A federation (Latin Latin or sometimes Roman is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Although often considered a dead language, in view of the fact that it has no native, fluent speakers, Latin continues to be taught in schools and has been, and currently is, used in the process of new word production in modern languages from many: foedus, foederis, 'covenant'), also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state A sovereign state is a political association with effective internal and external sovereignty over a geographic area and population which is not dependent on, or subject to any other power or state. While in abstract terms a sovereign state can exist without being recognised by other sovereign states, unrecognised states will often find it hard to characterized by a union A political union is a type of state which is composed of or created out of smaller states. Unlike a personal union, the individual states share a common government and the union is recognized internationally as a single political entity. A political union may also be called a legislative union or state union of partially self-governing states A federated state is a territorial and constitutional community forming part of a federal union. Such states differ from sovereign states, in that they have transferred a portion of their sovereign powers to a federal government. A federated state holds administrative jurisdiction over a defined geographic territory and is a form of regional or regions united by a central (federal) government. In a federation, the self-governing status of the component states is typically constitutionally entrenched and may not be altered by a unilateral Unilateralism is any doctrine or agenda that supports one-sided action. Such action may be in disregard for other parties, or as an expression of a commitment toward a direction which other parties may find agreeable. Unilateralism is a neologism, coined to be an antonym for multilateralism —the doctrine which asserts the benefits of decision of the central government.

The form of government A form of government, or form of state governance, refers to the set of political institutions by which a government of a state is organized in order to exert its powers over a house in the congress body politic. Synonyms include "regime type" and "system of government" or constitutional structure found in a federation is known as federalism Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term federalism is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and constituent political units (like states or provinces) (see also federalism as a political philosophy). It can be considered the opposite of another system, the unitary state A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as one single unit in which the central government is supreme and any administrative divisions exercise only powers that the central government chooses to delegate. Many states in the world have a unitary system of government. The government of Germany A region named Germania, inhabited by several Germanic peoples, has been known and documented before AD 100. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire, which lasted until 1806. During the 16th century, northern Germany became the centre of the Protestant Reformation. As a modern nation-state, with sixteen federated Länder Categories: German culture | German words and phrases is an example of a federation, whereas neighboring Austria Austria /ˈɒstriə/ or /ˈɔːstriə/ (German: Österreich (help·info)), officially the Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich), is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and and its Bundesländer Austria is a federal republic made up of nine states, known in German as Länder . Since Land is also the German word for a sovereign state, the term Bundesländer ("Federal States"; singular Bundesland) is often used instead to avoid ambiguity. The Constitution of Austria uses both terms. In US English, the term (Bundes)land is commonly was a unitary state with administrative divisions Administrative divisions are divisions of a political division. In other words, they are designated portions of a country. They are also called subnational entities. They are each granted a certain degree of autonomy, and are required to manage themselves through their own local governments. Countries are divided up into these smaller units to that became federated, and neighboring France France (pronounced /ˈfrænts/ frantss or /ˈfrɑːnts/ frahnts; French pronunciation (help·info): [fʁɑ̃s]), officially the French Republic (French: République française, pronounced: [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a state in Western Europe with several of its overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, by contrast has always been unitary.

Federations may be multi-ethnic An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage that is real or assumed- sharing cultural characteristics This shared heritage may be based upon putative common ancestry, history, kinship, religion, language, shared territory, nationality or physical appearance. Members of an ethnic group are, or cover a large area of territory, although neither is necessarily the case. Federations are most often founded on an original agreement between a number of sovereign Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided. The concept has been discussed, debated and questioned throughout history, from the time of the Romans through to the present day, states based on mutual concerns or interests. The initial agreements create a stability that encourages other common interests, brings the disparate territories closer, and gives them all even more common ground. At some time this is recognized and a movement is organized to merge more closely. Other times, especially when common cultural factors are at play such as ethnicity and language, some of these steps in this pattern are expedited and compressed.

