Meaning of word federation

A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governing status of the component states, as well as the division of power between them and the central government, is constitutionally entrenched and may not be altered by a unilateral decision, neither by the component states nor the federal political body. Alternatively, a federation is a form of government in which sovereign power is formally divided between a central authority and a number of constituent regions so that each region retains some degree of control over its internal affairs.

It is often argued that federal states where the central government has overriding powers are not truly federal states. For example, such overriding powers may include: the constitutional authority to suspend a constituent state’s government by invoking gross mismanagement or civil unrest, or to adopt national legislation that overrides or infringes on the constituent states’ powers by invoking the central government’s constitutional authority to ensure «peace and good government» or to implement obligations contracted under an international treaty.

The governmental or constitutional structure found in a federation is considered to be federalist, or to be an example of federalism. It can be considered the opposite of another system, the unitary state. France, for example, has been unitary for many centuries.
The Austrian Empire was a unitary state with crown lands, after the transformation into the Austria-Hungary monarchy the remaining crown lands of so-called Cisleithania became federated as Länder of the Republic of Austria through the implementation of its constitution. Germany, with its 16 states, or Länder, is an example of a federation. Federations are often multi-ethnic and cover a large area of territory (such as Russia, the United States, Canada, India, or Brazil), but neither is necessarily the case (such as Saint Kitts and Nevis or the Federated States of Micronesia).

Several ancient chiefdoms and kingdoms, such as the 4th-century BCE League of Corinth, Noricum in Central Europe, and the Iroquois Confederacy in pre-Columbian North America, could be described as federations or confederations. The Old Swiss Confederacy was an early example of formal non-unitary statehood.

Several colonies and dominions in the New World consisted of autonomous provinces, transformed into federal states upon independence such as the United States, and various countries in Latin America (see Spanish American wars of independence). Some of the New World federations failed; the Federal Republic of Central America broke up into independent states less than 20 years after its founding. Others, such as Argentina, have shifted between federal, confederal, and unitary systems, before settling into federalism. Brazil became a federation only after the fall of the monarchy, and Venezuela became a federation after the Federal War. Australia and Canada are also federations.

Germany is another nation-state that has switched between confederal, federal and unitary rules, since the German Confederation was founded in 1815. The North German Confederation, the succeeding German Empire and the Weimar Republic were federations.

Founded in 1922, the Soviet Union was formally a federation of Soviet republics, autonomous republics and other federal subjects, though in practice highly centralized under the government of the Soviet Union. The Russian Federation has inherited a similar system.

India, Pakistan, Nigeria and Malaysia (then Federation of Malaya) became federations on or shortly before becoming independent from the British Empire.

In some recent cases, federations have been instituted as a measure to handle ethnic conflict within a state, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Iraq since 2005.

With the United States Constitution having become effective on 4 March 1789, the United States is the oldest surviving federation, while the newest federation is Nepal, after its constitution went into effect on 20 September 2015.

Federations and other forms of state[edit]

Federations[edit]

The component states are 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 enjoy no independent status under international law. However, German Länder have that power,^[1] which is beginning to be exercised on a European level.

Some federations are called asymmetric because some states have more autonomy than others. An example of such a federation is Malaysia, in which Sarawak and Sabah agreed to form the federation on different terms and conditions from the states of Peninsular Malaysia.

A federation often emerges from an initial agreement between several separate states. The purpose can be the will to solve mutual problems and to provide for mutual defense or to create a nation-state for an ethnicity spread over several states. The former was the case with the United States and Switzerland. However, as the histories of countries and nations vary, the federalist system of a state can be quite different from these models. Australia, 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, on the other hand, has experienced both the federal and the unitary state during its history. Some present-day states of the Brazilian federation retain borders set during the Portuguese colonization (before the very existence of the Brazilian state), whereas the latest state, Tocantins, was created by the 1988 Constitution for chiefly administrative reasons.

Seven of the top eight largest countries by area are governed as federations.

