Georgia State Legislature

For this element, students will gain an understanding of the differences in systems of power based on geography. There are three basic forms of government: unitary, federal, and confederate governments.

*A unitary government can be described as a centralized government. All of the powers are held by one, single, central agency. The central government can create local units; however, the local units only have those powers that the central government gives to them. Most of the governments in the world are unitary. The students must not confuse a unitary government with a dictatorship. Although a unitary government has powers concentrated in the central government, other powers can be given to local units. The best example of a unitary government is Great Britain. A single central organization, Parliament, holds all of the government’s power, but local governments are given some powers to relieve some of the burdens from Parliament and make local decision-making more efficient.

* A federal government is one in which the powers of government are divided between a central, or national, government and several lower levels of government. Federal governments have a division of powers. The United States is the best example of a federal government. The central, or national, government has certain powers, and the 50 states have other powers. The United States Constitution outlines the division of powers. Furthermore, the states give certain powers to local governments. Other countries with a federal structure of government include: Australia, Mexico, Canada, Germany, India, and Switzerland. In the United States, the terms national government and federal government are used interchangeably.

*A confederate government is an alliance of independent states. The central government, or confederate government, only handles matters that the independent states assign to it. A confederate government is usually formed for the purposes of national defense and trade, and these are typically the only powers assigned to it. The best example of a confederate government is the European Union (EU). The individual member states (or countries) retain their own identity, laws, etc. The member countries only coordinate on issues such as defense and trade.