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67-678: Created with the adoption of the Ethiopian Constitution of 1995 , the Parliament replaced the National Shengo as the legislative branch of the Ethiopian government . The Imperial Parliament of Ethiopia was first convened by Emperor Haile Selassie in 1931, although it was largely an advisory and feudal body, and was consolidated under the 1931 constitution . The bi-cameral, equal-numbered parliament consisted of

134-572: A central government established usually through coercion (on the model of the Roman Empire ). An empire often includes self-governing regions, but these will possess autonomy only at the sufferance of the central government. On the other hand, a political entity that is an empire in name, may comprise several partly autonomous kingdoms organised together in a federation, with the empire being ruled over by an emperor or senior king ( great king , high king , king of kings ...). One example of this

201-404: A federal state ) is an entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a federal government ( federalism ). In a federation, the self-governing status of the component states, as well as the division of power between them and the central government, is constitutionally entrenched and may not be altered by a unilateral decision, neither by

268-636: A president , elected by the Shengo for a five-year term, and a cabinet also appointed by the Shengo. The president was chairman of the Council of State, which acted for the legislature between sessions. Actual power, however, rested in the WPE (and particularly with Mengistu), defined as the leading force of state and society. The National Shengo, while nominally vested with great lawmaking powers, actually did little more than rubber-stamp decisions made by Mengistu and

335-505: A stronger central government than the US in the wake of the Civil War of the latter, use the term "Confederation" to refer to the formation or joining, not the structure, of Canada. Legal reforms, court rulings, and political compromises have decentralized Canada in practice since its formation in 1867. An empire is a multi-ethnic state, multinational state , or a group of nations with

402-450: A broad definition of a basic federalism , there are two or more levels of government that exist within an established territory and govern through common institutions with overlapping or shared powers as prescribed by a constitution. The federal government is the government at the level of the sovereign state. Usual responsibilities of this level of government are maintaining national security and exercising international diplomacy, including

469-426: A federation is Malaysia , in which Sarawak and Sabah agreed to form the federation on different terms and conditions from the states of Peninsular Malaysia . A federation often emerges from an initial agreement between several separate states. The purpose can be the will to solve mutual problems and to provide for mutual defense or to create a nation-state for an ethnicity spread over several states. The former

536-475: A federation to be brought into being by agreement between a number of formally independent states, in a unitary state self-governing regions are often created through a process of devolution, where a formerly centralized state agrees to grant autonomy to a region that was previously entirely subordinate. Thus, federations are often established voluntarily from "below" whereas devolution grants self-government from "above". A confederation , in modern political terms,

603-604: A large area of territory (such as Russia , the United States , Canada , India , Brazil , Pakistan or Australia ), but neither is necessarily the case (such as Saint Kitts and Nevis or the Federated States of Micronesia ). About 40% of world population live in a federation. Several ancient chiefdoms and kingdoms, such as the 4th-century-BCE League of Corinth , Noricum in Central Europe , and

670-509: A legislature ended in 1987, when the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia was established under a new constitution drafted by Mengistu and the Workers' Party of Ethiopia (WPE). The new Constitution established an 835-member legislature, the National Shengo (National Council), as the highest organ of state power. Its members were elected to five-year terms. Executive power was vested in

737-720: A mostly ceremonial president as head of state, and executive power vested in a Council of Ministers headed by a prime minister . The constitution expressly provides for a set of basic human rights ; Article 13 specifies that these rights and freedoms will be interpreted according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights , and other international instruments adopted by Ethiopia. The document further guarantees that all Ethiopian languages will enjoy equal state recognition, although Amharic

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804-663: A parliamentarian form of government”. Some want presidential form of government." Article 5: "all Ethiopian languages shall enjoy equal state recognition. 2. Amharic shall be the working language of the Federal Government”. Some want this to be changed and say “Amharic is the official language of Ethiopia." Article 49: "the special interest of the State of Oromia in Addis Ababa ." Federation List of forms of government A federation (also called

871-588: Is an important challenge. The inability to meet this challenge may lead to the secession of parts of a federation or to civil war, as occurred in the United States (southern states sought to protect the institution of slavery while northern states opposed it, with a catalysis occurring in the then– Kansas Territory ), in Nigeria and in Switzerland . In the case of Malaysia , Singapore was expelled from

938-630: Is another nation-state that has switched between confederal, federal and unitary rules, since the German Confederation was founded in 1815. The North German Confederation , the succeeding German Empire and the Weimar Republic were federations. Founded in 1922, the Soviet Union was formally a federation of Soviet republics , autonomous republics and other federal subjects, though in practice highly centralized under

