation - a system in which power is shared by an alliance or union of political organizations Independent states voluntarily work together for some common purpose and agree to certain limits on their freedom of action as a confederation. Examples: European Union Switzerland

State/Local governments have ALL the power Confederation State/Local governments have ALL the power

How Governments Share Power CONFEDERATION FEDERAL UNITARY ALL CONTROL AT LOCAL LEVEL ALL CONTROL AT CENTRAL (NATIONAL) LEVEL CENTRAL (NATIONAL) AND LOCAL SHARE POWER

Let’s Talk About IT! Let’s get in groups of three. Number yourselves one, two, and three. Ones explain to the twos and threes how a unitary government system distributes power. Twos explain to the ones and threes how a confederation government system distributes power. Threes explain to the ones and twos how a federal government system distributes power.

How is the power distributed politically?

Distribution of Power Awards Your task: Create an award that will go with each of the three ways that government systems distribute power Write the award and also include a brief description of why the award was given. For example: “Most Likely to Back Each Other Up In A War” Confederate System -- The member countries have alliances with each other.

Fold Your Paper Into 6 Squares: Government System Award & Reason Federal Confederation “Most Likely to Back Each Other Up In A War” --Member countries form an alliance Unitary