federal union
States joined together
A federal union is a political arrangement in which multiple states or territories unite under a central government while retaining significant autonomy in local matters.
The United States is the archetypal federal union—sovereign states joined under a constitution that divides power between national and state governments.
The founders debated whether a federal union or a loose confederation would better serve the new nation.
- common marketIntegrated trading zone
- constitutionInherent physical or structural makeup
- founding fathersMale originators of institutions
- Holy Roman EmpireMedieval Germanic political entity
- treatyBinding pact between nations
decentralization · charter · sovereignty · central authority · judicial review · subsidiarity · enumerated powers · separation of powers · checks and balances · bicameral legislature · constitutional democracy · amendment process · Bundesrat · power sharing · regional autonomy · supranationalism · devolution · dual sovereignty
- labor unionsAFL-CIO, Teamsters, locals, shop steward, unionization
federal unioncentralized government
Authority held by one body
absolute monarchy · autocracy · direct rule · dictatorship · empire
federal unionconfederation
Autonomous entities united loosely
military alliance · sovereign nations · separatism · secession · disunion
federal, union, federate, federation, federated, federalism, federalist, federalize, federalization