1005-651: Is divided into three traditional chiefdoms: Uvea , Sigave , and Alo . The chiefdoms are allowed to have their own legal system which have to be implemented along with French legal system . Under the terms of the Fomboni Accords, signed in December 2001 by the leaders of all three islands, the official name of the country was changed to the Union of the Comoros ; the new state was to be highly decentralised and

1072-425: Is more than a mere loose alliance of independent states. The component states of a federation usually possess no powers in relation to foreign policy and so enjoy no independent status under international law . However, German Länder have that power, which is beginning to be exercised on a European level. Some federations are called asymmetric because some states have more autonomy than others. An example of such

1139-407: Is sometimes one with only a single, centralized, national tier of government. However, unitary states often also include one or more self-governing regions. The difference between a federation and this kind of unitary state is that in a unitary state the autonomous status of self-governing regions exists by the sufferance of the central government, and may be unilaterally revoked. While it is common for

1206-544: Is specified as the working language of the federal government. Ethiopia has a tradition of highly personal and strongly centralized government, a pattern the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (the former ruling government coalition) had followed despite constitutional limits on federal power. The first general election held after the adoption of the constitution was the 2000 election . There were three earlier written constitutions of Ethiopia ,

1273-542: Is suggested as one possible de facto federation as it grants more self-government to its autonomous communities than are retained by the constituent entities of most federations. For the Spanish parliament to revoke the autonomy of regions such as Galicia , Catalonia or the Basque Country would be a political near-impossibility, though nothing bars it legally. The Spanish parliament has, however, suspended

1340-454: Is therefore not a de jure federation, although some academic observers conclude that after 50 years of institutional evolution since the Treaties of Rome it is becoming one. The European Union possesses attributes of a federal state. However, its central government is far weaker than that of most federations and the individual members are sovereign states under international law, so it

1407-473: Is usually characterized as an unprecedented form of supra-national union. The EU has responsibility for important areas such as trade, monetary union, agriculture, and fisheries. Nonetheless, EU member states retain the right to act independently in matters of foreign policy and defense, and also enjoy a near-monopoly over other major policy areas such as criminal justice and taxation. Since the Treaty of Lisbon ,

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1474-558: Is usually limited to a permanent union of sovereign states for common action in relation to other states. The closest entity in the world to a confederation at this time is the European Union . While the word confederation was officially used when the Canadian federal system was established in 1867, the term refers only to the process and not the resulting state since Canadian provinces are not sovereign and do not claim to be. In

1541-781: The 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia , is the supreme law of Ethiopia . The constitution came into force on 21 August 1995 after it was drawn up by the Constituent Assembly that was elected in June 1994. It was adopted by the Transitional Government of Ethiopia on 8 December 1994 and came into force following the general election held in May–June 1995 . The constitution consists of 106 articles in 11 chapters. Articles I-VII contains general provisions on matters of nomenclature of state, territorial jurisdiction, and

1608-773: The Crown Dependencies of the Isle of Man and the bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey in the Channel Islands and the United Kingdom is very similar to a federate relation: the Islands enjoy independence from the United Kingdom, which, via The Crown, takes care of their foreign relations and defense – although the UK Parliament does have overall power to legislate for the dependencies. However,

1675-649: The Iroquois Confederacy in pre-Columbian North America , could be described as federations or confederations . The Old Swiss Confederacy was an early example of formal non-unitary statehood. Several colonies and dominions in the New World consisted of autonomous provinces, transformed into federal states upon independence such as the United States , and various countries in Latin America (see Spanish American wars of independence ). Some of

1742-486: The United States Constitution having become effective on 4 March 1789, the United States is the oldest surviving federation, while the newest federation is Nepal , after its constitution went into effect on 20 September 2015. The component states are in some sense sovereign, insofar as certain powers are reserved to them that may not be exercised by the central government. However, a federation

1809-594: The government of the Soviet Union . The Russian Federation has inherited a similar system. India , Pakistan , Nigeria and Malaysia (then Federation of Malaya ) became federations on or shortly before becoming independent from the British Empire . In some recent cases, federations have been instituted as a measure to handle ethnic conflict within a state, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina , and Iraq since 2005 as well as Somalia since 2012 . With

1876-563: The "F" word in the EU context should feel free to refer to it as a quasi-federal or federal-like system. Nevertheless, for the purposes of the analysis here, 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 the EU as a federal system. ( See, for instance, Bednar, Filippov et al., McKay, Kelemen, Defigueido and Weingast ) A more nuanced view has been given by

1943-476: The "federal nature of Spain's government (a trend that almost no one denies)." Each autonomous community is governed by a Statute of Autonomy ( Estatuto de Autonomía ) under the Spanish Constitution of 1978 . Although South Africa bears some elements of a federal system, such as the allocation of certain powers to provinces, some nevertheless argue that it is functionally a unitary state. On

