55-592: Tethbae ( Old Irish pronunciation: [ˈteθve] ; also spelled Tethba , often anglicised Teffia ) was a confederation of túatha in central Ireland in the Middle Ages . It was divided into two distinct kingdoms, north Tethba, ruled by the Cenél Coirpri , and south Tethba, ruled by the Cenél Maini . It covered parts of County Westmeath and much of County Longford , counties which today are
110-441: A federal state , the central authority is relatively weak. Decisions made by the general government in a unicameral legislature, a council of the member states, require subsequent implementation by the member states to take effect; they are not laws acting directly upon the individual but have more the character of interstate agreements. Also, decision-making in the general government usually proceeds by consensus (unanimity), not by
165-524: A single economic market , a common customs territory , (mainly) open internal borders , and a common currency among most member-states. However, unlike a federation, the EU does not have exclusive powers over foreign affairs, defence, taxation, along with the immigration and transit of non-EU nationals. Furthermore, most EU laws , which have been developed by consensus between relevant national government ministers and then scrutinised and approved or rejected by
220-409: A "kind of confederation" by, for example, Belgian Minister of State Mark Eyskens. Canada is an unusually decentralized federal state , not a confederate association of sovereign states, the usual meaning of confederation in modern terms. In Canada , the word confederation has an additional unrelated meaning. " Confederation " refers to the process of (or the event of) establishing or joining
275-643: A Europe dominated by monarchies and free trade), and it ensured peace between the different cultural entities of the area. After the Sonderbund War of 1847 , when some of the Catholic cantons of Switzerland attempted to set up a separate union ( Sonderbund in German) against the Protestant majority, a vote was held and the majority of the cantons approved the new Federal Constitution which changed
330-425: A confederation retain their sovereignty, they have an implicit right of secession . The political philosopher Emmerich de Vattel said: "Several sovereign and independent states may unite themselves together by a perpetual confederacy without each, in particular, ceasing to be a perfect state.... The deliberations in common will offer no violence to the sovereignty of each member". Under a confederation, compared to
385-514: A federation but be confederal (or the reverse), and may not show any qualities that 21st-century political scientists might classify as those of a confederation. Some have more the characteristics of a personal union , but appear here because of their self-styling as a "confederation": Diarmait mac Cerbaill Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include
440-648: A marginal role in nationwide general elections. The system in Belgium is known as consociationalism . That makes Belgium fundamentally different from federal countries like Switzerland , Canada , Germany and Australia . National parties receive over 90% of voter support in those countries. The only geographical areas comparable with Belgium within Europe are Catalonia , the Basque Country (both part of Spain ), Northern Ireland and Scotland (both part of
495-621: A modern country that traditionally refers to itself as a confederation because the official (and traditional) name of Switzerland in German ( the majority language of the Swiss ) is Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft (literally "Swiss Comradeship by Oath"), an expression which was translated into the Latin Confoederatio Helvetica (Helvetic Confederation). It had been a confederacy since its inception in 1291 as
550-559: A region in the central Andean highlands in present-day Colombia. The Hoa ruled the northern section of the confederation, while the Zipa ruled the southern portion. The Andean civilizations consisted of loose confederations, such as the Aymara kingdoms and the Diaguita , with the former being composed of distinct diarchies. In 2003, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was transformed into
605-492: A republican form (confederated republics) are usually called states (like states of the American Confederacy , 1861–1865) or republics (like republics of Serbia and Montenegro within the former State Union of Serbia and Montenegro , 2003–2006). Those that have a monarchical form of government (confederated monarchies) are defined by various hierarchical ranks (like kingdoms of Iraq and Jordan within
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#1732779952574660-483: A subsequent federal law, set forth negotiating conditions for a Canadian province (though not a territory ) to leave the Canadian federal state (addressed also by a related Quebec law ). Importantly, negotiation would first need triggering by referendum and executing by constitutional amendment using a current amending mechanism of Canada's constitution—meaning that, while not legal under the current constitution, it
715-570: A treaty or of a treaty amendment is required. Such a form may thus be described as a semi-intergovernmental confederation. However, some academic observers more usually discuss the EU in the terms of it being a federation. As the international law professor Joseph H. H. Weiler (of the Hague Academy and New York University ) wrote, "Europe has charted its own brand of constitutional federalism". Jean-Michel Josselin and Alain Marciano see
770-519: A weak common president , ministerial council and parliament . The two constituent republics functioned separately throughout the period of its short existence, and they continued to operate under separate economic policies and to use separate currencies (the euro was and still is the only legal tender in Montenegro, and the dinar was and still is the legal tender in Serbia). On 21 May 2006,
