The historical origins of unitary and federal systems: a comparative historical analysis

Why do some former feudal states evolve into federal systems, while others consolidate as unitary states during the process of modern state-building? This study addresses this question by comparing Japan and Germany – two pre-modern feudal polities that experienced contrasting trajectories of central-local integration. It develops a middle-range theoretical framework that links structural conditions to elite coordination within local domains. The key argument is that the internal cohesion or division among local ruling elites shaped their collective capacity to manage internal crises and external threats. Where bureaucratic and representative institutions facilitated elite cooperation, federal structures were more likely to emerge; where such mechanisms were absent and elites remained divided, centralization and unitary systems prevailed. This study thus contributes to theories of state-building by revealing how sub-national institutional dynamics transformed feudal fragmentation into distinct modern state structures.