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Federation: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Federation
The United States Constitution, which replaced the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was drafted in 1787 and was ratified in 1788, marking the birth of the oldest surviving federation in human history. This document did not merely create a government; it invented a new way of organizing human society by dividing sovereignty between a central authority and constituent states. In this system, the self-governing status of the component states, as well as the division of power between them and the federal political body, is constitutionally entrenched and may not be altered by a unilateral decision. Neither the component states nor the federal political body can change this balance without a constitutional amendment, creating a rigid framework that has survived civil war, economic depression, and global conflict. The federal government holds overriding powers to suspend a constituent state's government by invoking gross mismanagement or civil unrest, yet the states retain control over their internal affairs. This delicate dance of power defines the federation, distinguishing it from the unitary states of France and Japan, where the central government can revoke regional autonomy at will. The spectrum of regional integration or separation is vast, ranging from the loose alliance of the European Union to the tight control of the Soviet Union, but the federation remains the most common form of government for large, multi-ethnic nations. Today, about 40% of the world population lives in a federation, a testament to the enduring appeal of this political structure.
Ancient Roots and Modern Revolutions
The concept of a federation is not a modern invention but a recurring theme in human history, appearing in ancient chiefdoms and kingdoms such as the 4th-century-BCE League of Corinth and the Iroquois Confederacy in pre-Columbian North America. The Old Swiss Confederacy served as an early example of formal non-unitary statehood, establishing a tradition of shared governance that would influence future generations. In the New World, colonies and dominions transformed into federal states upon independence, with the United States and various countries in Latin America adopting the federal model. However, the path to federalism was often fraught with failure; the Federal Republic of Central America broke up into independent states less than 20 years after its founding, and Argentina has 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 that became federations while still part of the British Empire, gradually evolving towards full independence. 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 all federations, each reflecting the political turmoil of their times. Founded in 1922, the Soviet Union was formally a federation of Soviet republics, autonomous republics, and other federal subjects, though in practice it was highly centralized under the government of the Soviet Union. The Russian Federation has inherited a similar system, demonstrating how the form of a federation can be preserved even when the substance is altered.
When was the United States Constitution drafted and ratified?
The United States Constitution was drafted in 1787 and ratified in 1788. This document marked the birth of the oldest surviving federation in human history.
Which countries are examples of federations that became federations while still part of the British Empire?
Australia and Canada are federations that became federations while still part of the British Empire. They gradually evolved towards full independence.
When did Nepal become the newest federation in the world?
Nepal became the newest federation after its constitution went into effect on the 20th of September 2015.
How many federations exist in the world today and how are they distributed by continent?
There are 27 federations in the world today with 6 each in Africa, Asia, and Europe, 4 in North America, 3 in South America, and 2 in Oceania.
What is the difference between a federation and a unitary state?
A federation divides sovereignty between a central authority and constituent states with constitutionally entrenched powers that cannot be altered unilaterally. A unitary state may function as a de facto federation but retains the legal ability for the central government to revoke regional autonomy.
Not all federations are created equal, and some states within a federation possess more autonomy than others, creating a system known as asymmetric federalism. Malaysia serves as a prime example, where Sarawak and Sabah agreed to form the federation on different terms and conditions from the states of Peninsular Malaysia. This asymmetry allows for unique arrangements that accommodate the specific needs and histories of different regions. In contrast, some federations are congruent, where each constituent state resembles a miniature version of the whole, while others are incongruent, 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, Nigeria, 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 the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, the Gran Colombia, the United Provinces of Central America, and the West Indies Federation. The European Union, while not a de jure federation, possesses attributes of a federal state, with its central government far weaker than that of most federations and the individual members retaining sovereign status under international law. The EU operates with more qualified majority voting rather than unanimity in many areas, and since the Treaty of Lisbon, the Member States' right to leave the Union is codified.
The Shadow of Empire and Confederation
The distinction between a federation and other forms of political organization is often blurred, with empires, confederations, and federacies occupying a gray area in the spectrum of governance. An empire is a multi-ethnic state, multinational state, or a group of nations with a central government established usually through coercion, often including self-governing regions that possess autonomy only at the sufferance of the central government. The German Empire, which existed from 1871 to 1918, is an example of a political entity that is an empire in name but comprises several partly autonomous kingdoms organized together in a federation. A confederation, in modern political terms, is usually limited to a permanent union of sovereign states for common action in relation to other states, with the European Union being the closest entity in the world to a confederation. The Swiss Confederation, while still known officially as such, is now a misnomer since the Swiss cantons lost their sovereign status in 1848. In Belgium, the opposite movement is underway, with a growing movement to transform the existing federal state into a looser confederation with two or three constitutive states and/or two special regions. A federacy is a unitary state that incorporates one or more self-governing autonomous areas, 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. The Crown Dependencies of the Isle of Man and the bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey in the Channel Islands enjoy independence from the United Kingdom, which, via The Crown, takes care of their foreign relations and defense, though the UK Parliament does have overall power to legislate for the dependencies.
The Paradox of De Facto Federalism
The distinction between a federation and a unitary state is often quite ambiguous, with some modern unitary states functioning as de facto federations. Spain is suggested as one possible de facto federation, as it grants more self-government to its autonomous communities than are retained by the constituent entities of most federations. 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. 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. South Africa bears some elements of a federal system, such as the allocation of certain powers to provinces, and if federation is defined as the constitutional entrenchment of the powers of subcentral units that is not unilaterally changeable or revocable by the central authority, South Africa does qualify, formally, as a federal state. The People's Republic of China, constitutionally, grants power to the special administrative regions from the Central People's Government, through a decision by the National People's Congress, resulting in a system some have termed federalism with Chinese characteristics. Myanmar, constitutionally a unitary state, has a political system that bears many elements of federalism, with each administrative division having its own cabinets and chief ministers. Wallis and Futuna, the French overseas collectivity, maintains some quasi-federation attributes, with the territory divided into three traditional chiefdoms that are allowed to have their own legal system which have to be implemented along with the French legal system.
The Global Map of Federal States
There are 27 federations in the world today, with 6 each in Africa, Asia, and Europe, 4 in North America, 3 in South America, and 2 in Oceania. The United States, with its 50 states and 1 federal district, remains the oldest surviving federation, while the newest federation is Nepal, after its constitution went into effect on the 20th of September 2015. Seven of the top eight largest countries by area are governed as federations, including Russia, the United States, Canada, India, Brazil, Pakistan, and Australia. These nations are often multi-ethnic and cover a large area of territory, but neither is necessarily the case, as seen in Saint Kitts and Nevis or the Federated States of Micronesia. The structure of federal governments varies, with some being presidential republics, others parliamentary systems, and some semi-presidential republics. The United States has 50 states and 1 federal district, while Brazil has 27 federative units, including one federal district and 26 states. Germany has 16 states, including three city-states, and India has 28 states and 8 union territories. The European Union, while not a de jure federation, possesses attributes of a federal state, with its central government far weaker than that of most federations and the individual members retaining sovereign status under international law. The EU operates with more qualified majority voting rather than unanimity in many areas, and since the Treaty of Lisbon, the Member States' right to leave the Union is codified. The map of federations is a testament to the enduring appeal of this political structure, which has survived the test of time and continues to evolve in response to the challenges of the modern world.