Devolution

The term devolution ( devolvere of latin, roll down ' or in spirit, roll off ') referred to in the constitutional theory the transfer of administrative functions in a unitary state to regional bodies. The regional authorities draw their political legitimacy by such transfer. The political sovereignty remains with the transferring agency that dissolve the regional bodies again or can change their skills. In contrast, the concept of federalism, in which the member states have distinct legitimacy and sent only by their merger to a larger unit.

National

• Political for political devolution in the UK, see System of the United Kingdom
• For political devolution in Italy, see Italy's Political System