Internal Organization of a State FederalUnitary Splits power between a central government & local governments Can work well in multinational states Suitable for large states Examples: – U.S. – Russia – Canada – India – Belgium Most power held by a central government Works best with few cultural differences Needs strong communication – Compact states Examples: – France – UK – the Netherlands – South Africa – China

Federal & Unitary States Federal States Unitary States

Capital Capital – A town or city that is the official seat of government in a political entity, such as a state or nation. Rationale for capital cities: These cities serve as the administrative base of government, but also provide a setting for the nation’s culture and history. This draws a significant amount of tourism. Forward Thrust Capital – Capital that is placed in a less populated area to draw internal migrants & development to that area – Example: Brasilia, Brazil

Local governance Subnational political units – Municipality: a city or town that has its own government to deal with local problems. (Also known as borough, town, city, district, precinct or township) Municipalities have their own executive (mayor), legislature (City Council), and Court

Local governance Subnational political units – Metropolitan government: A single government which provides all urban services to everyone in the “metro” area. Best example: Portland, Oregon

Local governance Subnational political units – Polycentric metropolis: Small cities keep their autonomy while entering a contract with a larger city to for services they do not want to produce or provide for themselves.

Local governance Subnational political units – School district: governing body for the local administration of schools.

Gerrymandering U.S. – Census every 10 years – Reapportionment Some states gain reps, some states lose – Redistricting Redrawing the district lines Gerrymandering Process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power. – “Redistricting for advantage” Gerrymanders are illegal – but just because an electoral district is weird looking – even if it gives one group or political party an advantage – it isn’t necessarily illegal.

This originally appeared in 1812 in The Boston Messenger.

Gerrymander Species By law, Congressional district boundaries must be "contiguous and compact," have roughly equal populations, and can’t be drawn solely to benefit one political party. They can be drawn on the basis of "shared interests." There are three types of gerrymander: – Wasted vote = spreads opposition through districts (cracking) – Excess votes = concentrates opposition into a few districts (packing) – Stacked votes = linking distant areas of like-minded voters

1 = Stacked 2 = Packed 3 = Cracked Result – Blue = 2 – Red = 1 – Consistently