825-559: Is democratically feasible without resorting to extralegal means or international involvement. Its unique nature and the political sensitivities surrounding it cause there to be no common or legal classification for the European Union (EU). However, it bears some resemblance to both a confederation (or a "new" type of confederation) and a federation. The term supranational union has also been applied. The EU operates common economic policies with hundreds of common laws, which enable
880-487: Is included among the network of Patrician churches, Ardagh is not. The key figure in Ardagh tradition was its founder, Bishop Mél , according to Patrician accounts a nephew of Patrick. Ardagh, by the time of Tirechán and the earliest records, was a part of the confederation of churches which took Brigit of Kildare as chief patron and looked mainly to the church at Kildare for leadership. Medieval Irish traditions presented
935-522: Is included in later lists of High Kings of Ireland. Later kings of Cenél Coirpri are mentioned in the Annals of Ulster and other Irish annals with some frequency, although usually only to report their deaths. Most kings are simply called "king of Cenél Coirpri", although Conaing (died 752) is specifically called "king of Coirpri of Tethbae". An entry in 799 reporting the deaths of two kings of Coirpri, Murchad ua Cathail and Dub Innrecht mac Artgaile, shows that
990-596: Is portrayed in a poor light by later writers dealing with the life of Diarmait mac Cerbaill , his perhaps-kinsman whose descendants, Clann Cholmáin and the Síl nÁedo Sláine , replaced the kindreds of Coirpre and Fiachu as rulers of the midlands. In the 11th century, north Tethbae was largely absorbed by the expanding kingdom of Bréifne , ruled by the Ua Ruairc branch of the Connachta kindred of Uí Briúin , and its clients
1045-526: The Belarusian government . The confederation was created with the objective of co-ordinating common action on economic integration and foreign affairs. However, many of the treaty's provisions have not yet been implemented. Consequently, The Times , in 2020, described it as "a mostly unimplemented confederation". On July 6, 2024, at the end of the first summit of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES),
1100-718: The EPP , the S&;D Group and Renew Europe , support a federal model for the European Union. The ECR Group argues for a reformed European Union along confederal lines. The Brothers of Italy party, led by Giorgia Meloni , campaigns for a confederal Europe. On her election as President of the ECR Party in September 2020 Meloni said, "Let us continue to fight together for a confederate Europe of free and sovereign states". In
1155-661: The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg City as being a primary force behind the building of a federal legal order for the EU, with Josselin stating that a "complete shift from a confederation to a federation would have required to straight-forwardly replace the principality of the member states vis-à-vis the Union by that of the European citizens. As a consequence, both confederate and federate features coexist in
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#17327799525741210-558: The European Parliament , must be transposed into national law by national parliaments. Most collective decisions by member states are taken by weighted majorities and blocking minorities typical of upper houses in federations. On the other hand, the absolute unanimity typical of intergovernmentalism is required only in respect to the Common Foreign and Security Policy , as well as in situations when ratification of
1265-633: The Flemish (Belgians who speak Dutch or Dutch dialects) and the Walloons (Belgians who speak French or French dialects). For example, in the last several decades, over 95% of Belgians have voted for political parties that represent voters from only one community, the separatist N-VA being the party with the most voter support among the Flemish population. Parties that strongly advocate Belgian unity and appeal to voters of both communities usually play only
1320-650: The Hashemite Arab Union in 1958). Many scholars have claimed that the Kingdom of Belgium , a country with a complicated federal structure has adopted some characteristics of a confederation under the pressure of separatist movements, especially in Flanders . For example, C. E. Lagasse declared that Belgium was "near the political system of a Confederation" regarding the constitutional reform agreements between Belgian Regions and between Communities , and
1375-537: The Montenegrin independence referendum was held. The final official results indicated on 31 May that 55.5% of voters voted in favor of independence. The confederation effectively came to an end after Montenegro's formal declaration of independence on 3 June 2006 and Serbia's formal declaration of independence on 5 June. Switzerland , officially known as the Swiss Confederation , is an example of
1430-559: The Old Swiss Confederacy , which was originally created as an alliance among the valley communities of the central Alps , until it became a federation in 1848 but it retains the name of Confederacy for reasons of historical tradition. The confederacy facilitated management of common interests (such as freedom from external domination especially from the Habsburg Empire , the development of republican institutions in
1485-648: The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro , a confederation of the Republic of Montenegro and the Republic of Serbia . The state was constituted as a loose political union , but formally functioned as a sovereign subject of international law, and member of the United Nations . As a confederation, the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro had very few shared functions, such as defense, foreign affairs and
1540-551: The United Kingdom ) and parts of Italy , where a massive voter turnout for regional (and often separatist) political parties has become the rule in the last decades, and nationwide parties advocating national unity draw around half or sometimes less of the votes. The Benelux is a politico-economic union of the states of Belgium , the Netherlands , and Luxembourg bound through treaties and based on consensus between
