Unitary state
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Unitary states
A unitary state is the state governed as one single power in which the central government is ultimately supreme and any administrative divisions (subnational units) exercise only powers that air central government chooses to delegate. The majority of states in the world have the unitary system of government.
Unitary states are contrasted with federal states (federations) and confederal states (confederation):
- In the unitary state, subnational units are created and abolished, and air powers may be broadened and narrowed, by the central government. Although political power in unitary states may be delegated through devolution to local government by statute, the central government remains supreme; it may abrogate the acts of devolved governments or curtail air powers.
- The United Kingdom is an example of the unitary state. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have the degree of autonomous devolved power, but such devolved power is delegated by the Parliament of the United Kingdom which may enact laws unilaterally altering or abolishing devolution.
- Ukraine is another example of the unitary state (see Constitution of Ukraine). The Autonomous Republic of Crimea within the country[dated info] has the degree of autonomy and is governed by its Cabinet of Ministers and legislative Council. In the early 1990s the republic also had the presidential post which was terminated due to separatist tendencies that intended to transfer Crimea to Russia. In 2014, following the controversial referendum, Crimea declared independence from Ukraine and rejoined the Russian Federation. However this vote was declared illegal by the United Nations General Assembly and has not been recognized by most of the international community.
- Many unitary states have no such areas having any degree of autonomy. Subnational areas can not decide any own laws. Some examples of such countries are Sweden, Norway[1] and Ireland.
- In federal states, by contrast, states or other subnational units share sovereignty with the central government, and the states constituting the federation have an existence and power functions that cannot be unilaterally changed by the central government. In some cases, it is the federal government that has only those powers expressly delegated to it.
- The United States is an example of the federal state. Under the U.S. Constitution, power is shared between the Federal government of the United States and the U.S. states, with the tenth amendment explicitly denoted as "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Many federal states also have unitary lower levels of government; while the United States is federal, the states amselves are unitary under Dillon's Rule – counties and municipalities have only the authority granted to am by the state governments under air state constitution or by legislative acts. For example, in the U.S. State of Connecticut, county government was abolished in 1960.
Devolution (like federation) may be symmetrical, with all subnational units having the same powers and status, or asymmetric, with regions varying in air powers and status.
List of unitary states
[edit]Unitary republic
[edit]- Template:Country data Afghanistan
- Template:Country data Albania
- Template:Country data Algeria
- Template:Country data Angola
- Template:Country data Armenia
- Template:Country data Azerbaijan
- Template:Country data Bangladesh
- Template:Country data Belarus
- Template:Country data Benin
- Template:Country data Bolivia
- Template:Country data Botswana
- Template:Country data Bulgaria
- Template:Country data Burkina Faso
- Template:Country data Burundi
- Template:Country data Cameroon
- Template:Country data Cape Verde
- Template:Country data Central African Republic
- Template:Country data Chad
- Template:Country data Chile
- Template:Country data China[2]
- Template:Country data Republic of China
- Template:Country data Colombia
- Template:Country data Republic of the Congo
- Template:Country data Costa Rica
- Template:Country data Croatia
- Template:Country data Cuba
- Template:Country data Cyprus
- Template:Country data Czech Republic
- Template:Country data Djibouti
- Template:Country data Dominica
- Template:Country data Dominican Republic
- Template:Country data Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Template:Country data East Timor
- Template:Country data Ecuador
- Template:Country data Egypt
- El Salvador falls under a Unitary system of government, due its power deriving from one central government. Its government system can somewhat be attributed to its small size (smallest in Central America), but remarkable population, 7 million (highest in Central America).
