In federal countries, power is shared between a government for the whole country โ which is sometimes called federal government, national government or Union government โ 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, โWhat is Federalism?โ 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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The panel stepped back to examine how federal principles can guide practical solutions in an increasingly complex world.
โข Christian Paradis โ Treasurer, Forum of Federations and Former Federal Minister
โข Idee Inyangudor โ Vice President, Global Partnerships, Wellington Advocay
โข Ana Carolina Lorena โ Distinguished Fellow, Forum of Federations
โข Andrรฉ Lecours โ 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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The next Policy Brief in our series exploring the effects and lessons of the Dayton Agreement is here!
In this brief Mari Katayanagi, Yuji Uesugi, and Xiru Zhao examine the 2020 Mostar Agreement and the role that local initiatives can play in peacebuilding. What lessons can we learn from the Agreement on perceptions of inclusivity and exclusivity in power-sharing arrangements?
๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ: www.forumfed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Katayanagi_et_al_InclusivePeaceBosniaSeries_FINAL.pdf
This Policy Brief series is brought to you by the Forum of Federations and the InclusivePeace: Citizen Inclusion in Power-Sharing Settlements project.
๐๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐๐ฏ๐ค๐ญ๐ถ๐ด๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ: ๐๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ป๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐ฏ๐ค๐ญ๐ถ๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ-๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐ฆ๐ต๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด
The Inclusive Peace project is an international collaborative research initiative which investigates the adoptability and adaptability of power-sharing settlements, including what influences a citizenโs decision to endorse settlements and their capacity to shape those agreements over time. The project is funded by an Open Research Area 7 grant.
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐: www.forumfed.org/collection/federalism-power-sharing-and-citizen-inclusion-evaluating-the-dayton-...
Look out for the next brief in the series, coming soon!
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