Confederal, Unitary and Federal Systems of Government Confederal, Unitary and Federal

Confederal Examples An alliance of independent states. Confederate governments have limited powers Weak central government Are sovereign in their own internal affairs Examples Articles of Confederation (1781-1789) Confederate States of America (1861-65) Iroquois Confederacy

Confederal DISADVANTAGES Keeps power at local levels preventing the growth of a large central government. Makes it possible for the several states to cooperate in matters of common concern and also retain their separate identities. DISADVANTAGES Weakness of central government makes it unable to enforce laws or collect taxes. Lack of unity and common laws.

France, Denmark, Great Britain Unitary A unitary state is governed constitutionally as a single unit. A central government holds all the constitutional power The central government creates local units of government for its own convenience. Most governments in the world are unitary. Examples: France, Denmark, Great Britain

Unitary ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES Uniform policies, laws, political, enforcement, administration throughout the country. Less duplication of services and fewer conflicts between national and local governments. Greater unity and stability. DISADVANTAGES Central government out of touch with local concerns Slow in meeting local problems. If the central government gets too involved in local problems it may not meet the needs of all its citizens.

Federal Powers of government are divided between a central government and state and local governments. Both the central and state governments makes this division of powers on a geographic basis; and that division cannot be changed by either the state or national level acting alone. Both levels of government affect the people directly through their own sets of laws, officials, and agencies

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES Federal unity but local governments handle local problems. Local government officials have to be responsive to people who elect them Central government can devote more time and energy to national and international problems. More opportunities for participation in making decisions – in influencing what is taught in the schools and in deciding where highways and government projects are to be built. DISADVANTAGES Duplication of services. Citizens living in different parts of the country will be treated differently, not only in spending programs, such as welfare, but in legal systems that assign in different places different penalties to similar offenses or that differentially enforce civil rights laws. Disputes over power/national supremacy versus state’s rights. International relations – states may pass laws that counter national policy.

Examples of Federal Governments Argentina (23 provinces and 1 autonomous city) Australia (6 states and 2 territories) Austria (9 states) Brazil (26 states) Canada (10 provinces and 3 territories) Germany (16 states) India (28 states and 7 union territories) Malaysia (13 states) Mexico (31 states) Nigeria (36 states) Pakistan (4 provinces and 1 territory) Palau (16 states) Papua New Guinea (20 provinces) South Africa (9 provinces) Switzerland (26 cantons) United Arab Emirates (7 emirates) United States (50 states)

Parliamentary States in which a prime minister is the active head of the executive branch of government and also leader of the legislature. However, there is also a president who serves as a symbolic head of state in some figurehead capacity. The following list includes democratic and non-democratic states: Albania Austria Bangladesh Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Dominica Estonia Ethiopia Fiji Finland Germany Greece Hungary Iceland India Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Latvia Lithuania Malta Mauritius Mongolia Montenegro Poland Portugal Romania San Marino Serbia Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Trinidad and Tobago Turkey