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TABLE OF CONTENT
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
CRITICAL STUDY
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CHAPTER 1:INTRODUCTION
Unitary form of government is a converse of federation and is a system in which all powers are
centralized in the hands of a central government. A single central government controls the whole
state with a full might. Although the state is divided in provinces and other units but these
divisions are administrative in nature. These sub divisions completely work under the
supervision and control of central government. In unitary form of government the political
authority is centralized. Unitary state is centralized in those states where there are no strong
nationalities or in the small state.
A unitary system is a form of government where power is focused among the central
government, although many assert that there is no particular definition for a unitary system. A
unitary state is an independent state which is governed as one solitary element where the central
government is highest and any administrative division implements powers that the central
government decides to delegate1. The unitary system is the most common type of government,
and numerous states use this system of government. It takes place in both self-governing and non
self-governing nations. Many European nations have unitary governments although some nations
such as Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Austria and Russia do not have a
unitary government. The central government in a unitary system is accountable for organizing
matters at that national level such as foreign affairs, national economic policy, and national
defence2. The central leader or the body that makes decisions regulates all characteristics of
supremacy, since there is no authority lawfully set aside for other stages of power. All regions of
government are under the power of one body, so nations that have unitary systems usually have
more consistent laws and policies than alliances. According to John Markley, 'Most governments
based on the Westminster system are unitary, although Canada, Australia, India and Malaysia
have federal constitutions' (John Markley, pars 2). Not all government decisions in unitary states
are made by the holder of power. Unitary governments also give executive power to local
authorities in a process called 'devolution, which often is instituted to accommodate ethnic or
linguistic minorities who desire greater autonomy' (John Markley, pars 2). Not all government
decisions in unitary states are made by the holder of power. Some characteristics of a unitary
system are that states are not allowed to withdraw from the central government, states are not
allowed to pass any legislation that appears opposing to public policy or the rules of the union
government, rules created by the legislative assembly of the state are limited to the authority of
the state, and rules created by legislation by the central government are valid to every state.
Ramesh Dutta Dixit,Political Geography- For this project chapter 5 of this book concerning
Sustems of Governmental Organization have been referred.The Chapter deals with Unitary form
of government ,it merits, limitations and reference of the countries where this system is followed.
Objectives:
The great merit of a unitary government is its government is its strength. As all the powers are in
the hands of the central government, it can do whatever it pleases. There is no hindrance from
the units, whose duty is merely to carry out the instructions of the centre. It also leads to
efficiency of administration. A uniform policy is laid down by the central government for the
whole country and that is carried out faithfully by its agents. There is also no danger of the units
seceding from the centre. The centrifugal tendencies are suppressed, as a matter of fact; there is
no scope for them. The system of administration ina unitary government is simple and
economical. There is no heavy expenditure on the administration of the units. There is no
duplication of officials. A vigorous and uniform policy can be followed in a unitary government;
there is no scope for differences National unity is emphasized and the people owe loyalty to the
central government alone.3
The great disadvantage of a unitary government is its centralization. Everything is done from the
centre and consequently there is little scope for local initiative. Experience shows that a
decentralized government is in the interests of the country as a whole. People can have more
interest in such a government. According to Garner, a unitary government tends to repress local
initiative, discourages rather than stimulates interest in the public affairs, impairs the vitality of
the local governments, and facilitates the development of a centralised bureaucracy. Well enough
adapted to a small country having a homogeneous population and especially a population among
whom the habits and capacity of local self-government are not highly developed , it is unsuited
to a country of vast extent, where there is a variety of local conditions and a diversity of
standards and conceptions. Among the people who are animated by an attachment for local self-
government and a love of local liberty, it is intolerable and impossible of long duration. The evils
of bureaucracy are increased in a unitary government. There is every possibility of the lessening
of efficiency on account of centralization. It is possible that the central government may not
understand and appreciate the problems and difficulties of the units. Under the circumstances,
they may not be able to look after their interests adequately. If the country is a big one and the
problems of various parts are different, uniform legislation and administration in a unitary
government are bound to fail in achieving the ideal of the good of the people. No wonder, there
is a general preference for a federal form of government in modern times.
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CHAPTER 3: CHARACTERISTICS OF UNITARY FORM OF GOVERNMENT
Following are the features, attributes and characteristics of unitary state of government.
