In federal countries, power is shared between a government for the whole country – which is sometimes called federal government, national government or Union government – and governments for federal units within this country. Federal units are also often called provinces, states or cantons. Federalism means the constitution divides power between at least two levels or orders of government.Both orders have a direct electoral relationship with their citizens. In some federal countries, people also elect their local government, which may also be constitutionally recognized.
The federal government is responsible for common purposes for the whole country such as national defence, currency and foreign relations. The states or provinces are empowered to act within their areas of responsibility as it is described in the constitution. The federal government cannot arbitrarily take away the power of the federal units.
Watch this Forum of Federations animated video called, “What is Federalism?” to get a basic understanding of Federalism.
Click the blue button below to learn more about Federalism including which countries are federal and benefits of federalism
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How does the behaviour of political actors affect institutions in power-sharing settlements? Find out how ‘strategic defection’ has affected Bosnia and Herzegovina the latest Policy Brief in our series on Dayton at 30!
Aleksandra Zdeb explores the incentives and disincentives of actors in a power-sharing system, and what lesson we can learn from BiH when it comes to institutional design.
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: www.forumfed.org/document/the-defection-punishment-cycle-the-curious-case-of-milorad-dodik-and-th...
This Policy Brief series is brought to you by the Forum of Federations and the InclusivePeace: Citizen Inclusion in Power-Sharing Settlements project.
𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘐𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦: 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘯 𝘐𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳-𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴
The Inclusive Peace project is an international collaborative research initiative which investigates the adoptability and adaptability of power-sharing settlements, including what influences a citizen’s decision to endorse settlements and their capacity to shape those agreements over time. The project is funded by an Open Research Area 7 grant.
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀: www.forumfed.org/collection/federalism-power-sharing-and-citizen-inclusion-evaluating-the-dayton-...
Look out for more briefs in the series, coming soon!
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The panel stepped back to examine how federal principles can guide practical solutions in an increasingly complex world.
• Christian Paradis — Treasurer, Forum of Federations and Former Federal Minister
• Idee Inyangudor — Vice President, Global Partnerships, Wellington Advocay
• Ana Carolina Lorena — Distinguished Fellow, Forum of Federations
• André Lecours — Professor, University of Ottawa
The panelists highlighted how dialogue, shared responsibility, and adaptive multilevel governance remain essential to addressing the challenges federations face.
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