Unitary states[edit]

A unitary state is sometimes one with only a single, centralized, 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, where a formerly centralized 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».

Confederation[edit]

A confederation, in modern political terms, is usually limited to a permanent union of sovereign states for common action in relation to other states.^[2] The closest entity in the world to a confederation at this time is the European Union. While the word confederation was officially used when the Canadian federal system was established in 1867, the term refers only to the process and not the resulting state since Canadian provinces are not sovereign and do not claim to be. In the case of Switzerland, while the country is still known officially as the Swiss Confederation, this is now a misnomer since the Swiss cantons lost their sovereign status in 1848.^[3]

In Belgium, however, the opposite movement is underway.^[4] Belgium was founded as a centralized 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. 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.^[5]

A confederation is most likely to feature three differences when contrasted with a federation: (1) No real direct powers: many confederal decisions are externalized 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, Canadians, designed with a stronger central government than the U.S. in the wake of the Civil War of the latter, use the term «Confederation» to refer to the formation or joining, not the structure, of Canada. Legal reforms, court rulings, and political compromises have decentralized Canada in practice since its formation in 1867.

Empire[edit]

An empire is a multi-ethnic state, multinational state, or a group of nations with a central government established usually through coercion (on the model of the Roman Empire). An empire often includes self-governing regions, but these will possess autonomy only at the sufferance of the central government. On the other hand, a political entity that is an empire in name, may comprise several partly autonomous kingdoms organised together in a federation, with the empire being ruled over by an emperor or senior king (great king, high king, king of kings…). One example of this was the German Empire (1871–1918).

Comparison with other systems of autonomy[edit]

Federacy[edit]

A federacy^[6] is a unitary state that incorporates one or more self-governing autonomous areas. It is distinguished from a federation in that the constitutional structure of the state is still unitary, but incorporates federalist principles. Some federacies, notably Åland, were established through international treaty.

Devolution[edit]

A federation differs from a devolved state, such as Indonesia and the United Kingdom, because, in a devolved state, the central government can revoke the independence of the subunits (Scottish Parliament, the Senedd and the Northern Ireland Assembly in the case of the United Kingdom) without changing the constitution. In some cases, such as the Autonomous communities of Spain, devolution has led to federation in all but name, or «federation without federalism».^[7]

Crown dependencies[edit]

The relation between the Crown Dependencies of the Isle of Man and the bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey in the Channel Islands and the United Kingdom is very similar to a federate relation: the Islands enjoy independence from the United Kingdom, which, via The Crown, takes care of their foreign relations and defense – although the UK Parliament does have overall power to legislate for the dependencies. However, the islands are neither an incorporated part of the United Kingdom nor are they considered to be independent or associated states. The islands do not have a monarch, per se; rather in the Isle of Man the British Monarch is, ex officio, Lord of Mann, and in the Bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey, the British Monarch rules as the Duke of Normandy.

Dependent territories[edit]

Dependent territories, such as the British overseas territories, are vested with varying degrees of power; some enjoy considerable independence from the sovereign state, which only takes care of their foreign relations and defense. However, they are neither considered to be part of it nor recognized as sovereign or associated states.

De facto federations[edit]

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 that some modern unitary states are de facto federations.^[8]

De facto federations, or quasi-federations, are often termed «regional states».

Spain[edit]

Spain is suggested as one possible de facto federation^[9] as it grants more self-government to its autonomous communities^[10][11] than are retained by the constituent entities of most federations.^[12] For the Spanish parliament to revoke the autonomy of regions such as Galicia, Catalonia or the Basque Country would be a political near-impossibility, though nothing bars it legally. The Spanish parliament has, however, suspended the autonomy of Catalonia in response to the Catalan declaration of independence, in the lead-up to the 2017 Catalan election.^[13] Additionally, some autonomies such as Navarre or the Basque Country have full control over taxation and spending, transferring a payment to the central government for the common services (military, foreign relations, macroeconomic policy). For example, scholar Enrique Guillén López discusses the «federal nature of Spain’s government (a trend that almost no one denies).»^[14] Each autonomous community is governed by a Statute of Autonomy (Estatuto de Autonomía) under the Spanish Constitution of 1978.

