Confederal, Federal & Unitary Government Systems

In a unitary government, all power belongs in principle to the central (national) government. It does not mean that there are no smaller units (e.g. regions) in such a country, but that the national government decided the powers of such smaller units and can take it away at any time.

Nowadays there are no confederal countries (confederations), but some historical examples include Switzerland (in 1291-1848), union of Sweden and Norway (1814-1905), or Senegambia (1982-89).

The main difference is how much power constituent units vs. national government have. In a confederacy, power and sovereignty belong primarily to the units, while in a federation they are shared between the units and the national government.

Most countries around the world are unitary. Under a unitary government, power and sovereignty belong primarily to the national government. Some examples include China, Japan, France, or Britain.

The EU (European Union) is a union of states. It has some features of a traditional international organization and some features of a federal state. It also has some features of a confederacy, such as making decisions by consensus on some issues such as external policy. Yet, it functions as a federation when members make decisions on trade, environmental or industrial standards, or agricultural policy.

Nowadays there are no confederations. Some historical examples include Serbia and Montenegro (2003-06), German Confederation (1815-1866), or the United States (in 1776-1789).