federal system
Shared sovereignty structure
A federal system is a form of government in which power is divided between a central authority and constituent political units—states, provinces, or regions.
The United States, Germany, and Australia have federal systems, where both national and state governments exercise authority in their respective spheres.
This contrasts with unitary systems, where central government holds primary power.
- national governmentCountry's central ruling body
- decentralizationDistributing power from center
- central authoritySingle governing power source
- subsidiarityLocal authority when able
- constitutional lawLegal principles from founding documents
sovereignty · dual sovereignty · state rights · United States Constitution · Tenth Amendment · checks and balances · revenue sharing · enumerated powers · judicial review · power sharing · divided government · balance of power · bicameral legislature · pluralism · mandates · legal jurisdiction · powers · bicameral
- governancegovernance, government, democracy, vote, parliament
- governmentgovernment, ministries, legislature, judiciary, executive branch
- governmentsdemocracy, monarchy, autocracy, oligarchy, republic
- SwitzerlandBern, Geneva, Zurich, Basel, Lausanne
- hierarchiestier, tiers, level, levels, rank
- Canadian HistoryRupert's Land, colonial era, colonial government, self-government, constitutional debates
federal systemcentralized government
Authority held by one body
absolute monarchy · centralism · empire · dictatorship · autocracy
federal systemconfederation
Autonomous entities united loosely
confederacy · sovereign nations · anarchy · statelessness · city-states