South Africa[edit]

Although South Africa bears some elements of a federal system, such as the allocation of certain powers to provinces, it is nevertheless constitutionally and functionally a unitary state.^[15]

European Union[edit]

Parts of this article (those related to the three pillars) need to be updated. Please help update this section to reflect recent events or newly available information. (June 2011)

The European Union (EU) is a sui generis political union or confederation (the assemblage of societies or an association of two or more states into one state).^[16] Robert Schuman, the initiator of the European Community system, wrote that a transnational Community like the founding of the 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.^[17] The Founding Fathers of the European Union wrote the Europe Declaration (Charter of the Community) at the time of the signing of the Treaty of Paris on 18 April 1951 saying that Europe should be organized on a transnational 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 energy cooperation and non-proliferation 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^[who?] academic observers conclude that after 50 years of institutional evolution since the Treaties of Rome it is becoming one.^[18] 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 has responsibility for important areas such as trade, monetary union, agriculture, and 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, the 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 endeavor.

— 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).^[19]

Europe has charted its own brand of constitutional federalism.

— European Constitutionalism Beyond the State. Edited with Marlene Wind (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2003) page 23, 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. (See, for instance, Bednar, Filippov et al., McKay, Kelemen, Defigueido and Weingast)

A more nuanced view has been given by the German Constitutional Court.^[20] Here the EU is defined as ‘an association of sovereign national states (Staatenverbund)’.^[21] With this view, the European Union resembles more of a confederation.

People’s Republic of China[edit]

Constitutionally, the power vested in the special administrative regions of the People’s Republic is granted from the Central People’s Government, through a decision by the National People’s Congress. However, there have been certain largely informal grants of power to the provinces, to handle economic affairs and implement national policies, resulting in a system some have termed federalism «with Chinese characteristics».^[22]

Myanmar[edit]

Constitutionally a unitary state, the political system in Myanmar bears many elements of federalism. Each administrative division has its own cabinets and chief ministers, making it more like a federation rather than a unitary state.

Wallis and Futuna[edit]

The French overseas collectivity Wallis and Futuna maintains some quasi-federation attributes. The territory is divided into three traditional chiefdoms: Uvea, Sigave, and Alo. The chiefdoms are allowed to have their own legal system which have to be implemented along with French legal system.

Internal controversy and conflict[edit]

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 the United States (southern states sought to protect the institution of slavery while northern states opposed it, with a catalysis occurring in the then–Kansas Territory), in Nigeria and in 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 the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, the Gran Colombia, the United Provinces of Central America, and the West Indies Federation.

Federal governments[edit]

The federal government is the common government of a national or supranational federation. A federal government may have distinct powers at various levels authorized or delegated to it by its member states. The structure of federal governments vary. Based on a broad definition of a basic federalism, there are two or more levels of government that exist within an established territory and govern through common institutions with overlapping or shared powers as prescribed by a constitution.

The federal government is the government at the level of the sovereign state. Usual responsibilities of this level of government are maintaining national security and exercising international diplomacy, including the right to sign binding treaties. Basically, a modern federal government, within the limits defined by its constitution, has the power to make laws for the whole country, unlike local governments. As originally written, the United States Constitution was created to limit the federal government from exerting power over the states by enumerating only specific powers. It was further limited by the addition of the Tenth Amendment contained in the Bill of Rights and the Eleventh Amendment. However, later amendments, particularly the Fourteenth Amendment, gave the federal government considerable authority over states.

Federal government within this structure are the government ministries and departments and agencies to which the ministers of government are assigned.

^[23]

Contemporary[edit]

There are 27 federations in the world, with 6 each in Africa, Asia and Europe, 4 in North America, 3 in South America and 2 in Oceania.

