federation

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federal government

federal government or federation, government of a union of states in which sovereignty is divided between a central authority and component state authorities. A federation differs from a confederation in that the central power acts directly upon individuals as well as upon states, thus creating the problem of dual allegiance. Substantial power over matters affecting the people as a whole, such as external affairs, commerce, coinage, and the maintenance of military forces, are usually granted to the central government. Nevertheless, retention of jurisdiction over local affairs by states is compatible with the federal system and makes allowance for local feelings. The chief political problem of a federal system of government is likely to be the allocation of sovereignty, because the need for unity among the federating states may conflict with their desire for autonomy. The Greek city-states failed to solve this problem, although religious and political federations were often attempted and the Aetolian and Achaean leagues had many of the institutions of federal government. The primacy of the central over the state governments was not resolved in the United States until after the Civil War. The distribution of powers between the federal and state governments is usually accomplished by means of a written constitution, for a federation does not exist if authority can be allocated by ordinary legislation. A fairly uniform legal system, as well as cultural and geographic affinities, is usually necessary for the success of a federation. Varieties of federation include the Swiss, where the federative principle is carried into the executive branch of government; the Australian, which closely reflects American states' rights and judicial doctrines; and the Canadian, which reverses common federative practice and allots residuary rights to the dominion government. Other examples of federal governments are the German Empire of 1871 and the present state of Germany, modern Russia, Mexico, South Africa, and India.

Bibliography

See J. Bryce, The American Commonwealth (rev. ed. 1959); K. Wheare, Federal Government (4th ed. 1964); D. J. Elazar, American Federalism (2d ed. 1972); W. H. Stewart, Concepts of Federalism (1984); H. Bakvis and W. M. Chandler, ed., Federalism and the Role of the State (1987); K. L. Hall, Federalism (1987).

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The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Federation

 

a state system in which a single sovereign state is composed of several united states, each of which juridically maintains a certain degree of political independence. Historically, the first bourgeois federation was the USA, established by the Constitution of 1787. Other federations include the Federal Republic of Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, India, Pakistan, Burma, Malaysia, Australia, and Nigeria. The USSR, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic are socialist federations.

A federation is marked by the following features: (1) territorial extent, a federation is coextensive with the area occupied by its individual members—its states, cantons, Lander, union republics, or other territorial units; (2) the member states of a federation usually have the right to adopt their own constitution; (3) the limits between federal and state jurisdiction are set forth in the federal constitution; (4) each member state of a federation has its own laws and judicial system; and (5) in most federations, a person is simultaneously a citizen of the union and a citizen of one of its united states. Some federations have a bicameral system in which one chamber represents the interests of the federation’s member states.

Socialist federations, which differ radically from bourgeois federations, are based on another principle entirely. In the USSR and in the socialist countries, for the first time in history the state system of federation has become the basis for resolving the national question. The socialist federations are based on the principle of national territoriality and the voluntary union of the sovereign and equal members of the federation, each member having the right to secede from the federation. The development and organization of national states have been influenced by the historical experience of the socialist countries, and particularly of the USSR; this influence is evident in some countries, such as Burma and India, that were freed from colonial dependence and that formed a type of federation consistent with their national makeup.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

federation

1. the union of several provinces, states, etc., to form a federal union
2. a political unit formed in such a way
3. any league, alliance, or confederacy
www.nga.gov.au/federation
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
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Bird also read the constitution of the SPC to show that the party was opposed to violence and bloodshed," according to a BC Federationist article.
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The significance is that the Federationist position was consistent with the class politics which had marked the SPC, and then the CCF.
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O'Sullivan as republican, feminist and federationist', in Headon and John Williams (eds), Makers of Miracles: The Cast of The Federation Story, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 2000, pp.
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On 11 June 1920 the BC Federationist published an article entitled "Parliament or Soviets?" a statement by chairman Gregory Zinoviev on behalf of the executive committee of the Third International.
Understanding the dictatorship of the proletariat: the Canadian left and the moment Of socialist possibility in 1919
No arrests were made, but Woodward accused police of abusing their powers and considered initiating legal action, declaring that he was "not a Socialist and not a member of the party." (145) The Victoria raids were part of a national dragnet that enveloped labour radicals from Vancouver to Montrdal, with the Federationist accusing the Dominion government of conspiring, through the RNWMP, "to establish a reign of terror so far as organized labor is concerned." (146) J.S.
Searching for workers' solidarity: the one big union and the Victoria General Strike of 1919
Within this political climate, a dejected labour newspaper, the British Columbia Federationist, forecast Gramsci's hegemonic theory by stating that "the powers of state, including the militia, the policemen, the courts, the judges, the jails, the penitentiaries, the press, the pulpit, the civil services, and all that the machinery of government implies, are today in the hands of the employing class." (68) Although the paper exaggerated the employers' control over the state, their political dominance was given a boost by the Conservative landslide in the 1912 provincial election.
The state and employers' associations in British Columbia: 1900-1932
(53) The BC Federationist, 15 July 1921, lists a strike at Gillies Bay, Texada Island, that involved the LWIU, but it is unclear whether or not the union had a local there or not.
What's law got to do with it? The IWA and the politics of state power in British Columbia, 1935-1999
His speech, given to a crowd of at least one thousand, was greeted with "tremendous cheering" and the BC Federationist later printed a letter supporting both Gosden and his call for industrial sabotage.
Portrait of a labour spy: the case of Robert Raglan Gosden, 1882-1961
(24) "Workers' Party Notes," The Citizen (Halifax), 20 October 1922; Samuel Gompers, "Another Attempt at Soviet Dictatorship Unmasked," American Federationist, May 1922; Philip S.
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Among the Imperial Federationists in Canada (many of whom were Social Darwinists), there was a great deal of concern about immigration from southern, eastern and central Europe, from which increasing proportions of immigrants were coming in the last two decades before 1914.
What is 'race' and what is 'racism'? (2)
Education of that kind will be considered biased, subversive and unAustralian, but Bob Menzies would never have thought so; in fact, no conservative politician since the early Federationists would have questioned the right of our young to unfettered scholarship.
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As we have seen, Curtis's ideas drew heavily on the campaigns of the imperial federationists of the 1880s and early 1890s.
Lionel Curtis, imperial citizenship, and the quest for unity

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