In federal countries, power is shared between a government for the whole country – which is sometimes called federal government, national government or Union government – and governments for federal units within this country. Federal units are also often called provinces, states or cantons. Federalism means the constitution divides power between at least two levels or orders of government.Both orders have a direct electoral relationship with their citizens. In some federal countries, people also elect their local government, which may also be constitutionally recognized.
The federal government is responsible for common purposes for the whole country such as national defence, currency and foreign relations. The states or provinces are empowered to act within their areas of responsibility as it is described in the constitution. The federal government cannot arbitrarily take away the power of the federal units.
Watch this Forum of Federations animated video called, “What is Federalism?” to get a basic understanding of Federalism.
Click the blue button below to learn more about Federalism including which countries are federal and benefits of federalism
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The next Policy Brief in our series exploring the effects and lessons of the Dayton Agreement is here!
In this brief Mari Katayanagi, Yuji Uesugi, and Xiru Zhao examine the 2020 Mostar Agreement and the role that local initiatives can play in peacebuilding. What lessons can we learn from the Agreement on perceptions of inclusivity and exclusivity in power-sharing arrangements?
𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: www.forumfed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Katayanagi_et_al_InclusivePeaceBosniaSeries_FINAL.pdf
This Policy Brief series is brought to you by the Forum of Federations and the InclusivePeace: Citizen Inclusion in Power-Sharing Settlements project.
𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘐𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦: 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘯 𝘐𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳-𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴
The Inclusive Peace project is an international collaborative research initiative which investigates the adoptability and adaptability of power-sharing settlements, including what influences a citizen’s decision to endorse settlements and their capacity to shape those agreements over time. The project is funded by an Open Research Area 7 grant.
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀: www.forumfed.org/collection/federalism-power-sharing-and-citizen-inclusion-evaluating-the-dayton-...
Look out for the next brief in the series, coming soon!
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Discover how federations like Australia and Canada adapt to changing global pressures, and how shifts in globalization affects interactions between governments and the wider world.
🔗 Read more: forumfedblog.org/globalization-federalism-crossroads/
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