Question

How is federal government better than a unitary government ? Explain with examples of Belgium and Still Lanka.

Answer 1

Federal government-The government is for entire country, which is independent.
Unitary government-the government in which power is kept either in one government hand or given to state government but it is subordinate to the the government, Which not independent.
Before 1993 in Belgium power was given to regional government but that could be withdrawn at any time-unitary form of government.
After 1993 independent power was given to regional government-federal government.
thus Belgium shifted from unitary to federal form of government.But sri Lanka continues to be for all practice purposes, a unitary system where the national government has all power.

Answer 2

(i) Federalism is a system of government under which power is divided between a central authority and its various constituent units. Whereas in a unitary government all the powers are in the hands of a central authority,
(ii) The Belgium leaders tried to solve the ethnic problem by respecting the feelings and interests of different communities and regions by establishing a federal government, whereas the Sri Lankan government tried to solve the problem through majoritarianism.
(iii) The Belgium solution helped in avoiding the civic strife, whereas the majoritarianism in Sri Lanka led to the civil war.