The international council for federal countries, the Forum of Federations The Forum of Federations is an international organization based in Ottawa, Canada. The Forum and its partners form a global network on federalism. It brings together elected officials, civil servants and experts involved in federalism from about 20 countries to learn from each other,^[1] is based in Ottawa Ottawa ( /ˈɒtəwə/ or sometimes /ˈɒtəwɑː/) is the capital of Canada, a municipality and the second largest city within the province of Ontario. Located in the Ottawa Valley in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, the city lies on the southern banks of the Ottawa River, a major waterway forming the local boundary between the provinces, Ontario Ontario is bordered by Manitoba on its west, Hudson Bay on its north, and Quebec on its east, and by five States of the United States to its south : Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania (Lake Erie) and New York. All but a small portion of Ontario's 2,700 km (1,677 mi) border with the United States follow inland waterways: from the west at Lake. It helps share best practices A best practice is a technique, method, process, activity, incentive, or reward that is believed to be more effective at delivering a particular outcome than any other technique, method, process, etc. when applied to a particular condition or circumstance. The idea is that with proper processes, checks, and testing, a desired outcome can be amongst countries with federal systems of government, and currently includes nine countries as partner governments.

Federations and other forms of state

In a federation the component states are regarded as in some sense sovereign, insofar as certain powers are reserved to them that may not be exercised by the central government. However, a federation is more than a mere loose alliance of independent states. The component states of a federation usually possess no powers in relation to foreign policy and so they enjoy no independent status under international law International law is the term commonly used for referring to laws that govern the conduct of independent nations in their relationships with one another. It differs from other legal systems in that it primarily concerns provinces rather than private citizens. However, the term "international law" can refer to three distinct legal.

Some federations are called asymmetric Asymmetric federalism or asymmetrical federalism is found in a federation in which different constituent states possess different powers: one or more of the states has considerably more autonomy than the other substates, although they have the same constitutional status. The division of powers between substates is not symmetric. This is in because some states have more autonomy than others. An example of such a federation is Malaysia ^ b. The current terminology as per government policy is Bahasa Malaysia but legislation continues to refer to the official language as Bahasa Melayu (literally Malay language). English may continue to be used for some official purposes under the National Language Act 1967, in which Sarawak Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang ("Land of the Hornbills"), it is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia; the second largest, Sabah, lies to the northeast and Sabah Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its south-west. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south. In spite of its status as a Malaysian state, Sabah entered the federation on different terms and conditions from the states of Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia , also known as West Malaysia (formerly Malaya), is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula, and shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Its area is 50,810 square miles (131,598 square kilometers). It accounts for the majority of Malaysia's population and economy.

A federation often emerges from an initial agreement between a number of separate states. The purpose can be the will to solve mutual problems or to provide for mutual defense, or to create a nation state The nation-state is a state that self-identifies as deriving its political legitimacy from serving as a sovereign entity for a country as a sovereign territorial unit. The state is a political and geopolitical entity; the nation is a cultural and/or ethnic entity. The term "nation-state" implies that the two geographically coincide, and for an ethnicity spread over several states. The former was the case with the United States ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language and Switzerland Switzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation (Confœderatio Helvetica in Latin, hence its ISO country codes CH and CHE), is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe[note 4] where it is bordered by Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to, the latter with Germany A region named Germania, inhabited by several Germanic peoples, has been known and documented before AD 100. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire, which lasted until 1806. During the 16th century, northern Germany became the centre of the Protestant Reformation. As a modern nation-state,.^{[clarification needed]} However, as the history of countries and nations varies, the federalism system of a state can be quite different from these models. Australia For at least 40,000 years before European settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who belonged to one or more of the roughly 250 language groups. After sporadic visits by fishermen from the immediate north and discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by the British, for instance, is unique in that it came into existence as a nation by the democratic vote of the citizens of each State who voted "yes" in referendums to adopt the Australian Constitution. Brazil Brazil (pronounced /brəˈzɪl/ ; Portuguese: Brasil, IPA: [bɾaˈziw]), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: República Federativa do Brasil, listen (help·info)), is the largest country in South America and the only Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical on the other hand, has experienced both the federal and the unitary state through its history; some present day States of the Federation retain the borders set during Portuguese colonization (i.e. previous to the very existence of Brazilian state), whereas the latest State (Tocantins Tocantins (Portuguese pronunciation: [tokɐ̃ˈtʃĩs]) is one of the states of Brazil. The state was formed in 1988 out of the northern part of Goiás, and construction began on the capital, Palmas, in 1989, in contrast to most of the other cities in the state which date back to the Portuguese colonial period. It is the newest Brazilian state and,) was created by the 1988 Constitution, chiefly for administrative reasons.