Current federations

Year est.	Federation	Type [t 1]	Structure	Top-level subdivisions (federated and other)	Major federated units	Minor units[t 2] (federated or other)
1853	Argentine Republic	R	Presidential	Provinces of Argentina	23 provinces	1 autonomous city
1901	Commonwealth of Australia	M	Parliamentary	States and territories of Australia	6 states	3 internal territories (of which 2 are self-governing) and 7 external territories
1920	Republic of Austria	R	Parliamentary	States of Austria	9 states (Länder or Bundesländer) incl. the city-state of Vienna
1993	Kingdom of Belgium	M	Parliamentary	Divisions of Belgium	3 communities, 3 regions	3 communitarian commissions
1995	Bosnia and Herzegovina	R	Parliamentary	Divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina	2 entities, one of which is itself a federation of 10 cantons	1 district[t 3]
1889	Federative Republic of Brazil	R	Presidential	Federative units of Brazil	27 federative units (of which one is a federal district and the others are states)[t 4]
1867	Canada	M	Parliamentary	Provinces and territories of Canada	10 provinces	3 territories
1975	Union of the Comoros	R	Presidential	Autonomous Islands of the Comoros	3 islands
1995	Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia	R	Parliamentary	Regions and chartered cities of Ethiopia	11 regions	2 chartered cities
1949	Federal Republic of Germany	R	Parliamentary	States of Germany	16 states (Länder or Bundesländer) incl. the city-states of Berlin, Hamburg, and Bremen
1947[t 5]	Republic of India	R	Parliamentary	States and union territories of India	28 states	8 union territories, including a 1 national capital territory
2005	Republic of Iraq	R	Parliamentary	Governorates of Iraq	19 provinces (governorates)
1963	Malaysia	M	Parliamentary	States of Malaysia	13 states	3 federal territories
1821	United Mexican States	R	Presidential	States of Mexico	32 federal entities, which are 31 states and its capital Mexico City
1979	Federated States of Micronesia	R	Presidential	Administrative divisions of Micronesia	4 states
2015	Nepal	R	Parliamentary	Provinces of Nepal	7 provinces
1960[t 6]	Federal Republic of Nigeria	R	Presidential	Subdivisions of Nigeria	36 states	1 federal capital territory
1947[t 7]	Islamic Republic of Pakistan	R	Parliamentary	Provinces and territories of Pakistan	4 provinces	2 autonomous territories and 1 federal capital territory
1918[t 8]	Russian Federation	R	Semi-presidential [t 9]	Federal subjects of Russia	46 oblasts, 22 republics, 9 krais, 4 autonomous okrugs, 3 federal-level cities, 1 autonomous oblast[24][25]
1983	Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis	M	Parliamentary	The islands St. Kitts and Nevis	1 federal unit (the island of Nevis)	The island of Saint Kitts (directly administered by the federal government)
2012	Federal Republic of Somalia	R	Parliamentary	Federal Member States of Somalia	5 States[26]
2011	Republic of South Sudan	R	Presidential	States of South Sudan	10 states	3 administrative areas (which one of them has special administrative status)
1956	Republic of the Sudan	R	Military junta	States of Sudan	18 states
1848	Swiss Confederation	R	Directorial	Cantons of Switzerland	26 cantons[t 10]
1971	United Arab Emirates	M	Semi-constitutional monarchy	Emirates of the UAE	7 emirates
1776[t 11]	United States of America	R	Presidential	U.S. States and territories	50 states	1 federal district; 16 territories[t 12]
1863	Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela	R	Presidential [t 13]	States of Venezuela	23 states	1 federal district, 1 federal dependency

Defunct[edit]

Some of the proclaimed Arab federations were confederations de facto.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• «Federal Government» . New International Encyclopedia. 1905.