2010-677: The 1970s. Moreover, although nominally called a federal state, the country's structure already has a number of confederational traits . At present, there is a growing movement to transform the existing federal state into a looser confederation with two or three constitutive states and/or two special regions. A confederation is most likely to feature three differences when contrasted with a federation: (1) No real direct powers: many confederal decisions are externalized by member-state legislation; (2) Decisions on day-to-day-matters are not taken by simple majority but by special majorities or even by consensus or unanimity (veto for every member); (3) Changes of

2077-776: The Article come from Article 39, which stated that States should be divided into geographical lines (river, lakes etc) or economic class (pastoralists, farmers etc) rather than ethnolinguistic implications. Some Ethiopian government officials confused the argument; for example Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed conflated the term "boundary" and "border". Article 40(3): "land is a common property of the Nations, Nationalities and Peoples of Ethiopia and shall not be subject to sale or to other means of exchange". Article 45: "the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia shall have

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2144-456: The Emperor. The parliament would meet in five sessions from 1955 to 1974. When the monarchy was overthrown , parliament was replaced with a transitional assembly of 60 select members from government institutions and provinces from 1974 to 1975, after which the government largely operated by decree through the military junta headed by Mengistu Haile Mariam . The period without some semblance of

2211-523: The Ethiopian flag; Articles VIII-XII describe sovereignty, the supremacy of the constitution, democratic rights, separation of state and religion, and accountability of the government. It provides for a federal government of nine ethnically based regions governed by a parliament divided into the House of Peoples' Representatives and the House of Federation . It provides for a parliamentary system, with

2278-803: The German Constitutional Court. Here the EU is defined as 'an association of sovereign national states ( Staatenverbund )'. With this view, the European Union resembles more of a confederation . Constitutionally, the power vested in the special administrative regions of the People's Republic is granted from the Central People's Government , through a decision by the National People's Congress . However, there have been certain largely informal grants of power to

2345-642: The Member States' right to leave the Union is codified, and the Union operates with more qualified majority voting (rather than unanimity) in many areas. By the signature of this Treaty, the participating Parties give proof of their determination to create the first supranational institution and that thus they are laying the true foundation of an organized Europe. This Europe remains open to all nations. We profoundly hope that other nations will join us in our common endeavor. Europe has charted its own brand of constitutional federalism. Those uncomfortable using

2412-643: The New World federations failed; the Federal Republic of Central America broke up into independent states less than 20 years after its founding. Others, such as Argentina , have shifted between federal, confederal , and unitary systems, before settling into federalism. Brazil became a federation only after the fall of the monarchy , and Venezuela became a federation after the Federal War . Australia and Canada are also federations. Germany

2479-513: The Senate. The 1955 constitution introduced new arrangements to the parliament , including the election of members to the Chamber of Deputies as well as the growth of the lower house to 250 members as opposed to the 125 members of the Senate by 1974. However, deputies largely consisted of feudal lords, rich merchants and high-level members of the civil service. Real power remained in the hands of

2546-1068: The Tenth Amendment contained in the Bill of Rights and the Eleventh Amendment. However, later amendments, particularly the Fourteenth Amendment, gave the federal government considerable authority over states. Federal government within this structure are the government ministries and departments and agencies to which the ministers of government are assigned. There are 26 federations in the world, with 6 each in Asia and Europe , 5 in Africa , 4 in North America , 3 in South America and 2 in Oceania . Some of

2613-723: The United Kingdom, because, in a devolved state, the central government can revoke the independence of the subunits (the Scottish Parliament , the Welsh Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly in the case of the United Kingdom) without changing the constitution. In some cases, such as the autonomous communities of Spain , devolution has led to federation in all but name, or "federation without federalism". The relation between

2680-460: The WPE. Following Mengistu's overthrow in 1991, the Shengo was abolished, and a period of transition lasted until 1995, when a new legislature was inaugurated under the new constitution . 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia The Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia ( Amharic : የኢትዮጵያ ፌዴራላዊ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ሪፐብሊክ ሕገ መንግሥት , romanized :  Ye-Ītyōṗṗyā Fēdēralawī Dēmokirasīyawī Rīpebilīk Ḥige Menigišit ), also known as

2747-546: The autonomy of Catalonia in response to the Catalan declaration of independence , in the lead-up to the 2017 Catalan election . Additionally, some autonomies such as Navarre or the Basque Country have full control over taxation and spending, transferring a payment to the central government for the common services (military, foreign relations, macroeconomic policy). For example, scholar Enrique Guillén López discusses

