Three Types of Government
• Unitary State
• Federal Stare
• Confederate State
Unitary state
• The central government has all its power make decision as well as to initiate laws for the people within the state.
Concept of Unitary State
• Only a main government control other states or provinces.
• Power is not shared to any other states or provinces.
Federal State
Confederate State
• Union of sovereign states or united for purposes of common action which is often in relation to other states
• Individual state has its own authority to make laws
• The state becomes a decision maker of its own
Form of Confederate state
Concept of Confederate State
• Each state makes it own laws and the central government only concerns about national defense and trade.
Decentralisation
Definition of Decentralisation
• The dispersion or distribution of functions and powers; from a central authority to its regional and local authorities
• A term to explain an approach when responsibilities transferred from national or central government to the local or community level.
• Local government has more authority to work on its own.
• Local government plays more important role in national administrative system.
• Local government has more opportunity to participate in national administration.
The three major forms of Administrative Decentralisation
• Even though centralisation is viewed as an important system that is more effective in the short run in arrange resources and rapidly put the policy into action, decentralisation also plays an important role. (Both are important to national administration)
Deconcentration
• Deconcentration is often considered to be the weakest form of decentralisation.
• It is generally used most frequently in unitary states
(รัฐเดี่ยว).
• Under deconcentration, the government redistributes its decision making authority and financial and management responsibilities among different levels of the central government.
• However, deconcentration can merely shift responsibilities from central government officials in the capital city to those working in regions, provinces or districts.
• Or it can only create strong field administration or local administrative capacity under the supervision of central government ministries
Delegation
• Delegation is a more extensive form of decentralisation.
• Under delegation system, the central government transfer their responsibility for decision-making and administration of public functions to semi-autonomous organisations.
• However, the supreme authority is still with the government.
Devolution
• Devolution is a system when governments devolve functions and transfer authority for decision-making, finance, and management to local government with corporate status.
• To devolution, the system usually transfers responsibilities for services to municipalities that can elect their own mayors and councils, raise their own revenues, and have independent authority to make investment decisions.
• According to a devolved system, local governments have clear and legally recognized geographical boundaries over which they exercise their authority and within which they perform public functions.
• Devolution is a type of administrative decentralisation being viewed as the most political decentralisation.
Food of Thought
• Centralisation is said to be a process where the concentration of decision making is in a few hands.
• As a result, all the important decision and actions at lower level are subject to the approval of top level of administration.
• On the other hand, Decentralisation is a systematic delegation of authority at all levels of management.
• That means all of the organisations at lower level have to be concerned with authority having by the top level in order to make major decisions and setting national policies concerning the whole concern.
• However, under decentralisation, local government or lower level still has authority providing by central government which may be delegated to the middle level and lower level of management.