Editing Federalism (section)

==Constitutional structure==
===Division of powers===
{{distinguish|separation of powers}}
In a federation, the division of power between federal and regional governments is usually outlined in the [[constitution]]. Almost every country allows some degree of regional self-government, but in federations the right to self-government of the component states is constitutionally entrenched. Component states often also possess their own constitutions which they may amend as they see fit, although in the event of conflict the federal constitution usually takes precedence.

In almost all federations the central government enjoys the powers of foreign policy and national defense as [[exclusive federal powers]]. Were this not the case a federation would not be a single sovereign state, per the UN definition. Notably, the [[states of Germany]] retain the right to act on their own behalf at an international level, a condition originally granted in exchange for the [[Kingdom of Bavaria]]'s agreement to join the [[German Empire]] in 1871. The constitutions of [[Grundgesetz|Germany]] and the [[United States Constitution|United States]] provide that all powers not specifically granted to the federal government are retained by the states. The Constitution of some countries, like [[Constitution of Canada|Canada]] and [[Constitution of India|India]], state that powers not explicitly granted to the provincial/state governments are retained by the federal government. Much like the US system, the Australian Constitution allocates to the Federal government (the Commonwealth of Australia) the power to make laws about certain specified matters which were considered too difficult for the States to manage, so that the States retain all other areas of responsibility. Under the division of powers of the European Union in the [[Treaty of Lisbon|Lisbon Treaty]], powers which are not either exclusively of [[Template:European Union competences|Union competence]] or shared between the Union and the Member States as [[concurrent powers]] are retained by the constituent States.

[[File:La esp Rep. Federal, Rep. Unitaria (2).JPG|thumb|Satiric depiction of late 19th-century political tensions in Spain]]
Where every component state of a federation possesses the same powers, we are said to find 'symmetric federalism'. [[Asymmetric federalism]] exists where states are granted different powers, or some possess greater autonomy than others do. This is often done in recognition of the existence of a distinct culture in a particular region or regions. In Spain, the [[History of the Basque people#Late Modern history|Basques]] and [[Catalan people|Catalans]], as well as the [[Galicians]], spearheaded a historic movement to have their national specificity recognized, crystallizing in the "historical communities" such as [[Navarre]], [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]], [[Catalonia]], and the [[Basque Country (autonomous community)|Basque Country]]. They have more powers than the later expanded arrangement for other Spanish regions, or [[Autonomous communities of Spain|the Spain of the autonomous communities]] (called also the "coffee for everyone" arrangement), partly to deal with their separate identity and to appease peripheral nationalist leanings, partly out of respect to [[Fuero#Basque and Pyrenean fueros|specific rights they had held]] earlier in history. However, strictly speaking Spain is not a federation, but a system of asymmetric devolved government within a unitary state.

It is common that during the historical evolution of a federation there is a gradual movement of power from the component states to the centre, as the federal government acquires additional powers, sometimes to deal with unforeseen circumstances. The acquisition of new powers by a federal government may occur through formal constitutional amendment or simply through a broadening of the interpretation of a government's existing constitutional powers given by the courts.

Usually, a federation is formed at two levels: the central government and the regions (states, provinces, territories), and little to nothing is said about second or third level administrative political entities. Brazil is an exception, because the 1988 Constitution included the municipalities as autonomous political entities making the federation tripartite, encompassing the Union, the States, and the municipalities. Each state is divided into municipalities (''municípios'') with their own legislative council (''câmara de vereadores'') and a mayor (''prefeito''), which are partly autonomous from both Federal and State Government. Each municipality has a "little constitution", called "organic law" (''lei orgânica''). Mexico is an intermediate case, in that municipalities are granted full-autonomy by the federal constitution and their existence as autonomous entities (''municipio libre'', "free municipality") is established by the federal government and cannot be revoked by the states' constitutions. Moreover, the federal constitution determines which powers and competencies belong exclusively to the municipalities and not to the [[political divisions of Mexico|constituent states]]. However, municipalities do not have an elected legislative assembly.

