APHUG 10.1-10.2

1. Federal vs. Unitary States

Federal States:

  • Power is shared between the national government and regional governments (e.g., U.S., Canada, India).

  • States/provinces have autonomy in certain areas like education, transportation, and law enforcement.

  • Encourages diversity and local representation.

  • Can lead to inefficiencies or conflict between levels of government.

Advantages:

  • Reduces conflict in diverse societies.

  • Encourages political participation at local levels.

  • Local policies can be tailored to specific needs.

Disadvantages:

  • Slower to enact national policy.

  • Inequality in services (e.g., education, health) due to varied regional funding.

  • Local leaders may block national reforms.

Unitary States:

  • Centralized government holds most power (e.g., France, Japan, UK).

  • Regional governments have little or no independent authority.

  • Policy decisions made at the national level and imposed top-down.

Advantages:

  • More efficient policy-making.

  • Uniform laws and regulations.

  • Often fewer government agencies = streamlined governance.

Disadvantages:

  • Less local representation.

  • May ignore local needs.

  • Risk of over-centralization and disconnect from rural/peripheral areas.

2. Political Power and Spatial Organization

  • Unitarism and Federalism affect how power is distributed across space.

  • Centralized states (unitary) manage from a single core; federal states disperse power across regions.

  • Local units in federal states can provide services tailored to cultural and economic needs.

Examples:

  • Singapore’s efficient transit system shows unitary efficiency.

  • U.S. school funding disparities show federalism’s uneven resource distribution.

3. Gerrymandering

Definition:

  • The manipulation of voting district boundaries to favor one political party or group.

Tactics:

  • Packing: Concentrating opposing voters into one district.

  • Cracking: Splitting opposing voters across multiple districts to dilute their vote.

Types:

  • Partisan gerrymandering: Based on political party advantage.

  • Racial gerrymandering: Manipulating boundaries based on race—often challenged in court.

Consequences:

  • Reduces electoral competitiveness.

  • Undermines democratic representation.

  • Often results in legal challenges and reforms (e.g., independent commissions in some states).

4. Representation and Reapportionment

  • Census every 10 years → triggers reapportionment of House seats.

  • States gain or lose congressional representation based on population shifts.

  • Redistricting follows reapportionment and is highly political.

Electoral College:

  • Tied to number of House + Senate seats per state.

  • Changes in district maps can impact presidential elections.