In a confederal system of government, power is

Government can be classified in three manners:

(1) who participates,

(2) geographic distribution of power, and

(3) legislative/executive relationship.

Who can participate is generally broken down into two forms of government,

democracy or dictatorship

While the legislative/executive relationship is broken down into

presidential or parliamentary

The geographic distribution of power is broken down into unitary, federal, and confederation (confederal).

Confederal System of Government ::

A system of government where power is located with the independent states and there is little power in the central government.

Today, no nation follows a confederal system. Organizations, like the European Union and the Commonwealth of Independent States, are based on the ideas of a confederal system. Several nations make up these organizations, but they still retain the majority of their independence.