Eight of ten of the world's largest countries by area This is a list of the sovereign states and dependent territories of the world, sorted by total area, including all entities on the ISO standard ISO 3166-1 are governed as federations.

Unitary states

A unitary state A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as one single unit in which the central government is supreme and any administrative divisions exercise only powers that the central government chooses to delegate. Many states in the world have a unitary system of government is sometimes one with only a single, centralised, national tier of government. However, unitary states often also include one or more self-governing regions. The difference between a federation and this kind of unitary state is that in a unitary state the autonomous status of self-governing regions exists by the sufferance of the central government, and may be unilaterally revoked. While it is common for a federation to be brought into being by agreement between a number of formally independent states, in a unitary state self-governing regions are often created through a process of devolution Devolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level. It differs from federalism in that the powers devolved may be temporary and ultimately reside in central government, thus the state remains, de jure, unitary, where a formerly centralised state agrees to grant autonomy to a region that was previously entirely subordinate. Thus federations are often established voluntarily from 'below' whereas devolution grants self-government from 'above'.

It is often part of the philosophy of a unitary state that, regardless of the actual status of any of its parts, its entire territory constitutes a single sovereign entity or nation-state The nation-state is a state that self-identifies as deriving its political legitimacy from serving as a sovereign entity for a country as a sovereign territorial unit. The state is a political and geopolitical entity; the nation is a cultural and/or ethnic entity. The term "nation-state" implies that the two geographically coincide, and, and that by virtue of this the central government exercises sovereignty over the whole territory as of right. In a federation, on the other hand, sovereignty is often regarded as residing notionally in the component states, or as being shared between these states and the central government.

Alleged de facto federations

The distinction between a federation and a unitary state is often quite ambiguous. A unitary state may closely resemble a federation in structure and, while a central government may possess the theoretical right to revoke the autonomy of a self-governing region, it may be politically difficult for it to do so in practice. The self-governing regions of some unitary states also often enjoy greater autonomy than those of some federations. For these reasons, it is sometimes argued^{[by whom?]} that some modern unitary states are de facto De facto is a Latin expression that means "by [the] fact". In law, it is meant to mean "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but without being officially established". It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or technique (such federations.

Spain

Spain Spain (pronounced /ˈspeɪn/ spayn; Spanish: España, pronounced [esˈpaɲa] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.[note 6] Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for is suggested as one possible de facto federation as it grants more self-government to its autonomous communities than most federations allow their constituent parts. For the Spanish parliament to revoke the autonomy of regions such as Galicia Galicia is an autonomous community and historic region in northwest Spain, with the status of a historic nationality, and descends from one of the first kingdoms of Europe, the Kingdom of Galicia. It is constituted under the Galician Statute of Autonomy of 1981. Its component provinces are A Coruña, Lugo, Ourense and Pontevedra. It borders, Catalonia Catalonia is one of the seventeen autonomous communities of the Kingdom of Spain. Its capital city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an official population of 7,504,881. It borders France and Andorra to the north, Aragon to the west, the Valencian Community to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the east (580 km or the Basque Country The Basque Country is an Autonomous Community of northern Spain would be a political near-impossibility, though nothing bars it legally. Additionally, some regions such as Navarra Navarre is a region in northern Spain, constituting one of its autonomous communities - the "Chartered Community of Navarre" (Spanish: Comunidad Foral de Navarra; Basque: Nafarroako Foru Erkidegoa) or the Basque Country have full control over taxation and spending, transferring a small payment to the central government for the common services (army, foreign relations, macroeconomic policy). For example, one scholar discusses the "federal nature of Spain's government (a trend that almost no one denies)."^[2] Each autonomous community is governed by a Statute of Autonomy Nominally, a Statute of Autonomy is a law hierarchically located under the constitution of a country, and over any other form of legislation . This legislative corpus concedes a degree of autonomy to a subnational unit, and the articles usually mimic the form of a constitution, establishing the organization of the autonomous government, the (Estatuto de Autonomía) under the Spanish Constitution of 1978.

