Compare the following styles of democratic government: federal, con-federal, and unitary. Describe where they derive their power, and where the power is located in each of the three styles

A federal government is a government where there is a separation of powers between the local governments and the federal government. Federal governments' laws have to be applied throughout the federation, but the local government can have its own laws if they don't in any way interfere with the federal law. An example of such a country is the United States of America.

A confederation is a system of government where there is a confederate government that does not bother the local governments in any way and they can have their own laws. A confederate government's regulation is within the domain of defense and support for all members of the confederation equally. An example of this is Switzerland which leans towards federal government, but also organizations like the European Union which is considered by many to be a confederation of sovereign unitary states.

A unitary government is one that is in no way divided and where a central power authority decides for the entirety of the state. This is the most common form of government and an example can be China. There are provinces but the legislature of the provinces is decided by the central Chinese government.

The thing which makes the whole difference between these types of governments is the role of the central government within the state.

1) The main characteristic of confederation is its weak central authority which receives all its powers from the state or provincial governments. At the same time, its states hold all the powers of an independent nation, they are allowed to make treaties with other powers, maintain a military force and print money. This style of democratic government is considered to be too weak to sustain the burgeoning country, so US chose federal one.

2) Federalism system is best known as sharing of power between the central government and state, including provincial and local governing bodies. As I mentioned before, the United States is the example of federal government. Also, only the federal government can sigh treaties with other countries. The states or other authorities do not have such a power.

3) A unitary system is characterized by holding all the powers in the central government. As well as in other types, the unitary state has local and regional governmental offices, but all their actions are under control of the central government. The United Kingdom and France are good examples of unitary governments.