Content

• What is Federation:
• What is a federal republic?
• Characteristics of the federalist republic

What is Federation:

A federation is a formal and institutionalized grouping that welcomes various autonomous social entities around a common interest or element. The word federation comes from Latin foederatio, which means ‘union’. Therefore, federation refers to the action and effect of uniting.

From the legal point of view, there are two definitions of federation: the first refers to the federal state, a sovereign political unit formed by the union of autonomous entities with specific competences protected by the national Constitution. For example, United States of America.

The second refers to the association of associations, which can cover the most diverse areas of interest such as sports, trade unions, industrial and agricultural production, banking, commerce, science and research. For example, the International Federation of Football Associations, better known as FIFA.

What is a federal republic?

In the political order, a federal republic, also known as a federal state, is one that is organized in a decentralized way from the association of political-territorial entities or states, which agree on a common project and, at the same time, respect of local autonomy in various matters.

Within a federal state or federal republic, political-territorial entities or states are called federated states. As a theoretical model of political organization, this ordering is known as federalism.

Some examples paradigmatic are the Federal Republic of Germany and the United Mexican States. Each of these republics is made up of a federal district and several federated states. They can elect their own authorities (governors, mayors and councilors) and manage their resources autonomously, according to the parameters determined in each constitution.

See also:

• Condition.
• Federalism.

Characteristics of the federalist republic

A federalist republic or federal state has certain characteristics that distinguish it from other models of political organization.

• Power is distributed under a decentralized scheme.
• It implies the coexistence of two coordinating bodies: one central and several local ones, called federated states.
• The constitution establishes the powers and limits of the central body and the local bodies.
• The federal state takes precedence over the federated states or member states in matters of national interest.
• The federated states are not sovereign.
• The federated states have autonomy in the terms and areas established in the constitution.
• The federated states take part in the formation of the national government.

You may also like:

• Federal entity.
• Centralization and decentralization.

The creation of the federation is being announced at a Tea Party Express rally Thursday morning in St. Paul, Minnesota. ❋ Unknown (2010)

We must emphasise that a federation is a highly contemporary form of government with a broad capacity to accommodate itself to the challenge of tomorrow. ❋ Unknown (1995)

In such matters, the federation is the farmers ‘spokesman, and when their officers tell us what they want, we know they are speaking for the common farmer, instead of merely using the farmer as a tool to advance their own ideas. ❋ Unknown (1922)

DMC, the federation is nothing more than an impotent union. ❋ Inspector Gadget (2009)

Roll Call: Even as the AFL-CIO braces for losses among its Democratic allies in Congress, the union federation is mobilizing its grass-roots operation in the weeks leading up to the midterm elections. ❋ The Huffington Post News Team (2010)

Right now the federation is running the league, which is not an optimal situation for anyone, Garber said. ❋ Unknown (2010)

According to a statement from the Tea Party Express, one of the groups participating, the federation is being «established to create a unified message and media response amongst key leadership and their affiliates.» ❋ Unknown (2010)

«Clubs are very well aware of the landscape, and I’m sure the fact that the Russian federation is not currently participating in the player transfer agreement will factor into clubs ‘evaluations of players and their decisions on who to draft and when.» ❋ Unknown (2007)

The federation is nothing more than a board of executives who really do not care about the Police in General. ❋ Inspector Gadget (2007)

The Norwegian delegation will be dressed in red and white gear equipped with hoods rimmed with fur, probably from Chinese raccoon dogs, but the sports federation is investigating the fur’s origin. ❋ Unknown (2006)

His studies are, even if you accept a bias, strong. 80%+ within one unit of a federation is unsustainable for the long term health of the federation. ❋ Unknown (2006)

The Korean gymnastics federation is appealing the razor-thin outcome of the men’s all-around competition, which Paul Hamm won. ❋ Unknown (2004)

A strong and vigorous federation is not a luxury to pursue when we get around to it or when the stars are in the right location in the distant future. ❋ Unknown (1997)