People's Republic of China

In the People's Republic of China b. ^ Simple characterizations of the political structure since the 1980s are no longer possible, a form of de facto federation Chinese federalism refers to political theories which argue that China's central government either does or should devolve large amounts of power to local entities. . Such proposals were made in the early twentieth century, in connection with the end of the Qing dynasty; as well as recently, with a view to providing checks against the power of the has evolved without formal legislation. This has occurred as largely informal grants of power to the provinces, to handle economic affairs and implement national policies. This has resulted in a system some have termed "de facto federalism with Chinese characteristics" (in reference to Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping listen (simplified Chinese: 邓小平; traditional Chinese: 鄧小平; pinyin: Dèng Xiǎopíng; 22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese politician, statesman, theorist, and diplomat. As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng was a reformer who led China towards a market economy. While Deng never held office as the's policy of socialism with Chinese characteristics "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" (simplified Chinese: 具有中国特色的社会主义; traditional Chinese: 具有中國特色的社會主義; pinyin: Jùyǒu Zhōngguó tèsè de shèhuìzhǔyì; Pronunciation ) is an official term for the economy of the People's Republic of China which as of 2009 consists of the state having).^[3] Constitutionally, the power vested in the special administrative regions A Special Administrative Region is a provincial-level administrative division in the People's Republic of China. Each SAR has a governmental chief executive as head of the region and head of government. The People's Republic of China, at present, has two special administrative regions, Hong Kong and Macau. They should not be confused with special of the People's Republic is granted from the Central People's Government, through decision by the National People's Congress.

European Union

The European Union (EU) is based on supranational principles which are neither confederal or federal. Robert Schuman, the initiator of the European Community system, wrote that a supranational Community like the Europe's founding European Coal and Steel Community lay midway between an association of States where they retained complete independence and a federation leading to a fusion of States in a super-state.^[4] The European Founding Fathers made a Europe Declaration at the time of the signing of the Treaty of Paris on 18 April 1951 saying that the Europe should be organized on a supranational foundation. They envisaged a structure quite different from a federation called the European Political Community.^{[citation needed]}

The EU is a three pillar structure of the original supranational European Economic Community and the nuclear non-poliferation treaty, Euratom plus two largely intergovernmental pillars dealing with External Affairs and Justice and Home Affairs. The EU is therefore not a de jure federation, although some academic observers conclude that after 50 years of institutional evolution since the Treaties of Rome it is becoming one.^[5] The European Union possesses attributes of a federal state. However, its central government is far weaker than that of most federations and the individual members are sovereign states under international law, so it is usually characterized as an unprecedented form of supra-national union. The EU possesses all the elements of a federal system, but each of the EU states is far more sovereign than in any other federal system. The EU has responsibility for important areas such as trade, monetary union, agriculture, fisheries. Nonetheless, EU member states retain the right to act independently in matters of foreign policy and defense, and also enjoy a near monopoly over other major policy areas such as criminal justice and taxation. Since the Treaty of Lisbon, Member States' right to leave the Union is codified, and the Union operates with more qualified majority voting (rather than unanimity) in many areas.^{[citation needed]}

By the signature of this Treaty, the participating Parties give proof of their determination to create the first supranational institution and that thus they are laying the true foundation of an organized Europe. This Europe remains open to all nations. We profoundly hope that other nations will join us in our common endeavour.

– Europe Declaration signed by Konrad Adenauer (West Germany), Paul van Zeeland, Joseph Meurice (Belgium) Robert Schuman (France) Count Sforza (Italy) Joseph Bech (Luxembourg) and Dirk Stikker, J. R. M. van den Brink (The Netherlands). ^[6]

Europe has charted its own brand of constitutional federalism.^{[citation needed]}

– Joseph H. H. Weiler

Those uncomfortable using the "F" word in the EU context should feel free to refer to it as a quasi-federal or federal-like system. Nevertheless, for the purposes of the analysis here, the EU has the necessary attributes of a federal system. It is striking that while many scholars of the EU continue to resist analyzing it as a federation, most contemporary students of federalism view the EU as a federal system.^{[citation needed]} (See for instance, Bednar, Filippov et al., McKay, Kelemen, Defigueido and Weingast)

– R. Daniel Kelemen

A more nuanced view has been given by the German Constitutional Court. Here the EU is defined as 'an association of sovereign national states (Staatenverbund)'.^[7] With this view, the European Union resembles more of a confederation.

