A federal system is both a political and philosophical concept that describes how power is given to

governments. Federal systems may vary widely in application, but all feature a central government
with specific powers over the whole union. There are many countries in the modern world that operate
using a federal government, including Australia, Germany, Brazil, the United States, and Canada.

In general, a federal system allows powers that concern the whole nation to be granted to the federal
government. For instance, in most countries with a federal system, only the national government can
declare war on another country. State power is more focused on issues that directly affect its residents
only; Nevada, for example, cannot dictate what laws Montana enacts. Confusion often arises over the
designation of an issue to national or state government levels.

The United States is considered the oldest federal nation, but it was a matter of considerable debate
amongst the founding fathers. Anti-Federalists such as Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry argued
that a powerful central government would only replace the monarchy system and allow for
considerable curbing of the liberty the young country was forcefully seeking. During the Civil War,
Federalism in America faced another test, when several states seceded from the Union and were only
brought back through open warfare. Many experts cite the Civil War as a defining moment in terms of
Federalism, suggesting that the national government made it at last clear that the country would be
unified under a federal government at any cost.

Other countries have had more peaceful transitions into a federal system. Switzerland, the world's
second-oldest federalist country, faced little controversy in establishing their direct democracy system.
In Brazil, the federal system was enacted by royal decree in the 1890s following a military coup, but
has since been met with re-approval by each successive government.

A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as one single unit in which the central
government is supreme and any administrative divisions (subnational units) exercise only
powers that the central government chooses to delegate. Many states in the world have a
unitary system of government.

Unitary states are contrasted with federal states (federations):

• In a unitary state, subnational units are created and abolished and their 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 their powers.
o The United Kingdom is an example of a unitary state. Scotland, Wales,
and Northern Ireland, which along with England are the constituent
countries of the United Kingdom, have a degree of autonomous devolved
power - the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament in Scotland, the
Welsh Assembly Government and National Assembly for Wales in Wales,
and the Northern Ireland Executive and Northern Ireland Assembly in
Northern Ireland. But such devolved power is only delegated by Britain's
central government, more specifically by the Parliament of the United
Kingdom, which is supreme under the doctrine of parliamentary
supremacy. Further, the devolved governments cannot challenge the
constitutionality of acts of Parliament, and the powers of the devolved
governments can be revoked or reduced by the central government (the
 Parliament with a government comprising the Cabinet, headed by the
Prime Minister). For example, the Northern Ireland Assembly has been
suspended four times, with its powers reverting to the central
government's Northern Ireland Office.

Unitary government is the govt system in which all governmental authority is vested in a
central government from which regional and local governments derive their problems