1595-494: The Wabanaki Confederacy , Western Confederacy , Tsenacommacah , Seven Nations of Canada , Pontiac's Confederacy , Pennacook Confederacy , Illinois Confederation , Tecumseh's Confederacy , Muscogee Confederacy , Great Sioux Nation , Blackfoot Confederacy , Warm Springs Confederacy , Manahoac Confederacy , Iron Confederacy and Council of Three Fires . The Haudenosaunee Confederacy, historically known as
1650-609: The Canadian federal state. In modern terminology, Canada is a federation, not a confederation. However, to contemporaries of the Constitution Act, 1867 , confederation did not have the same connotation of a weakly-centralized federation. Canadian Confederation generally refers to the Constitution Act, 1867 , which formed the Dominion of Canada from three of the colonies of British North America , and to
1705-608: The Conmaicne Réin. While Coirpe mac Néill is a major figure in the annals and appears in Tirechán's hagiography, Maine son of Niall is not mentioned by Tirechán, nor is there any record of his conquests. It may be possible, and is perhaps even probable, that descent from Niall of the Nine Hostages through an otherwise poorly attested line of descent is a genealogical fiction designed to strengthen Uí Néill control of
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1760-485: The EU as a federal system". Thomas Risse and Tanja A. Börzel claim that the "EU only lacks two significant features of a federation. First, the Member States remain the "masters" of the treaties, i.e., they have the exclusive power to amend or change the constitutive treaties of the EU. Second, the EU lacks a real "tax and spend" capacity, in other words, there is no fiscal federalism". Valéry Giscard d'Estaing ,
1815-1117: The Iroquois League or the League of Five (later Six) Nations, is the country of Native Americans (in what is now the United States) and First Nations (in what is now Canada) that consists of six nations: the Mohawk , the Oneida , the Onondaga , the Cayuga , the Seneca and the Tuscarora . The Six Nations have a representative government known as the Grand Council which is the oldest governmental institution still maintaining its original form in North America. Each clan from
1870-403: The central government being required to provide support for all its members. Confederalism represents a main form of intergovernmentalism , defined as any form of interaction around states that takes place on the basis of sovereign independence or government. The nature of the relationship among the member states constituting a confederation varies considerably. Likewise, the relationship between
1925-609: The chairman of the body of experts commissioned to elaborate a constitutional charter for the European Union, was confronted with strong opposition from the United Kingdom towards including the words "federal" or "federation" in the unratified European Constitution and the word was replaced with either "Community" or "Union". A majority of the Political Groups in the European Parliament , including
1980-641: The colony of Upper Canada ), Nova Scotia , and New Brunswick . Later participants were Manitoba , British Columbia , Prince Edward Island , Alberta and Saskatchewan (the latter two created in 1905 as federated provinces from parts of the directly federally administered Northwest Territories , first transferred to the Dominion in 1869 and now possessing devolved governments as itself, Yukon and Nunavut ), and finally Newfoundland (now Newfoundland and Labrador ) in 1949. A Canadian judicial constitutional interpretation, Reference Re Secession of Quebec , and
2035-539: The context of the history of the indigenous peoples of the Americas , a confederacy may refer to a semi-permanent political and military alliance consisting of multiple nations (or "tribes", "bands", or "villages"), which maintained their separate leadership. One of the most well-known is the Haudenosaunee (or Iroquois), but there were many others during different eras and locations across North America , such as
2090-692: The director of the Centre de recherche et d'information socio-politiques (CRISP) Vincent de Coorebyter called Belgium "undoubtedly a federation...[with] some aspects of a confederation" in Le Soir . Also in Le Soir , Michel Quévit of the Catholic University of Louvain wrote that the "Belgian political system is already in dynamics of a Confederation". Nevertheless, the Belgian regions and
2145-549: The far north-west part of the province of Leinster . In some cases, Tethbae may refer to South Tethbae only. In Early Christian times, Tethba lay within the lands of the southern Uí Néill and the ruling dynasties of both kingdoms were reckoned members of the Uí Néill kindred in medieval genealogies . North Tethba— Tethbae Thúaiscirt —was centred on Granard , while south Tethba— Tethbae Deiscirt —lay around Ardagh . The division of Tethbae into northern and southern regions
2200-532: The final communiqué announced the creation of a confederation of the three countries of the AES, namely Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. it was in February 2024 that the military powers of the three countries announced the creation of the AES after their withdrawal from ECOWAS. Historical confederations (especially those predating the 20th century) may not fit the current definition of a confederation, may be proclaimed as
2255-526: The five nations sends chiefs to act as representatives and make decisions for the whole confederation. It has been operating since its foundation in 1142 despite limited international recognition today. Several of the Pre-Columbian cultures of Colombia , such as the Muisca and Tairona were composed of loose confederations. The Muisca form of government consisted of two different rulers that governed
