Federal republic

From Free Talk Live

A federal republic is a republic with a federal structure. Examples of federal republics include the United States and Germany.

In federal systems, there is one central federal government that oversees all territory and often has responsibility for foreign affairs, defense, economic policy, etc. There are also "state" governments, which have autonomy in certain areas of policy, but are subordinate to the central federal government. In most federal constitutions, the powers of the federal government and the state governments are clearly defined.

A federal system is distinct from a unitary system and a confederation. In a unitary system, like Great Britain or France, there is only one constitutionally mandated tier of government. In a confederation, sovereign states co-operate under a single government, and since the member states are sovereign, they are free to leave the association at any time. Examples of a confederation include the European Union and NATO.