How are federal governments different from unitary governments? Unitary governments do not hold free, fair, and open elections, while federal governments do. Federal governments can dissolve smaller government units or divisions at will, while unitary governments lack that power. Unitary governments are made up of several states that join to form a central government with limited power, while federal governments have strong central power. Federal governments divide power between national government and smaller state governments, while unitary governments give all power to the central government.