POG 100 Lecture 4: Lecture 4 Notes 2

• School: Ryerson University
• Department: Politics and Public Administration
• Course: POG 100
• Professor: Patrice Dutil

Document Summary

Unitary governments vs. federal governments: a single, central authority that makes, interprets, and enforces laws and represents the political community abroad, central authority is supreme. Sub-national administrative units exercise powers delegated by central authority. Central authority can remove sub-national authority unilaterally: most prevalent state-type organization. Devolution in unitary systems: devolution system: political arrangements that give power to regional authorities but are constitutionally or legally bound. The uk go(cid:448)e(cid:396)(cid:374)(cid:373)e(cid:374)t"s de(cid:272)isio(cid:374) to gi(cid:448)e ltd autho(cid:396)ity to (cid:272)ottish a(cid:374)d welsh legislatu(cid:396)es. Why is there so much power on unitary governments to share power: the civil society demands it, the public sector demands it, the private sector demands it. Why is there a movement to decentralize: bottom-up demand. Reaction against perceived of the central state. Ex: post-communist europe: post-conflict peacebuilding, post-colonialism, national movements, the new public management. Neo-liberal belief that authority should be spread out and spread down. Pros: test new policies, more efficiency; smaller units, service delivery tailored to local needs, cultural autonomy.