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A federation is a state comprised of a number of self-governing
regions (often themselves referred to as states) united by a central (federal) government. In a federation the
self-governing status of the component states is
constitutionally entrenched and may not be altered by a unilateral decision of the central government. Federations may be
multi-ethnic, or cover a large area of territory, although neither is necessarily
the case. Federations are often founded on an original agreement between a number of sovereign states. The component states of a federation usually do not have the right to secede unilaterally
.
Federations and other forms of state
Federations usually exhibit a single uniform two-tier structure of government across an entire jurisdiction. Exceptions may
occur in which certain parts of the federation are under the federal government's direct sovereignty, as is the case with the
autonomous 'territories' of Canada and Australia, and with the US District of Columbia. However it is not characteristic in a federation for small peripheral regions to
be self-governing, while a central, much larger 'metropolis' region remains under the direct control of the central
government.
A federation is distinct from a state which is composed of self-governing regions but in which the autonomous status of those
regions exists at the sufferance of the central government, and may be unilaterally revoked. Such a state is a form of unitary state. Spain and Belgium are examples of unitary states that are superficially federal in structure. A
federation is further to be distinguished from:
- A confederation: an entity similar in structure to a federation but
with a weaker central government. A confederation may consist of states that are considered sovereign and that retain the right
of secession (one possible example being the European Union).
- An empire: a multi-ethnic state with a political structure established through
coercion.
The Russian Federation is not a true federation in the
strict sense. It consists of the metropolis of Russia proper, which includes the great
majority of the population and is governed by the national government in Moscow, and a
number of small ethnic enclaves, which are known as Autonomous
Republics or Autonomous Oblasts, but which possess very little actual autonomy.
The European Union possesses some of the attributes of a federal
state but its central government is weaker than that of most federations. Furthermore, its member states are separate entities
under international law and, currently at least, possess a de facto if not explicit de jure right of
secession.
Modern 'federations'
See also
Other meanings of federation
- A federation is also an organisation, such as a trade union or business, with a structure analogous to that
of a federal state.
- In Australian history, 'Federation' refers to
the formation of the Commonwealth of Australia by
six British colonies on 1 January 1901, and also to the political movement in the 1890s to
bring this about.
- In the fictional Star Trek universe, 'the Federation' is short for the
United Federation of Planets.
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