Centralization of Powers: In unitary system, all powers are centralized in the hands of the
central government and only centre is the reservoir of all state powers. In this system,
there is no province or provincial governments and constitution empower the central
government to legislate , execute and adjudicate with full might. There is no any other
institution to share governmental powers with the central government. On one side,
central government has full powers to rule without any external pressure and runs the
state administration with confidence without any fear and terror 4. On the other hand, the
rulers exercise their powers in absolute way without any check. Centralization of powers
is itself an administrative problem. Although in many unitary states, there is local
government system arrangement but powers are delegated to this units with strict central
control or supervision.
Single and simple government: Unitary form of government is very simple system. With
exception of Britain, there are neither provincial assemblies and executives nor the upper
chambers at the centres. There is a single central government at the centre. There
unicameral legislature popularly elected. Central legislature is to legislate, executive to
execute and judiciary to adjudicate without any share. Their expenses are less and state is
run with an unified command. Upper chambers are usually expensive and big states can’t
its expenses. So, it is a simple and understandable system. The common citizens easily
understands its structure and powers.
Uniformity of laws: Another characteristic of uniformity form of government that laws of
unitary system unlike federation are uniform because laws are made only by a single
central government for the whole state. Laws made by the centre are equally enforced in
the rest of the state without any territorial distinction while in federation nature of law
varies from province to province. So uniformity of laws in the unitary setup is according
to the principles of justice amd nature of human beings. In federation sometimes sharp
contrast is seen in the laws of the same nature which complicates the situation.
No distribution of powers: Constitutions of the federal form of state distribute powers
between the centre and the provinces. In unitary system, there is no list of the distribution
of powers in the constitution. All powers belong to the central government. In this
system, government isn’t in the grip of power distribution. It converts government
attention on development because government is free of this headache.
Despotism attributes unitary state: It is one of the important characteristic of this system
that it may become despotic when the rules aren’t faithful and patriotic. All powers are in
the control of the centre and there is no check upon the exercise of these unlimited
powers. It becomes absolute and state powers may be abused. It lacks internal check
system.
Flexible Constitutions: The constitutions of the unitary states are flexible in nature. A
rigid constitution is required only in federation in order to establish firm and safe
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characteristics-of-unitary-state
relations between the centre and federating units. Constitution of unitary system has an
advantage that it may be changed according to the needs of time and changing
circumstances. A constitution is a document necessary to run a state according to the
changing orientations. People’s desires change with the passage of time and
constitutions are amended accordingly. Its flexibility paves way for its progressiveness.
Constitutions of the unitary systems are evolutionary and may face any immediate
situation.
Local Government Institutions: In unitary form of government, it has been observed that
powers are ill grip of the urban bureaucracy and this government is often limited to cities
only for government manipulates the affairs through local government institutions. Local
government institutions are too strong and effective in this system for instance, local
governments in china and Great Britain are too powerful. Powers are delegated to these
institutions and financial support is provided to manage their affairs through elected local
representatives with the guidelines of the central Government.
In spite of the fact that the Indian Constitution establishes a federal structure, it is indeed very
difficult to put the Indian Constitution in the category of a true federation. The following
provision of Indian constitution makes it unitary
Union of States: Article I of the Constitution describes India as a ‘Union of States’, which
implies two things: firstly, it is not the result of an agreement among the States and
secondly, the States have no freedom to secede or separate from the Union. Besides, the
Constitution of the Union and the States is a single framework from which neither can get
out and within which they must function. The federation is a union because it is
indestructible and helps to maintain the unity of the country.
Appointment of Governor: Article 155 and 156 provide that the Governor, who is the
constitutional head of a State, is to be appointed by the President and stays only until the
pleasure of the President The Centre may take over the administration of the State on the
recommendations of the Governor or otherwise. In other words, Governor is the agent of
the Centre in the States. The working of Indian federal system clearly reveals that the
Governor has acted more as centre’s representative than as the head of the State. This
enables the Union government to exercise control over the State administration.
Representation in the Legislature: The equality of units in a federation is best guaranteed
by their equal representation in the Uppers House of the federal legislature (Parliament).
However, this is not applicable in case of Indian States. They have unequal representation
in the Rajya Sabha. In a true federation such as that of United State of America every
State irrespective of their size in terms of area or population it sends two representatives
in the upper House i.e. Senate.
Appointment on Key Positions: In addition to all this, all important appointments such as
the Chief Election Commissioner, the Comptroller and Auditor General are made by the
Union Government. Besides, there is single citizenship. There is no provision for separate
Constitutions for the states. The States cannot propose amendments to, the Constitution.
