A unitary state creates judicial, executive and representative bodies common to all lands. The leadership and management from above is carried out by these instances.
How to recognize
The signs of a unitary state primarily speak of a large territory. When the country is huge, there is a need for the separation of land, streamlining and delegation of authority from centralized authorities to local governments.
A single constitution is a characteristic feature that is part of the signs of a unitary state. Citizenship is the same for everyone, as are laws. A unitary state is a country divided into smaller component parts. This may be a province, county, county, department, province.
These small territories do not have the right to national sovereignty.
It often happens that a unitary state opens its land for the residence of many nationalities. They can claim their own laws and national autonomy. The army is common to all. It is governed by central authorities representing state power.
What are the options
Types of a unitary state are also divided into the following device options, depending on the difficulty:
- complex is the option in which units are eligible for autonomy;
- simple - the form in which all parts are of equal importance and any of them does not have additional rights and freedoms compared to the rest.
The types of unitary state, depending on the level of associations, may be as follows:
- Centralized - where the highest authority appoints local officials at different levels of territorial and administrative divisions (thus working in Poland and Bulgaria).
- Decentralized - local residents independently choose managers in their areas. For example, this is the case in the UK.
- An intermediate option is relative decentralization, which characterizes a unitary state, where the two previous forms are combined together. The power is divided between these bodies, one of which is appointed from higher levels. Such an official is called the prefect, and the second is the chosen local population.
When it comes to decentralization, the administrative-territorial units themselves establish an agreement on how the borders between them will change. The supreme governing bodies in this process do not play a role. They do not make any decisions on such matters. But if we consider such metamorphoses from the position of centralized power, a unitary state of this type necessitates the confirmation and approval of the supreme administration.
Privileged position of individual control units
Until recently, as an example of a part of the country that has a much higher status than all other regions, Crimea could be represented while it was an autonomous republic of Ukraine.
Options for dividing the land mass. In Italy, all parts of the same order, in Japan - different. Each state in its own way builds its own management system, endows small units with a certain range of powers and capabilities.
What is the principle of
Autonomous units are a feature that distinguishes complex forms of unitary states. They are conferred powers and capabilities that are different from standard ones, they have great freedom and independence.
Examples of unitary states with autonomy are characterized by the presence of special political and territorial branches. They are created, taking into account the national composition, traditions, culture, life of people who live on these lands.
This can be said of Corsica, which is part of France or Northern Ireland, part of the UK. When the composition of the people is significantly different from the bulk, the group has a natural desire to separate and not be a victim of attacks on their own culture, laws and traditions.
If it is a small territory with a small population, it will be extremely difficult for it to achieve the right to a separate existence. Even in the case of such luck, it is highly likely that the old elder brother will be replaced by a new one, wishing to seize the land unprotected by his own reliable economy and armed forces. Then you have to be content with the small and insist on autonomy, because it nevertheless somewhat weakens the center’s control over the region that wants to live by its own rules.
As proclaimed
Autonomy is created by a legislative act of the highest authority or a referendum. As a rule, such decisions are made after a bitter struggle for the independence of a certain people living in the territory of the state. They publish a constitution and special laws on which residents of autonomous republics can rely.
Union of territories within the country
The unitary state and the federation are interconnected in such a way that different parts of the country are different from each other. Each of them has its own structure and legally defined political independence. Federal state different from the one in which unitarism reigns. Power is divided between the two systems. One of them rules on behalf of the central organs, and the other on local ones.
Citizens must adhere to both the rules prescribed in the general constitution, and those adopted by the board of a particular subject of the federation. A local constitution, law, charter may be established. Citizenship is also awarded for different residents of neighboring federation entities.
You can boast of your own capital, elements of the constitution and law, a coat of arms. Only state sovereignty remains an unattainable privilege.
Some restrictions on freedom
You cannot arbitrarily leave the federation (secession) and take part in international relations. The name of the territory is determined depending on legal and historical factors. Usually it is a province, land, state or republic. There are other options.
Legislative, judicial and executive powers are vested in the federal government. When it comes to external relations, it is the Union government that acts as the representative of all territories. This scheme is practiced in Brazil, USA, India, Germany.
Voluntary cooperation
A unitary state confederation is a type of device of power in a country in which several countries with sovereignty conclude a single union. The purpose of the merger is joint goals and actions.
An integral and most important feature is precisely the preservation of the independence and freedom that the authorities possess. The legislative structures work in each confederate state in their own way, in no way influencing each other. The contact of the partners of the union takes place at those points that are of common importance for all of them. Usually it foreign policy and defense.
What is the country doing by concluding such an alliance?
Conditions are usually negotiated and may vary depending on the specifics of a particular association. They can be either equal in rights or give some of their members greater powers. This form is very rare.And this is more likely not a model of a country, but really a union of individual countries that converge only in the most extreme situations and diverge as soon as they solve common issues for them.
The unitary structure of the state, in this case, shows very little cohesion, because everyone has their own interests and few will allow themselves to lead.
Even if a leader country is chosen, it does not have the opportunity to put pressure on its partners, because they very little depend on it.
The decision-making procedure is time-consuming and complicated, because to take specific measures you need to get approval from the boards of all participating countries, which takes a lot of time. There is no single citizenship. You can leave the confederation at any time without incurring any responsibility.
What it looks like in practice
Examples of unitary states can be seen by looking at the division into various parts of countries such as Bulgaria or Poland. The latter consists of voivodships. The United States of America is a prime example. Due to the vast territory of the state, it is extremely difficult to control the processes taking place throughout the country from one center.
Therefore, each region has its own bodies responsible for the life of the population and the affairs of the district. In France, mayors are elected locally, whose labors govern each city. The head is appointed by the municipality. Above is the suprefect, who is in charge of monitoring the activities of the tips below.
French-speaking Africans also use this model. The voivodship in Poland occupies a dominant position, while seismicists carry out leadership in certain territories. Representatives are sent from the communities. Indonesia is also characterized by unitarism. There are selected tips. Their decisions must be approved by the governor, who is appointed from above.
The feasibility of using such a model
Different states have different models, for each of them is compiled in accordance with the idea of power and people about the convenience of management. It is really beneficial to use this scheme of organizing work in a large country, where it is simply physically and practically impossible to keep track of everything from a single center.
As a rule, something is necessarily overlooked. Without seeing their leaders, the people may feel that, roughly speaking, no one cares about them, and no one hears their wishes and claims. In any case, there should be local authorities that can quickly respond to situations of a very different plan.
Authorities must be responsive to the requests of people for whom they are responsible. It’s quite wise to appoint from above or elect leaders on separate lands, while remotely monitoring their actions and receiving reporting from one source.
With regard to autonomy, the state takes this step without much pleasure, but sometimes it is the only chance to find a compromise, satisfy their own interests and aspirations of a separate group of people at the same time. So this golden mean is also an excellent way out of a number of situations.
