Federal republic
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A federal republic is a federation of states with a republican form of government.[1] At its core, the literal meaning of the word republic when used to reference a form of government means: "a country that is governed by elected representatives and by an elected leader (such as a president) rather than by a king or queen".
In a federal republic, there is a division of powers between the federal government, and the government of the individual subdivisions. While each federal republic manages this division of powers differently, common matters relating to security and defense, and monetary policy are usually handled at the federal level, while matters such as infrastructure maintenance and education policy are usually handled at the regional or local level. However, views differ on what issues should be a federal competence, and subdivisions usually have sovereignty in some matters where the federal government does not have jurisdiction. A federal republic is thus best defined in contrast to a unitary republic, whereby the central government has complete sovereignty over all aspects of political life. This more decentralized structure helps to explain the tendency for more populous countries to operate as federal republics.[2] Most federal republics codify the division of powers between orders of government in a written constitutional document.
The political differences between a federal republic and other federal states, especially federal monarchies under a parliamentary system of government, are largely a matter of legal form rather than political substance, as most federal states are democratic in structure if not practice with checks and balances. However, some federal monarchies, such as the United Arab Emirates are based upon principles other than democracy.
Contemporary
| Country | Official name and style | Administrative divisions | Form of government |
|---|---|---|---|
 Argentina | Argentine Republic | Provinces (23) and autonomous city (1) | Presidential system |
 Austria[3] | Republic of Austria | States (9) | Parliamentary republic |
 Bosnia and Herzegovina[4] | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Entities (2) and self-governing district (1) | Parliamentary republic |
 Brazil[5] | Federative Republic of Brazil | States (26) and federal district (1) | Presidential system |
 Comoros | Union of the Comoros | Autonomous islands (3) | Presidential system |
 Ethiopia[6] | Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia | Regions (10) and chartered cities (2) | Parliamentary republic |
 Germany[7] | Federal Republic of Germany | States (16) | Parliamentary republic |
 India[8] | Republic of India | States (28) and union territories (8) | Parliamentary republic |
 Iraq | Republic of Iraq | Governorates (19) | Parliamentary republic |
 Mexico[9] | United Mexican States | States (31) and autonomous entity (1) | Presidential system |
 Micronesia | Federated States of Micronesia | States (4) | Presidential system |
 Nepal[10] | Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal | Provinces (7) | Parliamentary republic |
 Nigeria[11] | Federal Republic of Nigeria | States (36) and federal territory (1) | Presidential system |
 Pakistan[12] | Islamic Republic of Pakistan | Provinces (4), autonomous territories (2) and federal territory (1) | Parliamentary republic |
 Russia[13] | Russian Federation | Federal subjects (85) | Semi-presidential system |
 Somalia | Federal Republic of Somalia | Federal member states (5) | Parliamentary republic |
 South Sudan | Republic of South Sudan | States (10), administrative areas (2) and area with special administrative status (1) | Presidential system |
 Sudan | Republic of the Sudan | States (18) | Provisional government |
 Switzerland[14] | Swiss Confederation | Cantons (26) | Parliamentary republic |
 United States[15] | United States of America | States (50) and federal district (1) | Presidential system |
 Venezuela[16] | Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela | States (23) and capital district (1) | Presidential system |
Historical
| Country | Official name and style | Period of federal form of government | Administrative divisions |
|---|---|---|---|
 Dutch Republic | Republic of the Seven United Netherlands | 1581–1795 | Provinces |
 Gran Colombia | Republic of Colombia | 1819–1831 | |
 Federal Republic of Central America | Federal Republic of Central America | 1823–1838 | |
 Granadine Confederation | Granadine Confederation | 1858–1863 | |
 United States of Colombia | United States of Colombia | 1863–1886 | States |
 Republic of China | Republic of China | 1912–1928 | Provinces |
 Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus | Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus | 1917–1922 | Republics |
 Weimar Republic | German Reich | 1919–1933 | States |
 East Germany | German Democratic Republic | 1949–1952 | States |
 Soviet Union[a] | Union of Soviet Socialist Republics | 1922–1991 | Republics |
 Yugoslavia[17] | Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia (1945–1963) Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1963–1992) | 1945–1992 | Republics |
 Serbia and Montenegro | Federal Republic of Yugoslavia | 1992–2003 | Constituent republics |
 Burma | Union of Burma | 1948–1962 | States |
 Indonesia | Republic of the United States of Indonesia | 1949–1950[b] | States |
 Cameroon | Federal Republic of Cameroon | 1961–1972 | |
 Czechoslovak Socialist Republic[17] | Czechoslovak Republic (1948–1960) Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (1960–1990) | 1969–1990 | Republics |
| Czech and Slovak Federative Republic | Czech and Slovak Federative Republic | 1990–1992 | Republics |
See also
- Form of government
- List of republics
- Federal monarchy
Notes and references
- ^ Nominally a federal union of multiple national republics; in practice its government and economy were highly centralized until its final years.
- ^ The states lived on until a final treaty in 1956 in which Republic of South Maluku and the State of Eastern Sumatra agreed to devolve into the Republic of Indonesia.
- ^ "republic".
- ^ Forum of Federations: [1], Schram, Sanford. Handbook of Federal Countries: United States, pg 373–391, 2005.