Renewing the Canadian federation is not an end in itself. ❋ Unknown (1991)

The question that confronts us, in terms of our federation, is whether governments — particularly federal governments — reflect realities or whether they direct them. ❋ Unknown (1981)

Giving the federal government such a unilateral privilege in the constitution threatens the very basis upon which our federation is founded. ❋ Unknown (1980)

But let us not forget that there are compelling national interests which must be maintained if our federation is to flourish and if the federal government is to participate in reaching that goal. ❋ Unknown (1980)

It has been stated over and over again that federation is a partnership between governments, autonomous in their own fields, but legislating in entirely different fields except for a very few instances of overlapping jurisdiction. ❋ Unknown (1946)

All the syndicates are grouped together in a provincial body which we call a federation, a committee, the members of which are the legal representatives of the syndicates. ❋ Unknown (1934)

I do not entirely see how this great federation is going to take place, but this I do know; I believe that General Smutz gave the true key to the answer when he said «It is impossible to hold these great nations together, separated by diverse interests and wide gulfs of sea, upon any other basis than that of the monarchy.» ❋ Unknown (1918)

Up here in tha Yay we be [kickin it] an gettin [hyphy] ta some [Federation] shit. yeah… ❋ Whothafuckgiveashit (2006)

[Russia] is a federationA federation would be like America, if all of [the states] [governed] themselves ❋ Alex14 (2006)

[Tennis] [hopeful] ‘I [lost], I just got federed’ ❋ ML88 (2009)

Dude, you totally federered that guy with your [backhand]!
AWWWW man, [Walt] just federized my ass at Halo. I couldn’t walk three steps and [my guts] were smeared across in the screen in a horrid, yet poetic manner. ❋ ByronGman (2006)

Yo, [you fuck] with Johnny?
Nah, [that nigga’s] [federal]. ❋ Seattleboxcar (2016)

1) Jeff: Man, I just federized this [n00b] in [Call of Duty]
2) Bob: [Andy Murray] just got federized ❋ Etando (2010)

1. [Roger Federer] [dominates] tennis.
2. *random [tennis player]* got federered by Roger Federer ❋ RHS Student (2004)

U.S. first [federalist] state followed by [Switzerland]. Others include Germany, [Austria], Australia, and Canada. ❋ J. Parsons (2005)

[Federer] [smashed] his way to victory in the 2005 US open, defeating [Andre Agassi] in four sets. ❋ Xzdg (2005)

Man, [you don’t want] to move that kind of weight. [Trust me], you do [NOT want] the Federallis after you! ❋ Nique Luva Luva (2005)

Last Updated:
3 Apr 2023
— Updated example sentences

Part of the Politics series
Basic forms of government
Aristocracy Autocracy Communist state Confederation Consociationalism Corporatocracy Demarchy Democracy Despotism Empire Ethnocracy Fascist state Federation Feudalism Gerontocracy Green state Hierocracy Isocracy Interregnum Kleptocracy Kritocracy Logocracy Matriarchy Meritocracy Minarchism Monarchy Nation state Ochlocracy Oligarchy Parliamentary state Patriarchy Provisional government Polyarchy Presidential Puppet state Republic Socialist state Stratocracy Supranational union Technocracy Thalassocracy Theocracy Timocracy Tribe Tyranny Unitary state List of forms of government
Politics portal
v · d · e

A federation (Latin: foedus, foederis, ‘covenant’), also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states 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 decision of the central government.

The form of government or constitutional structure found in a federation is known as federalism (see also federalism as a political philosophy). It can be considered the opposite of another system, the unitary state. The government of Germany with sixteen federated Länder is an example of a federation, whereas neighboring Austria and its Bundesländer was a unitary state with administrative divisions that became federated, and neighboring France by contrast has always been unitary.

Federations may be multi-ethnic and cover a large area of territory (like extreme diversity in India), although neither is necessarily the case. Federations are most often founded on an original agreement between a number of sovereign 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,^[1] is based in Ottawa, Canada. It helps share best practices among countries with federal systems of government, and currently includes nine countries as partner governments.

