Which form of government derives authority primarily from a national government?

A unitary system of government derives its authority primarily from a national government, meaning that the central government holds the majority of the power and can create, modify, or abolish local governments as it sees fit. In a unitary system, local governments may exist, but they are subordinate to the national authority and have limited autonomy.

This contrasts with federal systems, where power is divided and shared between a central government and regional governments, granting both levels some level of independence. In a confederation, the authority is spread among a group of independent states that delegate certain powers to a central governing body, which often lacks the authority to enforce decisions. State, on the other hand, typically refers to individual political entities within a federal system. In summary, a unitary government centralizes authority, making it distinct from other forms of governance that distribute or share power among various levels of government.