federal systems
Shared power structures
Federal systems are governments in which power is divided between a central authority and regional units like states or provinces.
The United States, Germany, and Australia operate federal systems, with constitutions defining which powers belong to each level.
This contrasts with unitary systems, where central government holds ultimate authority: The federal system allows states to set their own education policies.
- central governmentNation's primary governing body
- state governmentSubnational political authority
- states' rightsProvincial governmental autonomy
- constitutionInherent physical or structural makeup
- amendmentsFormal changes to documents
revenue sharing · subsidiarity · provincial government · decentralization · judicial review · interstate commerce · bicameral legislature · sovereignty · power sharing · separation of powers · statutory law · Tenth Amendment · monetary policy · treaties · budget allocation · public expenditure · concurrent powers · division of powers
- governmentgovernment, ministries, legislature, judiciary, executive branch
- e-governmente-governance, online services, service delivery, e-filing, digital identity
- regionsregion, regions, area, areas, zone
- governancegovernance, government, democracy, vote, parliament
- Large PlacesRussia, Canada, United States, China, Brazil
- African politicsNigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Pan-Africanism, Mali
federal systemscentralized government
Authority held by one body
centralism · absolute monarchy · imperial systems · autocracy · direct rule
federal, system, federalism, federalist, federalize, federalized, federation, confederate, confederation