AP®︎ Comparative Government: Topic 1.7 Flashcards

A system constitutionally dividing authority between national and regional governments, often to provide local autonomy and accommodate regional diversity; Mexico, Nigeria, and Russia are federal

A system in which the national government holds ultimate constitutional authority and may alter or withdraw subnational powers; China, Iran, and the United Kingdom are unitary

The concentration of effective decision-making authority at the national level, regardless of a state’s formal federal or unitary classification

The movement of administrative, fiscal, or political responsibilities away from the national government

The transfer of decision-making authority from the national government to regional institutions; in a unitary state, the center retains ultimate legal authority

An arrangement in which local officials implement national policy under national direction, with discretion but no independent right to set policy

A federation of 32 entities whose states have constitutional powers, but historical PRI control and dependence on federal transfers have strengthened the center

A 36-state federation designed to manage ethnic, religious, and regional cleavages, with regional policy variation but strong central control through oil revenue

A constitutional federation that became highly centralized under Vladimir Putin, leaving regional governments with much less practical autonomy than the formal structure suggests

A unitary party-state in which local governments may exercise substantial administrative and economic discretion, but the national government can revise or withdraw it

A centralized unitary system in which provinces and elected local councils administer services but lack constitutionally protected independent powers

A unitary state with extensive asymmetrical devolution to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, while Parliament at Westminster retains ultimate legal authority

The principle that the United Kingdom’s Parliament holds ultimate legal authority, including the power to change the statutory basis of devolution