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2310-435: The head of whom is traditionally styled The Fox . Confederation List of forms of government A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league ) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty , confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issues, such as defence, foreign relations, internal trade or currency, with
2365-438: The judicial landscape". Rutgers political science professor R. Daniel Kelemen said: "Those uncomfortable using the 'F' word in the EU context should feel free to refer to it as a quasi-federal or federal-like system. Nevertheless, the EU has the necessary attributes of a federal system. It is striking that while many scholars of the EU continue to resist analyzing it as a federation, most contemporary students of federalism view
2420-557: The kings of Cenél Maini had a privileged place in choosing and inaugurating High Kings, much like the Airgíalla , another group believed to have been associated with the Connachta, of which the Uí Néill were only the leading group, by genealogical fictions. The Cenél Maini are still represented today among the Irish nobility and Chiefs of the Name by the O'Kearney or Ó Catharnaigh family,
2475-533: The kingship could be shared. In addition to the usual annalistic reports, Óengus Bronbachall , grandson of Túathal, is mentioned in Adomnán 's Life of Saint Columba . At least in earlier historical times, Cenél Coirpri may have been of sufficient importance to attract the attention of largely hostile writers. Tirechán's life of Patrick states that Coirpre was cursed by the saint, at the hill of Tara , that none of his descendants would be High King. Túathal Máelgarb
2530-446: The lands of the Uí Néill as conquests by Niall of the Nine Hostages and his sons. Niall's son Coirpre was the eponymous ancestor of Cenél Coirpri. Along with Fiachu , he may have led the earliest Uí Néill conquests in the midlands. North Tethbae, Cenél Coirpri Mór , was one of three kingdoms named for Coirpre mac Néill. To the north-west of Tethbae, on the shore of Donegal Bay , was the kingdom of Cenél Coirpi Dromma Clíab . To
2585-474: The linguistic communities do not have the autonomy to leave the Belgian state. As such, federal aspects still dominate. Also, for fiscal policy and public finances, the federal state dominates the other levels of government. The increasingly-confederal aspects of the Belgian Federal State appear to be a political reflection of the profound cultural, sociological and economic differences between
2640-581: The majority. Historically, those features limit the union's effectiveness. Hence, political pressure tends to build over time for the transition to a federal system of government, as in the American, Swiss and German cases of regional integration . In terms of internal structure, every confederal state is composed of two or more constituent states, referred to as confederated states . Regarding their political systems , confederated states can have republican or monarchical forms of government. Those that have
2695-403: The member states and the general government and their distribution of powers varies. Some looser confederations are similar to international organisations . Other confederations with stricter rules may resemble federal systems . These elements of such confederations, the international organization and federalist perspective, has been combined as supranational unions . Since the member states of
2750-416: The midlands. The Cenél Maini probably originated as part of a much larger Uí Maine kingdom extending from the eastern part of modern County Galway through County Roscommon , across the River Shannon , and into County Longford. Although officially incorporated into the Uí Néill, no king of Cenél Maini was ever reckoned a High King of Ireland. The Vita tripartita Sancti Patricii does, however, say that
2805-404: The political system to one of a federation . In 1999, Russia and Belarus signed a treaty to form a confederation, which came into force on 26 January 2000. Although it was given the name Union State , and has some characteristics of a federation, it remains a confederation of two sovereign states. Its existence has been seen as an indication of Russia's political and economic support for
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#17327799525742860-416: The representatives of the member states. They partially share a common foreign policy, especially in regards to their navies through the BeNeSam . The Dutch defence minister (2010–2012) Hans Hillen even said on Belgian radio that it is not impossible that the three armed forces of the member-states could be integrated into "Benelux Armed Forces" one day. Because of this the Benelux is sometimes labeled as
2915-508: The south-east, in County Kildare , around Carbury , itself named for Coirpre, was a third branch of Cenél Coirpi but this was not established until much later. This alignment of territories, together with the evidence of the Irish annals , which include a series of entries crediting Coirpre with the conquest of the midlands, suggests that the kingdom of Coirpre once extended over 100 miles across Ireland. Apart from Coirpre himself and his grandson Túathal Máelgarb , no king of Cenél Coirpri
2970-414: The subsequent incorporation of other colonies and territories. Beginning on 1 July 1867, it was initially a self-governing dominion of the British Empire with a federal structure , whose government was led by Sir John A. Macdonald . The initial colonies involved were the Province of Canada (becoming Quebec from Canada East, formerly the colony of Lower Canada ; and Ontario from Canada West, formerly
3025-435: Was attested in the 7th century. It was not only a political and dynastic division. The chief churches of the two-halves belonged to different church confederations. North Tethbae's principal church at Granard was associated with Saint Patrick from the earliest written records. Bishop Tirechán 's hagiography refers to "the two Tethbae" and claims that Patrick established bishops at both Granard and Ardagh. But although Granard
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