Everything about Federacy totally explained
A
federacy is a
form of government where one or several substate units enjoy considerably more independence than the majority of the substate units.
Description
A federacy is a
form of government that shares features of both a
federation and
unitary state, or a
confederation and a
federation. In a federacy, at least one of the constituent parts of the
state is
autonomous, while the majority of constituent parts are either not autonomous or comparatively less autonomous. An example of such an arrangement is
Finland, where
Åland, which has the status of autonomous province, has considerably more autonomy than other Finnish provinces. The autonomous constituent part enjoys independence as though it was part of federation, while the other constituent parts are as independent as subunits in a unitary state. This autonomy is guaranteed in the country's
constitution. The autonomous subunits are often former
colonial possessions. These autonomous subunits often have a special status in
international relations.
Federacies
Several states are federacies. The exact autonomy of the subunits differs from country to country.
Denmark, Greenland, and Faroe Islands
- See Rigsfællesskabet
Denmark has 5 regions (regioner). Greenland and the Faroe Islands are also part of the Kingdom, but as separate communities of the Kingdom, enjoy a high degree of autonomy. Most Danish laws have a specific clause stating that the laws don't extend to Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Each of them send two representatives to Folketinget (the Danish parliament). Defense and diplomatic affairs are duties of Denmark, but they also participate directly in some Nordic organizations, such as the Nordic Council. Both have chosen not to participate in the European Union. Decisions by the highest courts of Greenland and the Faroe Islands can be appealed to the Danish Supreme Court. Greenland and the Faroe Islands were originally respectively a colonial possession and a dependency; later integral parts of Denmark. The Faroe Islands were granted home rule in 1948 and Greenland followed suit in 1979.
Finland and Åland
Finland is divided into six
provinces.
Åland, although one of the six provinces, enjoys a high degree of home rule as opposed to the five in
mainland Finland. Extensive autonomy is granted in the Act on the Autonomy of Åland of 1920 (last revised 1991), and the autonomy was affirmed by a
League of Nations decision in 1921. The government of Åland handles duties exercised by state provincial offices of the central government in other provinces. It sends one representative to the Finnish parliament. It is demilitarised, and is a member of the Nordic Council. Most of Åland's inhabitants speak
Swedish. Åland's autonomous status was a result of disputes between Sweden and Russia, and between Finland and Sweden.
France and its overseas lands
The
French Republic is divided into 26
régions, 22 of which are in
metropolitan France (
Corsica, one of these, is strictly speaking not a
région, but is often counted as such). Four of the
régions are
régions d'outre-mer (overseas regions). France also has four
collectivités d'outre-mer, one
territoire d'outre-mer. All are integral parts of France and subject to
French law, but
New Caledonia (a
collectivité sui generis), and
French Polynesia (one of the four
collectivités d'outre-mer, but with the designation of
pays d'outre-mer) have considerably more autonomy. All (except the uninhabited
French Southern and Antarctic Territory) are represented in the
French parliament. Defence and diplomatic affairs are responsibilities of France, but they do participate in some organisations directly. Réunion, for example, is a member of the
Indian Ocean Commission. In addition, France has the remote
Clipperton Island in the Pacific. French overseas territories were in the past colonial possessions.
India and Kashmir
India is a democratic federation. After independence, various princely states were formally invited to join the Indian Republic, which were accepted. The Kashmir province was ruled by a Hindu king but the majority of its population was Muslim. When Pakistani militants invaded his land, the king agreed to join the Indian Republic, with an agreement for Kashmiri autonomy.
Currently, Kashmir is a disputed territory, with both India and Pakistan claiming it as their own. India controls about two-thirds and Pakistan controls the remainder. The area under the control of Pakistan is generally referred to as Azad Kashmir.
