Disadvantages of a Unitary System of Government: 18 flashcards
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1. Where does final constitutional authority rest in a unitary system?
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In a single central government. Local and regional bodies exist only by the centre's permission.
2. What single structural fact produces all the disadvantages of a unitary system?
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Power is not shared — it is delegated. The centre holds final authority and can reshape or abolish local bodies.
3. Why does over-centralisation turn the capital into a bottleneck?
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Because all major decisions must travel to the centre, so roads, schools, water, policing and welfare queue for the same limited attention.
4. How does uniform national policy harm diverse regions?
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A policy tuned for the plains can misfire in hills, and a scheme designed for one crop can harm another region — technically equal, practically ineffective.
5. What do regions lack in a unitary system?
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Constitutional recognition of their distinct identity. They have administration but no protected space in the structure itself.
6. Why does remote governance weaken accountability?
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Citizens cannot easily reach the official who decided, and local representatives become messengers rather than decision-makers.
7. How does weak local autonomy starve local leadership?
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If local bodies cannot make binding decisions, ambitious local leaders move to the centre or leave public life, and posted officials wait for instructions.
8. What kind of experimentation do unitary systems lose?
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The ability to try a solution in one district before scaling it — innovation that federal systems generate through competition between units.
9. What is the common mistake students make about unitary disadvantages?
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Blaming every governance failure on the unitary structure. A unitary system can be well-run; a federal system can be badly run.
10. What are the four genuine structural disadvantages of a unitary system?
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Over-centralisation, weak local autonomy, flattened regional identity, and remote accountability.
11. Why do unitary systems persist despite their disadvantages?
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Concentration also produces coordination — a single authority can act fast in war, epidemic or disaster without negotiating with provinces.
12. How does a unitary structure reduce secession risk?
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It denies regions a constitutional base to exit, so there is no legal platform from which to demand separation.
13. What is devolution?
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The transfer of real powers to regional bodies while the centre retains ultimate authority.
14. Why is devolution only a partial answer?
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Devolved powers can be withdrawn, so the protection is political rather than constitutional. It eases the disadvantages without removing them.
15. Where are unitary disadvantages most severe?
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In large, diverse countries, where uniformity is costly and regional identity easily turns into grievance.
16. Where are unitary disadvantages mild?
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In small, homogeneous states, because the centre is close to everyone and uniformity costs little.
17. Are unitary disadvantages automatic?
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No. They are conditional on size and diversity — severe in diversity, manageable in homogeneity.
18. In one line, why is concentration a single point of failure?
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When everything depends on one authority, every flaw in that authority becomes a flaw in the whole country.
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