Part of the Politics series |
Basic forms of government |
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List of countries by system of government |
Politicsportal |
Part of the Politics series |
Republicanism |
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Politicsportal |
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 monarch".
In a federal republic, a division of powers exists 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.
Otherwise, federal states primarily contrast with unitary states, where the central government retains many of the powers that are delegated to the subdivisions in federal republics. While there are exceptions, the overall tendency is for federal republics to be larger, more populous, and more internally heterogeneous than unitary states, with such larger size and internal heterogeneity being more manageable in a federal system than in a unitary one.
Country | Official name and style | Period of federal form of government | Administrative divisions |
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Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth | Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae | 1569–1795 | Provinces and Voivodeships |
Dutch Republic | Republic of the Seven United Netherlands | 1581–1795 | Provinces |
Valais | Republic of the Seven Tithings | 1613–1798 | |
Gran Colombia | Republic of Colombia | 1819–1831 | |
Federal Republic of Central America | Federal Republic of Central American | 1823–1838 | |
Granadine Confederation | Granadine Confederation | 1858–1863 | |
United States of Colombia | United States of Colombia | 1863–1886 | States |
First Spanish Republic | Spanish Republic | 1873-1874 | Cantons |
Republic of China | Republic of China | 1912–1928 | Provinces |
Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus | Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus | 1917–1922 | Republics |
Weimar Republic | German Reich | 1919–1933 | States |
East Germany | German Democratic Republic | 1949–1990 | States |
Soviet Union [lower-alpha 1] | Union of Soviet Socialist Republics | 1922–1991 | Republics |
Yugoslavia [18] | Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia (1945–1963) Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1963–1992) | 1945–1992 | Republics |
Serbia and Montenegro | Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992–2003) State Union of Serbia and Montenegro (2003–2006) | 1992–2006 | Constituent republics |
Burma | Union of Burma | 1948–1962 | States |
Indonesia | Republic of the United States of Indonesia | 1949–1950 [lower-alpha 2] | States |
Cameroon | Federal Republic of Cameroon | 1961–1972 | |
Czechoslovak Socialist Republic [18] | Czechoslovak Republic (1948–1960) Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (1960–1990) | 1969–1990 | Republics |
Czech and Slovak Federative Republic | Czech and Slovak Federative Republic | 1990–1992 | Republics |
The World Factbook, also known as the CIA World Factbook, is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print version is available from the Government Publishing Office. The Factbook is available in the form of a website that is partially updated every week. It is also available for download for use off-line. It provides a two- to three-page summary of the demographics, geography, communications, government, economy, and military of 266 international entities, including U.S.-recognized countries, dependencies, and other areas in the world.
Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. Constitutional monarchies differ from absolute monarchies in that they are bound to exercise powers and authorities within limits prescribed by an established legal framework.
Federalism is a mode of government that combines a general government with regional governments in a single political system, dividing the powers between the two. Johannes Althusius is considered the father of modern federalism along with Montesquieu. He notably exposed the bases of this political philosophy in Politica Methodice Digesta, Atque Exemplis Sacris et Profanis Illustrata (1603). Montesquieu sees in the Spirit of Laws, examples of federalist republics in corporate societies, the polis bringing together villages, and the cities themselves forming confederations. Federalism in the modern era was first adopted in the unions of states during the Old Swiss Confederacy.
A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state. The specific naming of the head of state depends on the country's form of government and separation of powers; the head of state may be a ceremonial figurehead or concurrently the head of government and more.
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic, to fully autocratic, and can span across executive, legislative, and judicial domains.
A republic, based on the Latin phrase res publica, is a state in which political power rests with the public through their representatives—in contrast to a monarchy.
A federation is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a 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.
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions of municipalities, school district, or political district.
A federated state is a territorial and constitutional community forming part of a federation. A federated state does not have sovereignty since powers are divided between the other federated states and the federal government. Federated states are different from sovereign states.
A dependent territory, dependent area, or dependency is a territory that does not possess full political independence or sovereignty as a sovereign state and remains politically outside the controlling state's integral area. As such a dependent territory includes a range of non-integrated not fully to non-independent territory types, from associated states to non-self-governing territories.
An associated state is the minor partner or dependent territory in a formal, free relationship between a political territory and a major party—usually a larger nation.
A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or be subject to the direct control of the federal government. This relationship may be defined by a constitution.
A regional state, or a regionalised unitary state, is a term used to denote a type of state that is formally unitary but where a high degree of political power has been highly decentralised to regional governments. This contrasts with a state organized on principles of federalism where the powers of the regions are enshrined in constitutional law. In many cases, the regions are based on long standing cultural or regional divisions.
A democratic republic is a form of government operating on principles adopted from a republic and a democracy. As a cross between two similar systems, democratic republics may function on principles shared by both republics and democracies.
Government in Spain is divided into three spheres or levels: the State itself, the regions or autonomous communities and local entities. These levels are not hierarchical, meaning there is no supremacy or primacy of one over the other, but rather they are separately defined by their jurisdictional powers.