Federal republic

A federal republic is a federation of states with a republican form of government.[1] At its core, the literal meaning of the word republic when used to reference a form of government means: "a country that is governed by elected representatives and by an elected leader (such as a president) rather than by a king or queen".

In a federal republic, there is a division of powers between the federal government, and the government of the individual subdivisions. While each federal republic manages this division of powers differently, common matters relating to security and defense, and monetary policy are usually handled at the federal level, while matters such as infrastructure maintenance and education policy are usually handled at the regional or local level. However, views differ on what issues should be a federal competence, and subdivisions usually have sovereignty in some matters where the federal government does not have jurisdiction. A federal republic is thus best defined in contrast to a unitary republic, whereby the central government has complete sovereignty over all aspects of political life. This more decentralized structure helps to explain the tendency for more populous countries to operate as federal republics.[2] Most federal republics codify the division of powers between orders of government in a written constitutional document.

The political differences between a federal republic and other federal states, especially federal monarchies under a parliamentary system of government, are largely a matter of legal form rather than political substance, as most federal states are democratic in structure if not practice with checks and balances. However, some federal monarchies, such as the United Arab Emirates are based upon principles other than democracy.

Contemporary

Federal stateOfficial name and styleSubdivisionsHead of state
 Argentina Argentine Republic Provinces and one autonomous city President
 Austria[3] Republic of Austria States President
 Bosnia and Herzegovina[4] Bosnia and Herzegovina Entities, cantons and one federal district Collective presidency
 Brazil[5] Federative Republic of Brazil Municipalities, states and one federal district[6] President
 Comoros Union of the Comoros Islands President
 Ethiopia[7] Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Regions President
 Germany[8] Federal Republic of Germany States President
 India[9] Republic of India States and union territories President
 Iraq Republic of Iraq Governorates President
 Mexico[10] United Mexican States States and one autonomous entity President
 Micronesia Federated States of Micronesia States President
   Nepal[11] Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal Provinces President
 Nigeria[12] Federal Republic of Nigeria Traditional States, States and one federal territory President
 Pakistan[13] Islamic Republic of Pakistan Provinces, autonomous territories and federal territory President
 Russia[14] Russian Federation Federal subjects President
 Somalia Federal Republic of Somalia Federal member states President
 South Sudan Republic of South Sudan States President
 Sudan Republic of the Sudan States President
  Switzerland[15] Swiss Confederation Cantons Federal council
 United States[16] United States of America 50 states, hundreds of tribal entities, one federal district and several territories President
 Venezuela[17] Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela States, one capital district and federal dependencies President

Historical

FederationOfficial name and stylePeriodSubdivisions
 Dutch RepublicRepublic of the Seven United Netherlands1581–1795Provinces
 Great ColombiaRepublic of Colombia
United States of Colombia
1819–1831
1863–1886
States
Federal Republic of Central AmericaUnited Provinces of Central America
Federal Republic of Central America
1823–1838
MexicoUnited Mexican States1824–1835
 ChinaRepublic of China1912–1928Provinces
Mountainous Republic of the Northern CaucasusConfederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus1917–1922
1989–2000
Republics
 GermanyGerman Reich1919–1933States
 East GermanyGerman Democratic Republic1949–1952States
 Russian SFSRRussian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic1917–1991Federal subjects
 Soviet UnionUnion of Soviet Socialist Republics1922–1991Republics
 Yugoslavia[18]Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
1945–1992Republics
 Serbia and MontenegroFederal Republic of Yugoslavia
State Union of Serbia and Montenegro
1992–2006Constituent republics
 BurmaUnion of Burma1948–1962States
 IndonesiaRepublic of the United States of Indonesia1949–1950[19]States
 Congo-LéopoldvilleRepublic of the Congo1960–1964
 CameroonFederal Republic of Cameroon1961–1972
 South AfricaSouth African Federation1961–1994
 TanzaniaUnited Republic of Tanzania1964–1965
 Czechoslovakia[18]Czechoslovak Socialist Republic
Czech and Slovak Federative Republic
1969–1990
1990–1992
Republics

See also

Notes and references

  1. "republic".
  2. Forum of Federations: , Schram, Sanford. Handbook of Federal Countries: United States, pg 373–391, 2005.
  3. CIA World Factbook: Austria, 14 May 2009
  4. CIA World Factbook: Bosnia and Herzegovina, 14 May 2009
  5. CIA World Factbook: Brazil, 14 May 2009
  6. "http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/Constituicao/Constitui%C3%A7ao.htm". planalto.gov.br. Retrieved 2018-05-04. External link in |title= (help)
  7. CIA World Factbook: Ethiopia, 14 May 2009
  8. CIA World Factbook: Germany, 14 May 2009
  9. CIA World Factbook: India, 14 May 2009
  10. CIA World Factbook: Mexico, 14 May 2009
  11. CIA World Factbook: Nepal, 14 May 2009
  12. CIA World Factbook: Nigeria, 14 May 2009
  13. CIA World Factbook: Pakistan, 14 May 2009
  14. "Text of the Russian constitution in English". Constituteproject.org.
  15. CIA World Factbook: Switzerland, 14 May 2009
  16. CIA World Factbook: United States, 14 May 2009
  17. CIA World Factbook: Venezuela, 14 May 2009
  18. "The CIA World Factbook officially dated October 15, 1991". Archived from the original on 2011-05-11. Retrieved 2011-02-05.
  19. The states lived on until a final treaty in 1956 in which Republic of South Maluku and the State of Eastern Sumatra agreed to devolve into the Republic of Indonesia.
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