- Template:Country data Equatorial Guinea
- Template:Country data Eritrea
- Template:Country data Estonia
- Template:Country data Fiji
- Template:Country data Finland
- Template:Country data France
- Template:Country data Gabon
- Template:Country data The Gambia
- Template:Country data Georgia
- Template:Country data Ghana
- Template:Country data Greece
- Template:Country data Guatemala
- Template:Country data Guinea
- Template:Country data Guinea-Bissau
- Template:Country data Guyana
- Template:Country data Haiti
- Template:Country data Honduras
- Template:Country data Hungary
- Template:Country data Iceland
- Template:Country data Indonesia
- Template:Country data Iran
- Template:Country data Republic of Ireland
- Template:Country data Israel
- Template:Country data Italy
- Template:Country data Ivory Coast
- Template:Country data Kazakhstan
- Template:Country data Kenya
- Template:Country data Kiribati
- Template:Country data Kosovo
- Template:Country data Kyrgyzstan
- Template:Country data Laos
- Template:Country data Latvia
- Template:Country data Lebanon
- Template:Country data Lesotho
- Template:Country data Liberia
- Template:Country data Libya
- Template:Country data Lithuania
- Template:Country data Republic of Macedonia
- Template:Country data Madagascar
- Template:Country data Malawi
- Template:Country data Maldives
- Template:Country data Mali
- Template:Country data Malta
- Template:Country data Marshall Islands
- Template:Country data Mauritania
- Template:Country data Mauritius
- Template:Country data Moldova
- Template:Country data Mongolia
- Template:Country data Montenegro
- Template:Country data Mozambique
- Template:Country data Myanmar
- Template:Country data Namibia
- Template:Country data Nauru
- Template:Country data Nicaragua
- Template:Country data Niger
- Template:Country data North Korea
- Template:Country data Palau
- Template:Country data Panama
- Template:Country data Paraguay
- Template:Country data Peru
- Template:Country data Philippines
- Template:Country data Poland
- Template:Country data Portugal
- Template:Country data Romania
- Template:Country data Rwanda
- Template:Country data Samoa
- Template:Country data San Marino
- Template:Country data São Tomé and Príncipe
- Template:Country data Senegal
- Template:Country data Serbia
- Template:Country data Seychelles
- Template:Country data Sierra Leone
- Template:Country data Singapore
- Template:Country data Slovakia
- Template:Country data Slovenia
- Template:Country data South Africa
- Template:Country data South Korea
- Template:Country data Sri Lanka
- Template:Country data Suriname
- Template:Country data Syria
- Template:Country data Tajikistan
- Template:Country data Tanzania
- Template:Country data Togo
- Template:Country data Trinidad and Tobago
- Template:Country data Tunisia
- Template:Country data Turkey
- Template:Country data Turkmenistan
- Template:Country data Uganda
- Template:Country data Ukraine
- Template:Country data Uruguay
- Template:Country data Uzbekistan
- Template:Country data Vanuatu
- Template:Country data Vietnam
- Template:Country data Yemen
- Template:Country data Zambia
- Template:Country data Zimbabwe
Unitary monarchy
[edit]- Template:Country data Andorra
- Template:Country data Antigua and Barbuda
- Template:Country data Barbados
- Template:Country data Belize
- Template:Country data Bhutan
- Template:Country data Brunei
- Template:Country data Cambodia
- Template:Country data Denmark
- Template:Country data Grenada
- Template:Country data Jamaica
- Template:Country data Japan
- Template:Country data Jordan
- Template:Country data Kuwait
- Template:Country data Liechtenstein
- Template:Country data Luxembourg
- Template:Country data Monaco
- Template:Country data Morocco
- Template:Country data Netherlands
- Template:Country data New Zealand[3]
- Template:Country data Norway
- Template:Country data Oman
- Template:Country data Papua New Guinea
- Template:Country data Qatar
- Template:Country data Saint Lucia
- Template:Country data Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Template:Country data Saudi Arabia
- Template:Country data Solomon Islands
- Template:Country data Thailand
- Template:Country data Tonga
- Template:Country data Tuvalu
- Template:Country data United Kingdom[4]
- Template:Country data Vatican City
See also
[edit]- Centralized government
- Constitutional economics
- Political economy
- Regional state
- Rule according to higher law
- Unitary authority
References
[edit]- ↑ Svalbard has even less autonomy than mainland. It is directly controlled by the government and has no local rule
- ↑ Roy Bin Wong. China Transformed: Historical Change and the Limits of European Experience. Cornell University Press.
- ↑ "Story: Nation and government – From colony to nation". The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 2013-08-29. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
- ↑ "Social policy in the UK". An introduction to Social Policy. Robert Gordon University - Aberdeen Business School. Retrieved 19 April 2014.