Other forms of governance

Confederation

A confederation, in modern political terms, is usually limited to a permanent union of sovereign states for common action in relation to other states.^[8]

In Belgium, however, the opposite movement is under way.^[9] Belgium was founded as a centralised state, after the French model, but has gradually been reformed into a federal state by consecutive constitutional reforms since the 1970s. Moreover, although nominally called a federal state, the country's structure already has a number of confederational traits (ex. competences are exclusive for either the federal or the state level, the treaty-making power of the Federating units without almost any possible veto of the Federal Government). At present, there is a growing movement to transform the existing federal state into a looser confederation with two or three constitutive states and/or two special regions.^[10]

By definition, the difference between a confederation and a federation is that the membership of the member states in a confederation is voluntary, while the membership in a federation is not. A confederation is most likely to feature these differences over a federation: (1) No real direct powers: many confederal decisions are externalised by member-state legislation. (2) Decisions on day-to-day-matters are not taken by simple majority but by special majorities or even by consensus or unanimity (veto for every member). (3) Changes of the constitution, usually a treaty, require unanimity.

Over time these terms acquired distinct connotations leading to the present difference in definition. An example of this is the United States under the Articles of Confederation. The Articles established a national government under what today would be defined as a federal system (albeit with a comparatively weaker federal government). However, Canada, designed with a stronger central government than the U.S. in the wake of the Civil War of the latter, has always been called a Confederation by Canadians (also a Dominion and/or a Realm, but these do not bear on the current discussion). Ironically, legal reforms, court rulings, and political compromises have greatly decentralised Canada in practice since its formation in 1867.

Empire

An empire is a multi-ethnic state or group of nations with a central government established usually through coercion (on the model of the Roman Empire). An empire will often include self-governing regions but these will possess autonomy only at the sufferance of the central government. On the other hand, an empire may simply consist of multiple kingdoms organised together in a federation with a high king designated as an emperor. One example of this was Imperial Germany.

Russian Federation

The Russian Federation has inherited its structure from the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) that was one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union and itself was considered a federation of national territories. The RSFSR consisted of autonomous republics, which had a certain degree of autonomy, at least de jure, and of other types of administrative units (oblasts and krais), whose status was the same as that of oblasts in other – mostly unitary – Soviet Socialist Republics. Today's Russia is defined as a federation in its Constitution (Article 5),^[11] and Russia's federal subjects, i.e., the constituent republics, oblasts, krais, the federal-level cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg, as well as one autonomous oblast and four autonomous (national) okrugs, are equal in legal terms, save for some symbolic features allowed to republics (constitution, president, national language). Some regions (Yakutia^[12][13]) have concluded agreements with the Federation so as to modify the degree of their autonomy.^{[citation needed]}

According to an amendment passed in December 2004, governors and presidents of Russia's constituent regions, who were previously elected by popular vote, are now proposed by the President of Russia for the approval of the local parliament^[14] Local parliaments theoretically have the authority to reject the candidate, but if this occurs three times, the parliament may be dissolved by the President and new parliamentary elections held. This lets some argue^{[citation needed]} that the Russian Federation is not a federation in the strictest sense and that it has centralized features similar to a unitary system.^{[15][not in citation given]}

Soviet Union (USSR)

The constitutions of the Soviet Union (USSR) adopted since 1924 theoretically provided for a voluntary federation or union of Soviet Socialist Republics (SSR). Each was notionally governed by its own Supreme Soviet (parliament) and had the right to secede from the Union. Furthermore, some republics themselves possessed nominally self-governing units – Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics (ASSR) or autonomous oblasts. Two of the USSR republics, Byelorussian SSR and Ukrainian SSR, were even members of the United Nations in recognition of their role in World War II. In practice, the system of one-party government found in the Soviet Union meant that governance of the Union was highly centralised, with important decisions taken by the leaders of the Communist Party in Moscow and merely 'rubber stamped' by local institutions. Nonetheless, with the introduction of free, competitive elections in the final years of the Soviet Union, the Union's theoretically federal structure became a reality in practice. This occurred only for a brief interim period, as the elected governments of many republics demanded their right to secede and became independent states in 1991–1992. The Soviet Union's de jure federal structure played a key role in its dissolution.

Myanmar

Myanmar (formerly Burma) is claimed to have adopted federation status (the country's official name is "Union of Myanmar"). However, after General Ne Win seized power of Burma in 1962 and abolished the Constitution of the Union of Burma, the country adopted a unitary system under his military dictatorship.

