UNITARY STATE: CHARACTERISTICS AND EXAMPLES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The unitary state is one of the ways in which a country can be structured. It is a definition that ranges from territorial organization to how the Legislative, Executive and Judicial powers are configured. This type of state is characterized by the centralization of power, with a single government that controls the entire territory.

There may be regions, provinces or departments with a few powers, but the bulk of these are concentrated in the central government; the Judicial and Legislative powers are also centralized. There are no differences in the laws throughout the territory and there is usually some legal body with more power than those that may exist at other levels.

Unitary States Map - Source: Lokal_Profil, undefined

Likewise, there is only one Constitution, while in some federal states there are several. Among the unitary states, which usually come from the former absolute monarchies, the example of France stands out. Centralization in the European country is very high, and even in recent years it has recovered powers assigned to the departments.

characteristics

The unitary state, also called simple state, is one in which sovereignty, population and territory are described in its laws as unique. Typically, countries that have this structure come from the old absolute states, although there may be exceptions.

In these States, the territorial, judicial and legislative unit is unified, without there being internal administrations with their own powers.

Although these territories - called differently - may exist, the powers they have are scarce and granted by the central government.

Centralization

Unitary systems are characterized by the centralization of power in the hands of central governments. In this way, the Executive Power rests absolutely in that central administration, being able to impose its decisions throughout the national territory.

In the so-called cigars - today very few - there are not even provincial organisms (departments, regions, etc.) that can share part of that power. On the other hand, decentralized unitary states may have ceded some administrative authority, but not the main ones.

Sovereignty in unitary states is unique. Compared to the federal states - in which that sovereignty is shared with the states that freely joined to form the country - there is no such multiple conception in the unitary states.

Legislative and Judicial Power

As with the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislature are also centralized. The laws issued are in force throughout the country; therefore, there is no possibility for any territory to enact others on its own.

In the judicial sphere, there is usually a higher court, with jurisdiction throughout the nation. Despite the fact that there are courts in the provinces, regions or departments, the national body becomes the last instance to administer justice.

Unique constitution

Like the rest of the laws issued, the unitary states only have one Constitution that applies to the entire country. This means that all citizens have the same rights and obligations, without the nation's territories being able to enact a different one.

Sovereignty is contained in that Constitution, indicating that it resides in the entire State.

Types

Given their characteristics, unitary states do not have politically decentralized territories; however, a certain degree of administrative decentralization may appear. Therefore, and since those considered pure are very few and small, experts have divided them into two large groups.

Centralized unitary state

It is the so-called simple. Its entire structure, whether territorial, political or administrative, is ordered under the criteria of unity.

In these there is only one decision center, normally located in their capital. It has a central government, a Parliament and a higher court. In the case of large countries, the problem that usually presents is the remoteness of power from the most peripheral territories: it can end up favoring the center and harming the periphery.

Decentralized unitary state

Today it is the most common modality among unitary states. In these there is a certain decentralization, mostly administrative. The powers transferred are not usually very important, but they are enough to give more agility to the operation of the country.

Differences with the Federal State

The main difference is its political configuration. One, the unitary, concentrates all power in a single governing body; the other, the federal, distributes it among the different units that compose it.

It is true that in these seconds there is a mandatory law for the entire territory, but they can enact their own with limitations.

Centralized power versus distributed power

As noted, in unitary states power and decision-making are concentrated at a single level: the national.

For their part, those of federal organization have several political levels. The national has powers throughout the country; the federal only has them in the corresponding entity.

Regarding the territorial organization, the difference between the two is evident. The unitary can only present administrative divisions without too much power of its own, such as regions, provinces or departments, according to the nomenclature.

In the federal there are territories with great autonomy, which are usually called states. Only the name itself indicates that these countries are considered a union of quasi-sovereign entities

Judicial and Legislative Power national versus federal

The Judicial Power and the Legislative Power present the same differences as the Executive. In unitary states, they are centralized, focused to affect the entire nation. In this way, the territories do not have the power to enact laws.

On the other hand, in the federal governments, the governments of each state can. The only limit is set by the national Constitution, but they have great flexibility to issue and apply differentiated laws.

An example of decentralization in these respects was the police structure in the United States of America. Until a few decades ago, the security forces of a state could not pursue criminals if they crossed the state border. This made it mandatory to create a federal body, the FBI, with powers to investigate in the affected states.

One Constitution versus several

The unitary states have only one Constitution, the one promulgated by the central government and applied throughout the country.

On the contrary, the feds can have several. The national one affects the whole of the nation and the state only the own territory.

Governance structure

Given the great casuistry in the countries of the world, it is difficult to point out general differences. However, Unitarians usually have only one legislative chamber, Parliament or Congress. In the case of having a Senate, it acts only with corrective powers from the previous one.

In federal countries it is very common that, apart from Congress, there is a Senate made up of representatives from each federal territory, with their own functions.

Unitary State Examples

France

The European country is the most common example of a unitary state. Despite the administrative departments, it is one of the most centralized states in the world.

Ecuador

Ecuador, like most Latin American countries, adopted a unitary state structure. In that area of ​​the world, Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia, Peru and Nicaragua have this model, in addition to the aforementioned Ecuador.

Only Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and Venezuela adopted the federal model.

Italy

The Italian case has the peculiarity that it is a country formed by the union of several different kingdoms. Something similar happened with Germany, but while it formed a federal state, respecting the former territories, Italy opted for the unitary model.

In recent years there has been a certain administrative decentralization, but without being too important.

San Marino and the Vatican

Without a doubt, their small size is what makes both countries one of the few considered pure unitary states. This would be very complicated in larger nations, since in these a certain transfer of powers is needed to be able to function in an agile way.

References

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2. Borja, Rodrigo. Unit state. Obtained from encyclopediadelapolitica.org
3. Juspedia. Unitary state and compound states. Obtained from juspedia.es
4. Farooq, Umar. Unitary Form of Government, Definition & Characteristics of Unitary State. Retrieved from studylecturenotes.com
5. Duchi, Gauri. 5 Important Features of Unitary State - Explained !. Retrieved from preservearticles.com
6. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Unitary system. Retrieved from britannica.com
7. Patrick, John. Unitary State. Retrieved from annenbergclassroom.org