As such amendments can only be made by the Union Parliament. All India Services such
as IAS and IPS have been created which are kept under the control of the Union. In
financial matters too, the States depend upon the Union to a great extent. The States do
not possess adequate financial resources to meet their requirements. During Financial
Emergency, the Center exercises full control over the State’s finances5.
Disturbances in the state: In case of disturbances in any State or part thereof, the Union
Government is empowered to depute Central Force in the State or to the disturbed part of
the State. Also, the Parliament, by law may increase or decrease the area of any State and
may alter its name and boundaries.
Unified Judiciary: The federal principle envisages a dual system of Courts. But, in India
we have unified Judiciary with the Supreme Court at the apex.
Power to make laws: The Constitution of India empowered the central government to
make laws on the subjects in the state list. It is exercised only on the matters of national
importance and that too if the Rajya Sabha agrees with 2/3 majority. The constitution
establishes a strong Centre by assigning all-important subjects to the Centre as per the
Union List. The State Governments have very limited powers.
Power to form new states and to change existing boundaries: Under Art 3, center can
change the boundaries of existing states and can carve out new states. This should be seen
in the perspective of the historical situation at the time of independence. At that time
there were no independent states. There were only provinces that were formed by the
British based on administrative convenience. At that time States were artificially created
and a provision to alter the boundaries and to create new states was kept so that
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appropriate changes could be made as per requirement. It should be noted that British
India did not have states similar to the States in the USA.
Emergency Provisions: The President of India can declare three different types of
emergency under article 352, article 356 and article 360 for an act of foreign aggression
or internal armed rebellion, failure of constitutional machinery in a state and financial
emergency respectively6. During the operation of an emergency, the powers of the State
Governments are greatly curtailed and the Union Government becomes all in all.
Fails in multi racial states: The state of vast areas and multi-races can’t effectively be
controlled or governed by the unitary form of government. Such unitary states are unstable
because of racial conflicts that can be controlled only by a federal form of government.
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Large states can’t be run through unitary set-up for in unitary system the whole state
powers are in the grip of the central government that has no access to far-plunged rural
areas. Therefore unitary system is ineffective in multi racial states and states having vast
areas.
Urban supremacy: Central government has no knowledge of the problems and needs of the
far rural areas. Remote rural areas can be dealt effectively by the federal or decentralized
system. Centralization of authority is itself a problem and unitary system often causes
totalitarianism. It is the government of the urban people where state administration is
practically in the control of the urban citizens. Government services and influence is
always confined to cities. This government has less influence and control in rural areas
and such areas are deprived of the state fruits.
Despotism in government: In unitary system, central government has a centralized
command and there are no sub-ordinate governments to have check on the center,
therefore central government becomes despotic and unchecked. Federation provides
opportunities to both the governments to have check upon each other. Because of short of
check, central government is to exercise all state powers and maximum of such powers is
often used in extra-constitutional mode7. So despotism is the disadvantage of the unitary
form of government.
Less democratic form of government: Unitary form of government empowers urban
bureaucracy and ignores the rural needs. This system is useful only in small states e.g.
Britain and Iran etc. In large states, unitary form of government is less democratic for it is
dominated and controlled by the urban citizens and rural people have less share of it.
The Cabinet
The Cabinet is made up of the senior members of government. Every week during Parliament,
members of the Cabinet (Secretaries of State from all departments and some other ministers)
meet to discuss the most important issues for the government.
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Ministers
Ministers are chosen by the Prime Minister from the members of the House of Commons and
House of Lords. They are responsible for the actions, successes and failures of their departments.
CHINA
China is a one-party state, with real power lying with the Chinese Communist party. The country
is governed under the constitution of 1982 as amended, the fifth constitution since the accession
of the Communists in 1949. The unicameral legislature is the National People's Congress (NPC),
consisting of deputies who are indirectly elected to terms of five years. The NPC decides on
national economic strategy, elects or removes high officeholders, and can change China's
constitution; it normally follows the directives of the Communist party's politburo. The executive
branch consists of the president, who is head of state, and the premier, who is head of
government. The president is elected by the NPC for a five-year term and and is eligible for re-
election. The premier is nominated by the president and approved by the NPC. Administratively,
the country is divided into 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, and four municipalities.
Despite the concentration of power in the Communist party, the central government's control
over the provinces and local governments is limited, and they are often able to act with relative
impunity in many areas.
