A unitary government is often described as a centralized government. Under this system of government, all powers held by the government belong to a single, central agency. Although most governments in the world are unitary, Great Britain is probably the best example. The Parliament—a single central organ—holds all the power of the British government. There are still local governments, but their purposes are merely to relieve the Parliament of burdens that cause extreme difficulty and inconvenience. Some advantages to an unitary government are the following: uniform policies, laws, enforcement, and administration throughout the country; less duplication of services and fewer conflicts between national and local governments; and finally, greater unity and stability. However, along with these advantages come disadvantages. The top three disadvantages to a unitary government are: the central government is out of touch with local concerns; it is slow in meeting these local problems; and lastly, if the central government gets too involved in local problems, it may not meet the needs of all its citizens. A confederate government is an alliance of independent states. The confederate government has the power to handle only those matters that the member states have assigned to it. Confederate governments have had limited powers and only in such fields as defense and foreign commerce. Although Confederations are very rare in today’s world, the European Union is the closest example. Here are two advantages to a confederate government: one, it keeps power at local levels, preventing the growth of a large central government; and two, it makes it possible for the several states to cooperate in matters of common concern and also retain their separate identities. Opposing that information, two disadvantages are the lack of unity and common laws and the fact that the weakness of the central government makes it unable to enforce laws or collect taxes. Last but not least, a federal government is one in which the powers of government are divided between a central government and several local governments. An authority