Netherlands, Aruba, and Netherlands Antilles
The
Kingdom of the Netherlands consists of three autonomous countries, linked by the
Statute of Kingdom of the Netherlands as constituent parts: the
Netherlands an autonomous, independent country, and the
Netherlands Antilles and
Aruba, two separate autonomous countries. The Netherlands Antilles used to be a colony of the Netherlands until 1954; Aruba split off from the Antilles, receiving a
status aparte, in 1986. The Statute links the three separate autonomous countries in a relation comparable to the free association between Cook Islands and New Zealand. All three countries have separate constitutions, governments and parliaments. The kingdom is responsible for diplomatic affairs, citizenship and defence.
The
Council of Ministers of the Kingdom as a whole consists
de jure of the
Council of Ministers of the Netherlands, and two ministers
plenipotentiary, nominated by the other countries each. The legislature of the kingdom consists of the parliament of the Netherlands.
De facto the cabinet and the parliament of the Netherlands take care of kingdom matters with limited participation of politicians of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. The Netherlands Antilles and Aruba share a Common Court of Appeals; the Dutch
Hoge Raad acts as their supreme court.
Dutch nationals related to these territories are fully European citizens; however, Dutch citizens residing in Netherlands Antilles or Aruba are normally not entitled to vote in European elections. Netherlands Antilles and Aruba are
overseas countries and territories (OCTs), listed under Annex II of the
EC treaty. Hence EC law doesn't apply there.
A reform will be implemented on
December 15,
2008: the Netherlands Antilles as such will be dissolved,
Curaçao and
Sint Maarten will gain autonomous country status like Aruba currently has, and the three remaining smaller islands will become special municipalities of the Netherlands itself.
Nicaragua, North Atlantic Autonomous Region, and South Atlantic Autonomous Region
Nicaragua is divided into 15 departments and two autonomous regions :
North Atlantic and
South Atlantic (both autonomous regions formed the department of
Zelaya).
Papua New Guinea and Bougainville
Papua New Guinea is divided into 20 provinces. Among them
Bougainville has an autonomous government.
Philippines and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is the only region that has its own government.
Portugal, Azores, and Madeira
Portugal has two
autonomous regions, namely
Azores and
Madeira. Together with the eighteen
districts on
mainland Portugal they form the Portuguese Republic. The autonomous regions possess their own political and administrative statute and have their own governments. They are represented in the Portuguese parliament, but have no international representation. They were granted autonomous status because of their distance from
mainland Portugal, and their separate history as semi-colonial possessions.
São Tomé and Príncipe and Príncipe
Príncipe has had self-government since 1995.
Serbia, Vojvodina, and Kosovo-Metohija
Serbia has two 'autonomous provinces' mandated by its constitution:
Vojvodina and
Kosovo (formally known as 'Kosovo and Metohija'). Though a small independence movement also exists in
Vojvodina,
Kosovo is the subject of a long-running political and territorial dispute between the Serbian (and previously, the
Yugoslav) government and Kosovo's largely ethnic-Albanian population. Kosovo decalred full independence from Serbia in February 2008 (
See Kosovo status process), which hasn't been recognized by Serbia.
Tanzania and Zanzibar
Tanzania is divided in
26 regions. Five of those regions together form
Zanzibar. This island is a self-governing region. It elects its own
president who has control over the internal matters of the island. Zanzibar was an independent
sultanate and a British protectorate, while
Tanganyika was a
German Schutzgebiet until 1919, when it became a British
mandate territory. The two were united in 1964, after a popular revolt against the Zanzibari sultan.
Ukraine and Crimea
Ukraine is divided in
twenty four oblasts, two municipalities with special legal status, (
Kiev and
Sevastopol) and one
autonomous republic,
Crimea. Until 1954 the peninsula of
Crimea was a province of the
Russian SFSR. It was transferred by Soviet leader
Nikita Khrushchev as a gesture to mark the 300th anniversary of the
Treaty of Pereyaslav. Its population mainly consists of Russians (58%), Ukrainians (24%) and
Crimean Tatars (12%). Despite attempts at
Ukrainization the main language is still Russian even for the government. The peninsula also houses the
Russian
Black Sea Fleet.