Federations often employ the [[paradox]] of being a union of states, while still being states (or having aspects of [[Sovereign state|statehood]]) in themselves. For example, James Madison (author of the [[United States Constitution]]) wrote in [[Federalist No. 39|Federalist Paper No. 39]] that the US Constitution "is in strictness neither a national nor a federal constitution; but a composition of both. In its foundation, it is federal, not national; in the sources from which the ordinary powers of the Government are drawn, it is partly federal, and partly national..." This stems from the fact that states in the US maintain all [[sovereignty]] that they do not yield to the federation by their own consent. This was reaffirmed by the [[Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution]], which reserves all powers and rights that are not delegated to the Federal Government as left to the States and to the people.

===Bicameralism===
The structures of most federal governments incorporate mechanisms to protect the rights of component states. One method, known as '[[intrastate federalism]]', is to directly represent the governments of component states in federal political institutions. Where a federation has a [[bicameral]] legislature the [[upper house]] is often used to represent the component states while the [[lower house]] represents the people of the nation as a whole. A federal upper house may be based on a special scheme of [[apportionment (politics)|apportionment]], as is the case in the [[senate]]s of the United States and Australia, where each state is represented by an equal number of senators irrespective of the size of its population.

Alternatively, or in addition to this practice, the members of an upper house may be indirectly elected by the government or legislature of the component states, as occurred in the United States [[Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|prior to 1913]], or be actual members or delegates of the state governments, as, for example, is the case in the [[Bundesrat (Germany)|German Bundesrat]] and in the [[Council of the European Union]]. The lower house of a federal legislature is usually directly elected, with apportionment in proportion to population, although states may sometimes still be guaranteed a certain minimum number of seats.

===Intergovernmental relations===
In Canada, the provincial governments represent regional interests and negotiate directly with the central government. A [[First Ministers conference]] of the prime minister and the provincial premiers is the ''[[de facto]]'' highest political forum in the land, although it is not mentioned in the constitution.

===Constitutional change===
Federations often have special procedures for amendment of the federal constitution. As well as reflecting the federal structure of the state this may guarantee that the self-governing status of the component states cannot be abolished without their consent. An amendment to the constitution of the United States must be ratified by three-quarters of either the state legislatures, or of constitutional conventions specially elected in each of the states, before it can come into effect. In referendums to amend the constitutions of Australia and Switzerland it is required that a proposal be endorsed not just by an overall majority of the electorate in the nation as a whole, but also by separate majorities in each of a majority of the states or cantons. In Australia, this latter requirement is known as a ''double majority''.

Some federal constitutions also provide that certain constitutional amendments cannot occur without the unanimous consent of all states or of a particular state. The US constitution provides that no state may be deprived of equal representation in the senate without its consent. In Australia, if a proposed amendment will specifically impact one or more states, then it must be endorsed in the referendum held in each of those states. Any amendment to the Canadian constitution that would modify the role of the [[Monarchy in Canada|monarchy]] would require unanimous consent of the provinces. The [[Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany|German Basic Law]] provides that no amendment is admissible at all that would abolish the federal system.

===Other technical terms===
* [[Fiscal federalism]] – the relative financial positions and the financial relations between the levels of government in a federal system.
* Formal federalism (or '[[constitutional federalism]]') – the delineation of powers is specified in a written constitution, which may or may not correspond to the actual operation of the system in practice.
* [[Executive federalism]] refers in the English-speaking tradition to the intergovernmental relationships between the executive branches of the levels of government in a federal system and in the continental European tradition to the way constituent units 'execute' or administer laws made centrally.
* [[Gleichschaltung]] – the conversion from a federal governance to either a completely unitary or more unitary one, the term was borrowed from the German for conversion from [[Alternating current|alternating]] to [[direct current]].<ref>{{cite book | last=Koonz | first=Claudia | title=The Nazi Conscience | location=Cambridge, MA | publisher=Belknap Press of Harvard University Press | year=2003 | isbn=978-0-674-01172-4|page=72 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/naziconscience00koon }}</ref> During the Nazi era the [[States of the Weimar Republic|traditional German states]] were mostly left intact in the formal sense, but their constitutional rights and sovereignty were eroded and ultimately ended and replaced with the [[Gau (territory)#Nazi period|Gau system]]. ''Gleichschaltung'' also has a broader sense referring to political consolidation in general.
* defederalize – to remove from federal government, such as taking a responsibility from a national level government and giving it to states or provinces.