Confederal system of Government

Meaning of Confederation

Confederation is the form of government in which sovereign states come together as autonomous bodies to form a loose political union, in which the central government is sub-ordinate to the component governments. A government is said to be con-federal when the constitutional arrangements allocate much power to the component at the expense of the central government. It is also defined as a loose federation. Example is Senegambia which was a confederation made of sovereign Senegal and Gambia,

Main Features of Confederation

The main features of confederalism include the following:

1. The component sovereign states are more powerful than the central government.
2. It is a union of sovereign or autonomous states.
3. It has weak central government.
4. The constitution makes the component states very powerful.
5. The allegiance of the citizens is usually more to the component sovereign states than the centre.
6. The component states retain their sovereignty and identity.
7. Confederation has a flexible constitution.
8. The component states have constitutional rights to secede.
9. As a loose union, it is generally less politically stable.

 EVALUATION

1. What is confederalism?
2. State seven features of confederalism.

Resource Control in a Confederation

Resources are controlled in a confederation by the component governments this does not mean that their contributions for the upkeep and administration of the supra-national authority are not accounted for.

Merits and Demerits of Confederation

Merits of Confederation

The following are the merits or advantages of confederation:

1. Confederation encourages healthy competition among the sovereign states.
2. Confederation enables a union to be forged among people with different cultural background.
3. The constitutional right of secession from the confederation is an advantage to member states which desire to terminate their membership.
4. Confederation allows component states to retain their sovereignty and identity instead of losing such to the central government.
5. The component states have the opportunity to make diverse laws that will suit their states.
6. Confederation guarantees wider consultation especially in the formulation of policies that concern all the states
7. Confederation helps to expand the local markets in the states concerned.
8. Equality exists among the states which make up the confederation. No state can claim supremacy over others.

Demerits of Confederation

The following are the demerits or disadvantages of confederation:

1. Confederation is not popular because it has a weak central government.
2. Confederation is repudiated by many nations because of its inherent political instability.
3. Citizens obey their component governments while the central government is not recognized in the system.
4. The making and implementation of decisions are unnecessarily This is because members of the union need to agree before decisions are reached.
5. The right of secession is a source of disunity which may lead to the quick disintegration of a confederation.
6. Confederation is not popular because of the fact that component states retain their sovereignty and identity instead of losing them to the common union.
7. Confederation does not allow for even development of the component state.

EVALUATION

1. Highlight five merits of confederal government.
2. What is resource control in confederal government?

Differences between Federalism and Confederalism

EVALUATION

1. State five demerits of confederal government.
2. Give five comparison of confederaism with federalism.

GENERAL EVALUATION

1. Outline five features of a confederal system of government.
2. What is confederalism?
3. Discuss resources control in confederalism.
4. State five demerit of confederalism.
5. Compare and contrast confederalism and federalism.