Constitutional structure

Division of powers

In a federation, the division of power between federal and regional governments is usually outlined in the constitution. It is in this way that the right to self-government of the component states is usually constitutionally entrenched. Component states often also possess their own constitutions which they may amend as they see fit, although in the event of conflict the federal constitution usually takes precedence.

In almost all federations the central government enjoys the powers of foreign policy and national defense. Were this not the case a federation would not be a single sovereign state, per the UN definition. Notably, the states of Germany retain the right to act on their own behalf at an international level, a condition originally granted in exchange for the Kingdom of Bavaria's agreement to join the German Empire in 1871. Beyond this the precise division of power varies from one nation to another. The constitutions of Germany and the United States provide that all powers not specifically granted to the federal government are retained by the states. The Constitution of Canada, on the other hand, states that powers not explicitly granted to the provincial governments are retained by the federal government. Much like the US system, the Australian Constitution allocates to the Federal government (the Commonwealth of Australia) the power to make laws about certain specified matters which were considered too difficult for the States to manage, so that the States retain all other areas of responsibility. Under the division of powers of the European Union in the Lisbon Treaty, powers are not either exclusively of European competence or shared between EU and state are retained by the constituent states.

Where every component state of a federation possesses the same powers, we are said to find 'symmetric federalism'. Asymmetric federalism exists where states are granted different powers, or some possess greater autonomy than others do. This is often done in recognition of the existence of a distinct culture in a particular region or regions. In Spain, "historical communities" such as Navarre, Galicia, Catalonia, and the Basque Country have more powers than other autonomous communities, partly to deal with their distinctness and to appease nationalist leanings, partly out of respect of privileges granted earlier in history.

It is common that during the historical evolution of a federation there is a gradual movement of power from the component states to the centre, as the federal government acquires additional powers, sometimes to deal with unforeseen circumstances. The acquisition of new powers by a federal government may occur through formal constitutional amendment or simply through a broadening of the interpretation of a government's existing constitutional powers given by the courts.

Usually, a federation is formed at two levels: the central government and the regions (states, provinces, territories), and little to nothing is said about second or third level administrative political entities. Brazil is an exception, because the 1988 Constitution included the municipalities as autonomous political entities making the federation tripartite, encompassing the Union, the States, and the municipalities. Each state is divided into municipalities (municípios) with their own legislative council (câmara de vereadores) and a mayor (prefeito), which are partly autonomous from both Federal and State Government. Each municipality has a "little constitution", called "organic law" (lei orgânica). Mexico is an intermediate case, in that municipalities are granted full-autonomy by the federal constitution and their existence as autonomous entities (municipio libre, "free municipality") is established by the federal government and cannot be revoked by the states' constitutions. Moreover, the federal constitution determines which powers and competencies belong exclusively to the municipalities and not to the constituent states. However, municipalities do not have an elected legislative assembly.

Federations often employ the paradox of being a union of states, while still being states (or having aspects of statehood) in themselves. For example, James Madison (author of the US Constitution) wrote in Federalist Paper No. 39 that the US Constitution "is in strictness neither a national nor a federal constitution; but a composition of both. In its foundation, it is federal, not national; in the sources from which the ordinary powers of the Government are drawn, it is partly federal, and partly national..." This paradox stems from the fact that states in a federation maintain all sovereignty that they do not yield to the federation by their own consent. This paradox was corrected by Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which reserves some powers and rights to the people that even the states can't alienate. The sharing of sovereignty between a federation and its constituent states sometimes makes it difficult to differentiate between a sovereign state and a non-sovereign state.

Organs of government

The structures of most federal governments incorporate mechanisms to protect the rights of component states. One method, known as 'intrastate federalism', is to directly represent the governments of component states in federal political institutions. Where a federation has a bicameral legislature the upper house is often used to represent the component states while the lower house represents the people of the nation as a whole. A federal upper house may be based on a special scheme of apportionment, as is the case in the senates of the United States and Australia, where each state is represented by an equal number of senators irrespective of the size of its population.