Federations and other forms of state

Federations

In a federation the component states are known as in some sense sovereign, in so far 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.

Some federations are called asymmetric because some states have more autonomy than others. An example of such a federation is Malaysia, in which Sarawak and Sabah entered the federation on different terms and conditions from the states of Peninsular Malaysia.

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 for an ethnicity spread over several states. The former was the case with the United States and Switzerland, the latter with Germany.^{[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 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 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) was created by the 1988 Constitution, chiefly for administrative reasons.

Seven of the top ten largest countries by area are governed as federations.

Unitary states

A unitary state 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, 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, 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.

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.^[2]

In Belgium, however, the opposite movement is under way.^[3] 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.^[4]

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. Legal reforms, court rulings, and political compromises have somewhat 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.

Comparison to other systems of autonomy

Federacy

A federacy is essentially an extreme case of an asymmetric federation, either due to large differences in the level of autonomy, or the rigidity of the constitutional arrangements. The use of the term federacy is more often use to the relation between the sovereign state and its autonomous areas.

Devolution

A federation differs from a devolved state, such as the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Spain, because, in a devolved state, the central government can revoke the independence of the subunits (Scottish Parliament, Welsh National Assembly, Northern Ireland Assembly in the case of the UK) without changing the constitution.

Associated States

A federation also differs from an associated state, such as the Federated States of Micronesia (in free association with the United States) and Cook Islands and Niue (which form part of the Realm of New Zealand). There are two kinds of associated states: in case of Micronesia, association is concluded by treaty between two sovereign states; in case of Cook Islands and Niue, association is concluded by domestic legal arrangements.

Crown dependencies

The relation between the Crown dependencies of the Isle of Man and the bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey in the Channel Islands and the United Kingdom is very similar to a federate relation: the Islands enjoy independence from the United Kingdom, which, via The Crown, takes care of their foreign relations and defence – although the UK Parliament does have overall power to legislate for the dependencies. However, the islands are neither an incorporated part of the United Kingdom, nor are they considered to be independent or associated states. The Isle of Man does not have a monarch, per se; rather, the British Monarch is, ex officio, Lord of Mann (irrespective of the incumbent’s sex).

Overseas territories

Overseas territories, such as the British overseas territories, are vested with varying degrees of power; some enjoy considerable independence from the sovereign state, which only takes care of their foreign relations and defence. However, they are neither considered to be part of it, nor recognised as sovereign or associated states.

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 federations.

Spain

Spain is suggested as one possible de facto federation as it grants more self-government to its autonomous communities^[5][6] than most federations allow their constituent parts^{[citation needed]}. For the Spanish parliament to revoke the autonomy of regions such as Galicia, Catalonia or the Basque Country would be a political near-impossibility, though nothing bars it legally. Additionally, some regions such as Navarre 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).»^[7] Each autonomous community is governed by a Statute of Autonomy (Estatuto de Autonomía) under the Spanish Constitution of 1978.

People’s Republic of China

In the People’s Republic of China, a form of de facto federation 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’s policy of socialism with Chinese characteristics).^[8] Constitutionally, the power vested in the special administrative regions of the People’s Republic is granted from the Central People’s Government, through decision by the National People’s Congress. A Federal Republic of China, in effect the third Chinese Republic, has been proposed as a future replacement for the PRC.

European Union

The European Union (EU) is based on supranational principles which are neither confederal nor 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.^[9] 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 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-proliferation 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.^[10] 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 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).^[11]

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)’.^[12] With this view, the European Union resembles more of a confederation.

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),^[13] 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^[14][15]) 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^[16] 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.^{[17][not in citation given]}

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: since 1992, federal institutions have rarely controlled territory outside of parts of Mogadishu (though this is changing)^[vague] and the Somaliland region in the northwestern part of the country is autonomous.

