What is the difference between unitary and federal systems?

Put simply, the
difference between a unitary
and a federal government is that a unitary government puts its
power in one
central government while in a federal system the governing power is divided
into
federal and local governing bodies that connect to the national
government.

The Unitary governing
system:

€¢ Places
its power in one central
governing system

€¢ Very little political power
exists
outside the central government

€¢ The powers of this governing
system
are uniformly applied throughout

€¢ All major
government decisions are made
by the central government

€¢
If smaller government units are established they
are controlled by the
central government and can be abolished by such without their

consent

€¢ Many unitary governments are either dictatorships
or
totalitarian

€¢ France, although Democratic, is
governed by a Unitarian
body

€¢ Kuwait, Saudi Arabia,
Barbados, Morocco, and Spain are examples of
unitary monarchy
government

€¢ China, Afghanistan, Italy, Zambia, and the

Ukraine are examples of unitary republic government

The
Federal Governing System:

€¢
Distributes power from the
national government to local/state governments to
adopt laws that are reasonable to the country
as a whole and the
localities

€¢ Power may be diffused in the federal

system

€¢ Multi-national states often have a federal
system

€¢ Larger countries often adopt the federal system
since constituents may live in areas
remote to the location of the central
government

€¢ Ethnicities with in a
country may lead to a
federal system as their rules and laws may vary. An example of this is the

small country of Belgium which balances the needs two distinct ethnic
groups

€¢ The United States has a federal governing system
with a national government and
Constitution, in conjunction with states
governments and constitutions