Alternatively, or in addition to this practice, the members of an upper house may be indirectly elected by the government or legislature of the component states, as occurred in the United States prior to 1913, or be actual members or delegates of the state governments, as, for example, is the case in the German Bundesrat and in the Council of the European Union. The lower house of a federal legislature is usually directly elected, with apportionment in proportion to population, although states may sometimes still be guaranteed a certain minimum number of seats.

In Canada, the provincial governments represent regional interests and negotiate directly with the central government. A First Ministers conference of the prime minister and the provincial premiers is the de facto highest political forum in the land, although it is not mentioned in the constitution.

Federations often have special procedures for amendment of the federal constitution. As well as reflecting the federal structure of the state this may guarantee that the self-governing status of the component states cannot be abolished without their consent. An amendment to the constitution of the United States must be ratified by three-quarters of either the state legislatures, or of constitutional conventions specially elected in each of the states, before it can come into effect. In referendums to amend the constitutions of Australia and Switzerland it is required that a proposal be endorsed not just by an overall majority of the electorate in the nation as a whole, but also by separate majorities in each of a majority of the states or cantons. In Australia, this latter requirement is known as a double majority.

Some federal constitutions also provide that certain constitutional amendments cannot occur without the unanimous consent of all states or of a particular state. The US constitution provides that no state may be deprived of equal representation in the senate without its consent. In Australia, if a proposed amendment will specifically impact one or more states, then it must be endorsed in the referendum held in each of those states. Any amendment to the Canadian constitution that would modify the role of the monarchy would require unanimous consent of the provinces. The German Basic Law provides that no amendment is admissible at all that would abolish the federal system.

Other technical terms

• Fiscal federalism – federalism involving the transfer of funds between different levels of government.
• Formal federalism (or 'constitutional federalism') – the delineation of powers is specified in a written constitution.
• Executive federalism (also known as 'administrative federalism').

Federalism as a political philosophy

The meaning of federalism, as a political movement, and of what constitutes a 'federalist', varies with country and historical context.^{[citation needed]} Movements associated with the establishment or development of federations can be either centralising or decentralising.^{[citation needed]} For example, at the time those nations were being established, factions known as 'federalists' in the United States and Australia were those who advocated the creation of strong central government. Similarly, in European Union politics, federalists are mostly those who seek greater EU integration. In contrast, in Spain and post-war Germany, federal movements have sought decentralisation: the transfer of power from central authorities to local units. In Canada, where Quebec separatism has been a political force for several decades, the 'federalist' force is dedicated to keeping the federation intact and adapting the federal structure to better suit Quebec interests.^{[citation needed]}

Internal controversy and conflict

Certain forms of political and constitutional dispute are common to federations. One issue is that the exact division of power and responsibility between federal and regional governments is often a source of controversy. Often, as is the case with the United States, such conflicts are resolved through the judicial system, which delimits the powers of federal and local governments. The relationship between federal and local courts varies from nation to nation and can be a controversial and complex issue in itself.

Another common issue in federal systems is the conflict between regional and national interests, or between the interests and aspirations of different ethnic groups. In some federations the entire jurisdiction is relatively homogeneous and each constituent state resembles a miniature version of the whole; this is known as 'congruent federalism'. On the other hand, incongruent federalism exists where different states or regions possess distinct ethnic groups.

The ability of a federal government to create national institutions that can mediate differences that arise because of linguistic, ethnic, religious, or other regional differences is an important challenge. The inability to meet this challenge may lead to the secession of parts of a federation or to civil war, as occurred in United States and Switzerland. In the case of Malaysia, Singapore was expelled from the federation because of rising racial tension. In some cases internal conflict may lead a federation to collapse entirely, as occurred in Nigeria, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, the United Provinces of Central America and the West Indies Federation. Somalia, despite its Transitional Federal Charter, Transitional Federal Parliament, and Transitional Federal Government, has a weak central government: federal institutions control only parts of Mogadishu (though this is changing) and the Somaliland region in the northwestern part of the country is autonomous.