List of federations

For a detailed list of federated units, see Federated state#List of constituents by federation. There are 27 federations as of July 2011.^[18]

Contemporary

Year Est.	Federation	Federating Units	Major Federating Units	Minor Federating Units
	Argentina	Provinces of Argentina	23 provinces	1 autonomous city
1901	Australia	States and territories of Australia	6 states	10 territories
	Austria	States of Austria	9 Länder or Bundesländer
	Belgium	Divisions of Belgium	3 Communities, 3 Regions
	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina	2 entities (out of which one is itself a federation, consisting of 10 cantons)	1 district
	Brazil	States of Brazil	26 states	1 federal district and 5,561 municipalities
	Canada	Provinces and territories of Canada	10 provinces	3 territories
	Comoros		3 islands
	Ethiopia	Regions of Ethiopia	9 regions	2 chartered cities
	Germany	States of Germany	16 Länder or Bundesländer
	India	States and territories of India	28 States	7 Union Territories, including a National Capital Territory
	Iraq	Governorates of Iraq	18 governorates, including the autonomous region of Kurdistan.
	Malaysia	States of Malaysia	13 states	3 federal territories
	Mexico	States of Mexico	31 states	1 federal district
	Federated States of Micronesia		4 states
	Nepal	Zones of Nepal	14 zones	75 districts
	Nigeria	States of Nigeria	36 states	1 territory
	Pakistan	Provinces and territories of Pakistan	4 provinces	4 federal territories including a federal capital territory
	Russian Federation	Federal subjects of Russia	21 republics, 46 oblasts, 9 krais, 1 autonomous oblast, 4 autonomous okrugs, 2 federal-level cities[19]
	Saint Kitts and Nevis	Islands/parishes of Saint Kitts and Nevis	2 islands/14 parishes
	South Africa	Provinces of South Africa	9 provinces
	South Sudan	States of South Sudan	10 states
	Spain	Autonomous communities of Spain	17 autonomous communities	2 autonomous cities
	Sudan	States of Sudan	15 states
	Switzerland	Cantons of Switzerland	26 cantons
	United Arab Emirates	Emirates of the UAE	7 emirates
	United States of America	States of the United States	50 states	1 federal district; 1 incorporated territory, 13 unincorporated territories
	Venezuela	States of Venezuela	23 states	1 federal district, 1 federal dependency

Long form titles

• Federal Republic of: Germany, Nigeria.
• Federation: Russia, Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Federative Republic of: Brazil
• Republic of: Argentina, Austria, India (also called Indian Union), Iraq, South Africa, Sudan.
• Others:
  • Bolivarian Republic (Venezuela)
  • Confederation (Switzerland)
  • Commonwealth (Australia)
  • Dominion (Canada before 1982)
  • Federal Democratic Republic (Ethiopia, Nepal)
  • Federated States (FS Micronesia)
  • Federative Republic (Brazil)
  • Islamic Republic (Pakistan)
  • Kingdom (Belgium)
  • Union (Comoros)
  • United Emirates (United Arab Emirates)
  • United Mexican States (Mexico)
  • United States (United States)
• None:
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina (since 1997)
  • Canada (since 1982)
  • Malaysia

Defunct

• Federal Republic of Cameroon (1961–1972)
• United Provinces of Central America (1823 – circa 1838)
• Confederate States of America (1861–1865)
• United States of Colombia (1863–1886)
• 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)^[20]
• Mali Federation (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^[21] (1922–1991)
• Federal Republic of Spain (1873–1874)
• Uganda (1962–1967)
• West Indies Federation (1958–1962)
• Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia^[22] (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
• Constitutional economics
• Political economy
• Rule according to higher law
• European Union
• European Coal and Steel Community
• Federacy
• Federalism in Australia
• Federalist
• The Federalist Papers
• Federal monarchy
• Federated state
• 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
• Centre for Studies on Federalism

Footnotes

|