United States and Puerto Rico
The relationship between the
United States and
Puerto Rico is a federacy. Puerto Rico citizens and United States citizens may freely travel between both countries. Puerto Rico's government is subject to fewer restrictions than states are, and residents of Puerto Rico are exempt from some federal taxes. Puerto Rico's autonomy is guaranteed by the constitution of Puerto Rico, that can only be changed with the consent of both the U.S. Congress and the Puerto Rico legislature. Federal taxes don't automatically apply to Puerto Rico unless the Puerto Rican government wants them to. Although the U.S. government has full say over its foreign policy, Puerto Rico does maintain direct contacts with its Caribbean neighbours. There are occasions when the U.S. federal courts have taken jurisdiction on cases having to do with Puerto Rican law.
Puerto Rico differs from the aforementioned federacies for three reasons: Puerto Rico isn't mentioned in the U.S. constitution; therefore, Puerto Rico doesn't have voting representation in the U.S. Congress and lacks constitutional guarantees to protect it from the federal government.
Uzbekistan and Karakalpakstan
Karakalpakstan is an autonomous republic of
Uzbekistan. It occupies the whole western end of Uzbekistan.
Comparison to other systems of autonomy
Devolution
A federacy differs from a
devolved state, such as the
United Kingdom, because, in a devolved state, the central government can revoke the independence of the subunits (
Scottish Parliament,
Welsh National Assembly,
Northern Ireland Assembly in the case of the UK) without changing the constitution.
Associated States
A federacy also differs from an
associated state, such as the
Federated States of Micronesia (in free association with the
United States) and
Cook Islands and
Niue (which form part of the
Realm of New Zealand) since a state in free association is recognised as independent under international law.
Crown dependencies
The relation between the
Crown dependencies of the
Isle of Man and the bailiwicks of
Guernsey and
Jersey in the
Channel Islands and the
United Kingdom is very similar to a federate relation: the Islands enjoy independence from the United Kingdom, which, via The Crown, takes care of their foreign relations and defence - although the UK Parliament does have overall power to legislate for the dependencies. However, the islands are neither an incorporated part of the United Kingdom, nor are they considered to be independent or associated states. The
Isle of Man doesn't have a monarch but
Queen Elizabeth II holds the position of
Lord of Mann.
Overseas territories
British overseas territories are vested with varying degrees of power; some enjoy considerable independence from the United Kingdom, which only takes care of their foreign relations and defence. However, they're neither considered to be part of the United Kingdom, nor recognised as sovereign or associated states.
Asymmetric federations
In an
asymmetric federation one of the substates has more independence than the others. Examples of this are
Canada where
Quebec has been given political deference to craft independent language and education policies. The difference between an asymmetric federation and federacy is indistinct; a federacy is essentially an extreme case of an asymmetric federation, either due to large differences in the level of autonomy, or the rigidity of the constitutional arrangements.
Special Administrative Regions (People's Republic of China)
The
People's Republic of China has two
special administrative regions, namely
Hong Kong and
Macau, in an arrangement some may consider as close to a federacy. Under the principle of "
One Country, Two Systems", the two territories, according to their basic laws, enjoy extensive autonomy except in diplomatic affairs and defence, and participate in international organisations as "Hong Kong, China" and "Macau, China". Both are presented by deputies in the
National People's Congress (NPC), who are selected by a committee appointed by the
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC). Each has its own court of last resort, extradition policies, immigration and border control, and currency, and forms its own customs territory. Laws of the People's Republic of China don't apply in Hong Kong or Macau unless otherwise stated in Annex III of the
Basic Law of the territory concerned. Hong Kong and Macau were colonial possessions of, respectively, the United Kingdom and Portugal.
Further Information
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