for Teachers for Schools for Enterprise
for Teachers for Schools for Enterprise
Course Navigator
Plurality vs. Majority-based ElectionsNext Lesson 

Types of Constitutional Government

Chapter 3 /  Lesson 4   Transcript
Try it risk-free for 30 days

An error occurred trying to load this video.

Try refreshing the page, or contact customer support.

Coming up next: Plurality vs. Majority-based Elections

You're on a roll. Keep up the good work!

Take Quiz Watch Next Lesson
 Replay
Your next lesson will play in 10 seconds
  • 0:01 A Transition in Government
  • 0:42 Constitutional Governments
  • 1:48 Unitary Style
  • 3:15 Federal Style
  • 4:48 Lesson Summary
Add to Add to Add to

Want to watch this again later?

Log in or sign up to add this lesson to a Custom Course.

Login or Sign up

Timeline
Autoplay
Autoplay

Recommended Lessons and Courses for You

Lesson Transcript
Instructor: Christine Serva

Christine is an instructional designer, educator, and writer with a particular interest in the social sciences and American studies.

Learn about constitutional governments through the eyes of a citizen of a fictional country undergoing change. Gain insight into what each of these styles means as you weigh the benefits of unitary and federal types.

A Transition in Government

Imagine that a country is undergoing a transition in their style of government. Higgins is a citizen of this fictional country and is acting as a representative at a national forum to discuss these changes. He's trying to speak up for the interests of the area where he lives. Others have different ideas about what should happen next, and the conversations are getting heated.

This lesson looks at types of constitutional governments and the way power is distributed in each type. You'll learn about unitary and federal styles and how decisions are made through each system.

Constitutional Governments

Just about everyone in the country agrees on one thing: they need to determine the limits to the legal power of the government and document this. Abuses by past government leaders have made this a priority. Higgins has witnessed first-hand how leaders with too much power concentrated in their hands made choices not in the interest of the people, such as when their previous leader controlled what the news media was allowed to say about government policies.

Governments that establish documented rules or principles about the legal limits of the government are known as constitutional governments. These norms help determine how power will be distributed in the nation and who gets to make what decisions. You can remember this term by thinking of how a constitution typically serves as a guiding document for nations with this form of government.

Higgins and the others at the national forum all agree on this form of government. What they need to determine next is whether the government will be more unitary or more federal.

Unitary Style

One style of constitutional government that the nation will consider is a unitary approach. This type of government concentrates more power at a national level. For instance, governments that are unitary systems will generally determine most laws and policies so that they apply to all regions of the nation, rather than having each region set their own laws. Local governments typically carry out the decisions made at the national level.

Higgins argues for moving away from a unitary style of government. He has a strong desire to see individual regions govern themselves to a larger degree. For instance, Higgins wants to make sure that a problem of pollution in his region is addressed. Some regions don't have this problem, so he's concerned this issue will see little progress at a national level using a unitary approach.

Others disagree with Higgins and want a unitary style of government. They work to convince him that a more unitary style will have benefits, such as making it clear what is expected of individual regions and ensuring a level of uniformity across the country. They say that this uniformity will help improve pollution everywhere, including his region, and this will help the government run more efficiently. Countries with a unitary style include France and Norway, for instance.

To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account

Register to view this lesson

Are you a student or a teacher?

Unlock Your Education

See for yourself why 30 million people use Study.com

Become a Study.com member and start learning now.
Become a Member  Back
What teachers are saying about Study.com
Try it risk-free for 30 days
Description

Earning College Credit

Did you know… We have over 160 college courses that prepare you to earn credit by exam that is accepted by over 1,500 colleges and universities. You can test out of the first two years of college and save thousands off your degree. Anyone can earn credit-by-exam regardless of age or education level.

To learn more, visit our Earning Credit Page

Transferring credit to the school of your choice

Not sure what college you want to attend yet? Study.com has thousands of articles about every imaginable degree, area of study and career path that can help you find the school that's right for you.

Research Schools, Degrees & Careers

Get the unbiased info you need to find the right school.

Browse Articles By Category

Browse an area of study or degree level.

Recommended Articles
You are viewing lesson Lesson 4 in chapter 3 of the course:

 Back To Course

Political Science 101: Intro to Political Science

19 chapters | 130 lessons | 11 flashcard sets

Ch 3. Forms of Government
Ch 4. Electoral Systems

Types of Constitutional Government Related Study Materials

Create an account to start this course today
Try it risk-free for 30 days!
Create An Account

Explore our library of over 75,000 lessons

Browse by subject
Support