China began to build a modern legal system in the late 1970s, after opening itself economically
to the rest of the world. Since then it has developed legal codes in the areas of criminal, civil,
administrative, and commercial law. The legal system is not independent of the government,
however, a problem that is especially acute on the local level, where corrupt officials manipulate
the process to protect themselves and limit citizens' rights.
FRANCE
The Government of the French Republic exercises executive power in theFrench Republic It is
composed of the Prime Minister of the French Republic, who is the head of government and both
junior and senior ministers Senior ministers are titled as Ministers whereas junior ministers are
titled as Secretaries of State (A smaller and more powerful executive body, called the Council of
Ministers is composed only of the senior ministers, though some Secretaries of State may attend
Council meetings. The Council of Ministers is chaired by the President of the Republic unlike
the government, but is still led by the Prime Minister, who was officially titled as the President
of the Council of Ministers during the Third and Fourth Republics. By comparison, the
Government of France is equivalent to Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom
whereas the Council of Ministers is equivalent to the Cabinet of the United Kingdom
SPAIN
Spain is a constitutional monarchy whose government is defined by the Constitution of Spain.
This was approved by a general referendum of the people of Spain in 1978. The final
interpretation of the Constitution, in the case of dispute, is the business of theConstitutional
Court of Spain
There are three main institutions known as the Cortes Generales which are legally independent:
CRITICAL STUDY
A unitary state is a state that is governed by one single power in which the central government is
ultimately supreme and any administrative divisions exercise powers that their central
government chooses to delegate. It is worth noting that a unitary state has one source of state
authority.
A unitary state is a government whose political power is centralized in the hands of the national
government. Turner et al shares the same sentiments and defines it as a system of governance
arrangement in which power is held by central government. Unitary states have a central
government which is the only sovereign body and does not share constitutional authority with
any sun central units of government. Zimbabwe, UK, France are examples of unitary states that
have one central system of government.
Unitary states have regional bodies which provide services for relatively wide geographical area
where the inhabitants share some common identities and regional authorities vary according to
the autonomy they possess. Some exercise power which is devolved from national government;
thus giving them a wide degree of control over such delegated responsibilities, while others
merely function as administrative bodies whose role is to provide regional services according to
guidelines laid down by national government.
In a unitary state, the central government is held accountable with regards to the running of the
state. However, in such a system, people holding power in the central government may abuse
their offices and loot resources. A case in point is Swaziland, where a monarchical unitary
system of government is accused of wasting natural resources pampering the royal family headed
by a King. Unitary states have a single source of power permitting coordinated and decisive
action but this has had challenges in that a president can make decisions without consultation
with other stakeholders as in the case of Zimbabwe were questions have been raised over the
deployment of security forces to DRC in 2007 when President Laurent Kabila was under siege
from rebels.
Unitary system is best suited for small states or homogenous states with similar regions as in the
case of Zimbabwe where there is a population of about 13 million people.
The unitary system is credited for enabling national integration by focusing on national politics
but this has had problems in Angola where authorities are battling with rebel forces calling for
the secession of the Hamambo region.
CONCLUSION
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Unsuitable for Big States: The unitary system is suitable only for small and
homogeneous states. For big states or states with racial, linguistic, cultural, religious and
regional diversities, federal system alone can be suitable.
More Dependent on Bureaucracy: A unitary government is more bureaucratic. The
existence of a single political executive and legislature for the whole of the state makes
way for the dominance of the administration by the bureaucrats. It IS the bureaucracy
which really runs the central and local administration10.
Less Chances for Popular Participation in the working of government: Being a system
governed by a single central government, a unitary state provides less opportunities for
political participation of the people. Consequently, the people receive less political
education and there usually exists a psychological gap between the people and the
government.
Less of Local Autonomy and Initiative: Finally, because of being a system based on
centralization of powers, the critics regard a unitary government as less democratic. It
kills local initiative. It further discourages popular interest in public affairs.
In conclusion, we can say that a unitary government, because of its simplicity, strength and
stability, represents an effective type of governmental organization, which, can be fruitfully
established and worked in small states. For large states or states characterized by socio-cultural-
regional diversities, it cannot be recommended because of its centralizing nature and scope.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
OTHER SOURCES:
http://www.studylecturenotes.com/social-sciences/law/428-unitary-form-of-government-
definition-a-characteristics-of-unitary-state
http://www.yourdictionary.com/unitary-government
http://study.com/academy/lesson/unitary-government-definition-examples-advantages-
disadvantages.html
https://www.reference.com/government-politics/advantages-unitary-government-
198f249a4fdf4d81