Switzerland Federal Partner. Sudan Federal. Spain Federal. South Africa Federal. Russia Federal. Pakistan Federal Partner Program. Nigeria Federal Partner. Nepal Federal Program. Malaysia Federal. Iraq Federal. India Federal Partner. Germany Federal Partner.
Ethiopia Federal Partner Program. Belgium Federal. Austria Federal. Argentina Federal. Bosnia and Herzegovina Federal. Canada Federal Partner. And why might a country consider adopting a federal system? The answer is that federalism provides a practical way for groups of people who have some things in common, but also some important differences, to live together. They do this by sharing powers over the things they have in common — like international trade, for example.
At the same time these groups maintain some level of self-rule over those things that concern their own interests, for example, education, primary healthcare and broadcasting. It is also often chosen by countries which have a very diverse population, living in different parts of the country, who wish to preserve their own identities. Their diversity could be ethnic, religious or linguistic. Belgium, Switzerland and Nepal are such countries.
As a response to these challenges of size and diversity, federalism can take various forms. And, since no single country is exactly like another, no federal system is exactly alike either.
Nevertheless, federalism does have some distinct, defining characteristics which make it different from other forms of decentralisation. The first characteristic is that federal systems have at least two levels of government. There is a central level of government also sometimes known as the federal or union level which governs the entire country in relation to issues of importance to everyone. This usually means matters like defence, the armed forces, foreign policy, trade, citizenship, macro-economic policy, and national infrastructure like ports and airports.
The second level of government operates in the states, regions, provinces, or other entities into which the country is divided. Each of these has control over certain types of policy and legislation, usually of immediate relevance to its own people.
These are of course just typical examples. The level of decentralisation and the exact distribution of powers and responsibilities varies greatly between federations depending on their needs and circumstances. For example, in Nigeria, environmental protection is a state matter, but in Malaysia, it is run along federal lines.
In some federal systems there are powers which do not belong exclusively to either level of government but are shared between them.
In India, for example, both the Indian Parliament and the State Legislatures can pass laws on criminal justice and social and economic planning. But, if there is incompatibility between them, the central level of legislation prevails. A second characteristic of federalism is that it provides processes and mechanisms by which the different states, provinces or regions of the federation can be included in decision-making at the central or union level.
Normally, this takes the form of an upper House of Parliament, or Senate, in which these states, provinces or regions are represented. In Australia and Argentina, for example, each state is represented in the Senate by an equal number of directly elected Senators; in India and Malaysia, some members of the upper house are chosen indirectly by the members of the State legislatures.
Power-sharing is also achieved through co-operation between different levels of government. In Canada, a Council made up of the heads of provincial governments meets to discuss issues of common interest and to coordinate service delivery. For example, although healthcare in Canada is primarily a provincial concern, the Council has enabled provincial ministers to work together to lower pharmaceutical prices across the entire country.
The third characteristic is that in federal systems the powers and responsibilities of the different levels of government are enshrined in a constitution which protects this federal agreement from being easily changed.
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