List of federations

Contemporary

Long form titles

• Federal Republic of: Brazil, Germany, Nigeria.
• Federation: Russia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Malaysia
• Republic of: Argentina, Austria, India (also called Indian Union), Iraq, Sudan.
• Others:
  • Bolivarian Republic (Venezuela)
  • Confederation (Switzerland)
  • Commonwealth (Australia)
  • Dominion (Canada)
  • Federal Democratic Republic (Ethiopia)
  • Federated States (FS Micronesia)
  • Federative Republic (Brazil)
  • Islamic Republic (Pakistan)
  • Kingdom (Belgium)
  • State (Nepal)
  • Union (Comoros)
  • United Emirates (United Arab Emirates)
  • United Mexican States (Mexico)
  • United States (United States)
• None:
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Canada ("Dominion" had been used originally, but that has fallen into disuse).Canadian Confederation (de facto official title)

Defunct

• Federal Republic of Cameroon (1961–1972)
• United Provinces of Central America (1823 – circa 1838)
• Confederate States of America (1861–1865)
• Czechoslovakia (1969–1992)
• Federated Dutch Republic (1581–1795)
• French Equatorial Africa (1910–1960)
• French West Africa (1904–1958)
• Inca Empire (1197–1572)
• United States of Indonesia (1949–1950)
• United Kingdom of Libya (1951–1963)
• Federated Malay States (1896–1946)
• Federation of Malaya (1948–1963)^[17]
• Mali farederation (1959–1960)
• New Granada (1855–1886)
• Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795)
• Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (1953–1963)
• Federation of South Arabia (1962–1967)
• Union of Soviet Socialist Republics^[18] (1922–1991)
• Federal Republic of Spain 1873–1874
• Uganda (1962–1967)
• West Indies Federation (1958–1962)
• Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia^[19] (1943–1992)
• Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992–2003)

Some of the proclaimed Arab federations were confederations de facto.

See also

• Anti-Federalist
• Capital city
• Corporative federalism
• European Union
• European Coal and Steel Community
• Federacy
• Federalism in Australia
• Federalist
• The Federalist Papers
• Federal monarchy
• Federation of Australia
• Foederati
• Indian Union
• International organisation
• Międzymorze (Intermarum)
• Multinational state
• Neo-functionalism
• New federalism
• Regional state
• Supranationalism
• Supranational union
• Unitary state
• United Federation of Planets
• World Federalist Movement

Footnotes

1. ^ Forum of Federations
2. ^ Enrique Guillén López, JUDICIAL REVIEW IN SPAIN: THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT, 41 Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review 541, 544 (2008).
3. ^ Economic Warlords by Gregory H. Fuller
4. ^ La Communaute du Charbon et de l'Acier, p7 Paul Reuter with preface by Robert Schuman. Paris 1953.
5. ^ How the court made a federation of the EU.[1] Josselin (U de Rennes-1/CREM) and Marciano (U de Reims CA/CNRS).
6. ^ Schuman or Monnet? The real Architect of Europe. p 129. Bron 2004
7. ^ BVerfG, 2 BvE 2/08 vom 30.6.2009, Absatz-Nr. (1 - 421)
8. ^ Oxford English Dictionary
9. ^ One of the most important recent books about the Belgian institutions, written by one of the leading French-speaking jurists concludes : Vers le confédéralisme (Toward a Confederation). See: Charles-Etienne Lagasse, Les nouvelles institutions politiques de la Belgique et de l'Europe, Erasme, Namur 2003, p. 603 ISBN 2-87127-783-4
10. ^ Many Flemings would prefer two states, Flanders and Wallonia, and two special regions, Brussels and the German-speaking region. In Wallonia, there is a wider support for three states : Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels.
11. ^ Constitutional definition of Russia as a federation Article 5 of Russian Constitution.
12. ^ YAKUTIA: AUTONOMY AND DIAMONDS, December 1, 1996
13. ^ Yakutia (Russia) CRW Flags
14. ^ Amendments to the law on appointment of heads of Russia's federal subjects, 11 December 2004.
15. ^ Russia's year of shrinking liberties BBC News
16. ^ Federal structure of Russia, Article 65 of Russian Constitution.
17. ^ Gained independence in 1957, joined with Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore to form Malaysia in 1963.
18. ^ The USSR was a federation according to the letter of its constitution, but, at least until its final years in the late eighties and early nineties of the 20th century, its governance was highly centralised in practice. See: Soviet Union section.
19. ^ The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was officially proclaimed in 1963. Prior to this, the communist Yugoslav state was named Democratic Federal Yugoslavia in 1943 and then Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia in 1946. See: Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Categories: Federalism | Federal countries | Supraorganizations | Lists of country subdivisions

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