Federal republics: list, history and interesting facts

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

A federal republic is a state with a complex structure and a two-tier system of government and legislative activity. This is an association of several territorial entities that have legal and political independence. That is, the state-territorial units of the federation do not have sovereignty, but they have fairly large powers in the field of domestic policy. Another sign is that none of these republics has the right to freely secede from the association.

Federative republics have a republican form of government. In other words, the authorities are elected for a certain period or formed by the parliament. The main difference between the republican form of government and other forms is the election of the head of state, no hereditary transfer of power is provided.

Historical examples

Naturally, the most striking example is the USSR. The state lasted 69 years: from 1922 to 1991. The country occupied the largest area in comparison with other states: about 1/6 of the inhabited land of the entire planet.

It was formed on the territory of the Russian Empire, not including Finland, but partially occupyingKingdom of Poland and a number of other states. Since 1989, the process of disintegration of the federation began. It was accompanied by sharp resistance and confrontation within both the central government and at the local level. As a result, a referendum was held in March 1991 (only in 9 out of 15 republics). As a result of the voting, it turned out that 2/3 of those who voted for the preservation of the federation, albeit in a renewed composition. But after the August coup, the authorities could no longer maintain the former borders. In December of the same year, a declaration was signed on the demise of the Soviet Union.

The USSR included 15 republics, for example - the Russian Federal Socialist Republic. This abbreviation was used even in relation to an independent state from 1917 to 1922. The name appeared in official documents in 1918. Later, the RSFSR became part of the Soviet Union.

At the level of the Constitution of the USSR, the concept of the Soviet Federative Socialist Republic was introduced in 1936. In the basic law of the country itself, the abbreviation appeared a year later.

Czechoslovak Socialist Republic

This state is also a historical example of federation. It existed for about 30 years. Although the constitutional law on the Czechoslovak Federation was adopted only in 1969, when the unitary form was abolished and the transformation into a federation took place. It included only 2 republics - Czech and Slovak. In 1993, the union broke up, and two new sovereign state units appeared - the Czech Republic andSlovakia.

Republic of the United Provinces

One of the "oldest" federal republics, which bore the official name - the Republic of the Seven United Lower Lands. The union existed for quite a long time: from 1581 to 1795. - 214 years old. The federation occupied no more than 40 thousand km², with a population of about 1.8 million inhabitants. However, it included 9 provinces:

Holland.
Geldern.
Zealand.
Friesland.
Utrecht.
Overijssel.
Gronigen.

And also the province of Drenthe Landscape. It did not even have a representative in the Estates General. However, it was listed with a full provincial status and a legislative body in its region. It also included the General Lands - territories that were not included in any province, they were controlled directly by the General States.

Modern realities

Today, there are 23 federal states in the world. Republics are represented in the form of parliamentary, presidential, mixed and federal forms.

Presidential republics

A feature of such a federal government is that the president plays a significant role in the country. The powers of the head of government and state are concentrated in his hands. It is still possible to characterize such a form of government as a dualistic republic. In other words, the executive power is concentrated in the hands of the president, and legislative activity is given topayback to parliament.

List of states:

Name	Number of autonomous territorial units	Economy
Argentina	23 provinces and 1 autonomous capital region	One of the ten largest countries with uranium deposits. In 2014, there was a technical default in the country, although the head of state completely denied this information. GDP per capita in 2015 was $13,425.
Brazil	26 states and 1 metropolitan area	GDP per capita in 2014 – $11,281
Union of Comoros	4 autonomous islands controlled by France	The human development index in the republic is very low - it ranks 169th. GDP per person last year was about $744
Mexico	Composed of 31 states and 1 federal district	The country's human development index is quite high - 0.775 and the country is in 61st place in this indicator
Federated States of Micronesia	4 states	The population of the republic is about 105 thousand people. The state is inextricably linked with the United States and there is a high rate of emigration here: about 0.28%
Nigeria	36 states and 1 capital	A fairly poor country with a GDP per capita in 2016 of $2,640
South Sudan	10 states and some disputed territories	Ranked 181st in terms of living standards, with a HDI of 0.418
USA	50 States	GDP in 2016 for 1 person - $57,220
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela	23 states	In 2017, about 93% of the population complains of malnutrition in the country, and the expected inflation rate is 1000%
Republic of the Union of Myanmar	7 states and 5 self-governing zones	70% of the population is employed in agriculture. The country has huge natural resources: from gas to gold. The state is the second after Afghanistan in the illicit manufacture and export of opium
Somalia	6 states	Despite the constant internal strife, the country manages to maintain the economy at an average level. Main areas - livestock and remittances
Sudan	18 provinces	The main sector of the economy is livestock and oil production, but the HDI is quite low at 0.479

Parliamentary States

Federative republics with this uniformboards are characterized by preponderance of powers towards parliament. The government of the country is responsible for its actions to him, not to the president.

List of states:

Name	Number of autonomous territorial units	Economy
Austria	9 federal states	Very high HDI of 0.881
Bosnia and Herzegovina	2 entities: Federation of Bosnia, Herzegovina and Republika Srpska	Actually considered a confederation - members have the right to terminate the agreement with the state and withdraw from the membership at any time
Ethiopia	Includes 9 regions and 2 city-regions, the division was carried out according to ethnic composition	GDP in 2016 was $159 billion
Germany	16 Equal Lands	HDI as of 2015 was 0.926 - 4th place
India	29 states, 6 union territories, 1 national capital district	Despite the most ancient history and the fact that the state ranks 7th in terms of territory, GDP per capita in 2014 was $1,626, which is 145th in the world
Iraq	18 provinces	Agrarian country, which in terms of living standardsis in 121st place
Nepal	5 regions	The standard of living is average. The country has many protected areas and national parks
Pakistan	4 Provinces, 2 Kashmir Territories, 1 Tribal Territory, 1 Capital Territory	Sustained economic growth since 2000

Country with a federal principle of government

On this list, only 1 country is Switzerland. Despite the fact that the state occupies only 132nd place in the world in terms of territory, the standard of living here is quite high. The HDI in 2015 reached the level of 0.917. There are 20 cantons and 6 semi-cantons in the republic. In turn, these territorial units can be divided into districts, communities and cities.