Federalism

Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant (Latin: foedus, covenant) with a governing representative head. The term federalism is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and constituent political units (like states or provinces). Federalism is a systemin which the power to govern is shared between national and provincial/state governments, creating what is often called a federation. Proponents are often called federalists.
Federalism is the type of politics wherein a group of members create a sovereign constitution with central governing authority and political units.
In Europe, "federalist" is sometimes used to describe those who favor acommon federal government, with distributed power at regional, national and supranational levels. Most European Federalists want this development to continue within the European Union. European federalism originated in post-war Europe; one of the more important initiatives was Winston Churchill's speech in Zurich in 1946.[1]
In Canada, federalism typically implies opposition to sovereigntistmovements (most commonly Quebec separatism). The same is historically true in the United States. Advocates of a weaker federal government and stronger state governments are those that generally favor confederation, often related to early "anti-federalists" and later the Confederacy in the United States.
Argentina, Australia, Brazil, India and Malaysia among others, are also federal countries.Federalism may encompass as few as two or three internal divisions, as is the case in Belgium or Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Ecclesiastic and theological federalism also exist within some Christian denominations.
In general, two extremes of federalism can be distinguished.[clarification needed] In practice, however, there is always a mixture of both.[citation needed]
Federalism in Europe
Several federalsystems exist in Europe, such as in Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Belgium and the European Union. Germany and the EU are the only examples in the world where members of the upper federal houses, (the Bundesrat and the Council), are neither elected nor appointed but are composed of the governments of their constituents.
In Germany, federalism was abolished only during Nazism (1933–1945) and in EastGermany during most of its existence (1952–1990). Adolf Hitler viewed federalism as an obstacle to his goals. As he wrote in Mein Kampf, "National Socialism must claim the right to impose its principles on the whole German nation, without regard to what were hitherto the confines of federal states."[page needed] Therefore the idea of a strong, centralized government has negative associations inGerman politics, although prior to 1919 or 1933, many social democrats and liberals favored centralization in principle.[citation needed]
In Britain, federalism has long been proposed as a solution to the "Irish Problem", and more lately, the "West Lothian question"[2]
[edit] European Union
Following the end of World War II, several movements began advocating a European federation, such as theUnion of European Federalists or the European Movement, founded in 1948. Those organizations were influential in the European unification process, but never in a decisive way.[citation needed]
Although federalism was mentioned both in the drafts of the Maastricht treaty and the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, it was never accepted by the representatives of the member countries. Thestrongest advocates of European federalism have been Germany, Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg while those historically most strongly opposed have been the United Kingdom and France; while other countries that have never campaigned specifically for a particular means of governance in Europe are considered as federalists.[citation needed] Some would consider this to be the case with states such as...