- ^ CIA World Factbook: Austria, 14 May 2009
- ^ CIA World Factbook: Bosnia and Herzegovina, 14 May 2009
- ^ CIA World Factbook: Brazil, 14 May 2009
- ^ CIA World Factbook: Ethiopia, 14 May 2009
- ^ CIA World Factbook: Germany, 14 May 2009
- ^ CIA World Factbook: India, 14 May 2009
- ^ CIA World Factbook: Mexico, 14 May 2009
- ^ CIA World Factbook: Nepal, 14 May 2009
- ^ CIA World Factbook: Nigeria, 14 May 2009
- ^ CIA World Factbook: Pakistan, 14 May 2009
- ^ "Text of the Russian constitution in English". Constituteproject.org.
- ^ CIA World Factbook: Switzerland, 14 May 2009
- ^ CIA World Factbook: United States, 14 May 2009
- ^ CIA World Factbook: Venezuela, 14 May 2009
- ^ a b "The CIA World Factbook officially dated October 15, 1991". Archived from the original on 2011-05-11. Retrieved 2011-02-05.
Media files used on this page
Flag of Austria.svg
Flag of Austria with the red in the Austrian national colours which was official ordered within the Austrian Armed Forces (Bundesheer) in the characteristic “Pantone 032 C” (since May 2018 the Red is ordered in the characteristic “Pantone 186 C”.)
Flag of Austria with the red in the Austrian national colours which was official ordered within the Austrian Armed Forces (Bundesheer) in the characteristic “Pantone 032 C” (since May 2018 the Red is ordered in the characteristic “Pantone 186 C”.)
Flag of Brazil.svg
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Author/Creator: unknown, Licence: PD
Flag of Ethiopia.svg
Flag of Ethiopia
Flag of Ethiopia
Flag of India.svg
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Author/Creator: unknown, Licence:
Flag of Mexico.svg
Flag of Mexico Official version of the Flag of the United Mexican States or Mexico, adopted September 16th 1968 by Decree (Published August 17th 1968), Ratio 4:7. The previous version of the flag displayed a slightly different Coat of Arms. It was redesigned to be even more resplendent due to the upcoming Mexico City 1968 Olympic Games; According to Flag of Mexico, the colors are Green Pantone 3425 C and Red Pantone 186 C. According to [1] or [2], that translates to RGB 206, 17, 38 for the red, and RGB 0, 104, 71 for the green.
Flag of Mexico Official version of the Flag of the United Mexican States or Mexico, adopted September 16th 1968 by Decree (Published August 17th 1968), Ratio 4:7. The previous version of the flag displayed a slightly different Coat of Arms. It was redesigned to be even more resplendent due to the upcoming Mexico City 1968 Olympic Games; According to Flag of Mexico, the colors are Green Pantone 3425 C and Red Pantone 186 C. According to [1] or [2], that translates to RGB 206, 17, 38 for the red, and RGB 0, 104, 71 for the green.
Flag of South Sudan.svg
Flag of South Sudan (originally of the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement)
Flag of South Sudan (originally of the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement)
Flag of Switzerland.svg
Flag of Switzerland. To view Commons page of Switzerland → Confoederatio Helvetica.
Flag of Switzerland. To view Commons page of Switzerland → Confoederatio Helvetica.
Flag of the United States.svg
Author/Creator: unknown, Licence: PD
Author/Creator: unknown, Licence: PD
Statenvlag.svg
Flag of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (known as the Hollandsche Vlag or Statenvlag).
Replaced orange with red, please see this discussion on the German Wikipedia for more information.
Flag of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (known as the Hollandsche Vlag or Statenvlag).
Replaced orange with red, please see this discussion on the German Wikipedia for more information.
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Flag of Germany (3-2 aspect ratio).svg
Flag of Germany with a 3:2 ratio, instead of 3:5. The 3:2 version was used by the German Confederation and the Weimar Republic. See Flags of the World for more information.
Flag of Germany with a 3:2 ratio, instead of 3:5. The 3:2 version was used by the German Confederation and the Weimar Republic. See Flags of the World for more information.
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Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg
Flag of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).
The design (blazon) is defined in Article 4 of the Constitution for the Republic of Yugoslavia (1946). [1]
Flag of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).
The design (blazon) is defined in Article 4 of the Constitution for the Republic of Yugoslavia (1946). [1]
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Flag of Serbia and Montenegro (1992–2006).svg
Flag of Serbia and Montenegro, was adopted on 27 April 1992, as flag of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992-2003).
Flag of Serbia and Montenegro, was adopted on 27 April 1992, as flag of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992-2003).
Flag of Yugoslavia (1992–2003); Flag of Serbia and Montenegro (2003–2006).svg
Flag of Serbia and Montenegro, was adopted on 27 April 1992, as flag of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992-2003).
Flag of Serbia and Montenegro, was adopted on 27 April 1992, as flag of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992-2003).
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Flag of the Gran Colombia.svg
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Flag of the Gran Colombia, used between October 6, 1821 and December 17, 1831.
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Flag of the Gran Colombia, used between October 6, 1821 and December 17, 1831.
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Flag of the Republic of New Granada, 1831-1857, and the Granadine Confederation, 1857-1861 (Colombia).
Flag of the Republic of New Granada, 1831-1857, and the Granadine Confederation, 1857-1861 (Colombia).
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Flag of the Federal Republic of Central America
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Flag of China (1912–1928).svg
National Flag of the Republic of China, used between 1912–1928. Also known as "Five-colored flag".
National Flag of the Republic of China, used between 1912–1928. Also known as "Five-colored flag".
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Flag of Cameroon (1961-1975).svg
Flag of Cameroon, 1961-75
Flag of Cameroon, 1961-75