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2814-415: The autonomy of a self-governing region, it may be politically difficult for it to do so in practice. The self-governing regions of some unitary states also often enjoy greater autonomy than those of some federations. For these reasons, it is sometimes argued that some modern unitary states are de facto federations. De facto federations, or quasi-federations, are often termed " regional states ". Spain

2881-585: The case of Switzerland , while the country is still known officially as the Swiss Confederation, this is now a misnomer since the Swiss cantons lost their sovereign status in 1848. In Belgium, however, the opposite movement is underway. Belgium was founded as a centralized state, after the French model, but has gradually been reformed into a federal state by consecutive constitutional reforms since

2948-417: The central union government would devolve most powers to the new island governments, each led by a president. Certain forms of political and constitutional dispute are common to federations. One issue is that the exact division of power and responsibility between federal and regional governments is often a source of controversy. Often, as is the case with the United States , such conflicts are resolved through

3015-522: The component states nor the federal political body without constitutional amendment. Sovereign power is formally divided between a central authority and a number of constituent regions so that each region retains some degree of control over its internal affairs. Overriding powers of a central authority theoretically can include: the constitutional authority to suspend a constituent state's government by invoking gross mismanagement or civil unrest, or to adopt national legislation that overrides or infringes on

3082-496: The constituent states' powers by invoking the central government's constitutional authority to ensure "peace and good government" or to implement obligations contracted under an international treaty. The governmental or constitutional structure found in a federation is considered to be federalist , or to be an example of federalism . It can be considered in comparison with the unitary state . France and Japan , for example, have been unitary for many centuries. The Austrian Empire

3149-484: The constitution, usually a treaty, require unanimity. Over time these terms acquired distinct connotations leading to the present difference in definition. An example of this is the United States under the Articles of Confederation . The Articles established a national government under what today would be defined as a federal system (albeit with a comparatively weaker federal government). However, Canadians, designed with

3216-461: The entire jurisdiction is relatively homogeneous, and each constituent state resembles a miniature version of the whole; this is known as 'congruent federalism'. On the other hand, incongruent federalism exists where different states or regions possess distinct ethnic groups. The ability of a federal government to create national institutions that can mediate differences that arise because of linguistic, ethnic, religious, or other regional differences

3283-542: The federal and the unitary state during its history. Some present-day states of the Brazilian federation retain borders set during the Portuguese colonization (before the very existence of the Brazilian state), whereas the latest state, Tocantins , was created by the 1988 Constitution for chiefly administrative reasons. Seven of the top eight largest countries by area are governed as federations. A unitary state

3350-802: The federation because of rising racial tension. In some cases, internal conflict may lead a federation to collapse entirely, as occurred the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland , the Gran Colombia , the United Provinces of Central America , and the West Indies Federation . The federal government is the common government of a national or supranational federation. A federal government may have distinct powers at various levels authorized or delegated to it by its member states. The structure of federal governments varies. Based on

3417-410: The grassroot kebele level to national level, involving many experts for advice while drafting. It also organized symposiums and forums of which the main draft provisions were discussed and debated Ethiopians. One of interesting feature of the discussion was the discussion conducted by article by article. After the discussion, participants voted for or against to each provision of the constitution, compiled

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3484-663: The initiator of the European Community system, wrote that a transnational Community like the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community lay midway between an association of States where they retained complete independence and a federation leading to a fusion of States in a super-state . The Founding Fathers of the European Union wrote the Europe Declaration (Charter of the Community) at

3551-515: The islands are neither an incorporated part of the United Kingdom nor are they considered to be independent or associated states. The islands do not have a monarch, per se ; rather in the Isle of Man the British Monarch is, ex officio , Lord of Mann , and in the Bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey, the British Monarch rules as the Duke of Normandy . Dependent territories , such as the British overseas territories , are vested with varying degrees of power; some enjoy considerable independence from

3618-403: The judicial system, which delimits the powers of federal and local governments. The relationship between federal and local courts varies from nation to nation and can be a controversial and complex issue in itself. Another common issue in federal systems is the conflict between regional and national interests, or between the interests and aspirations of different ethnic groups. In some federations

3685-459: The members of Federation to use their respective flags and emblems, which was opposed by pro-unitary groups. Few individuals opened debates through media about the flag and emblems of Ethiopia and gave guidance for the government. Article 47 of the constitution lists the members states of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and enshrines the right of Nations, Nationalities and Peoples to establish their own States. Opponents objected about

3752-446: The middle and red at the bottom, and shall have a national emblem at the center". Accordingly, the Flag and Emblem Proclamation No. 16/1996, Proclamation No. 48/1996 (Amendment) and Flag Proclamation No. 654/2009 enacted. Opponent of Article 3 defined different logo of the flag and subsequent laws by rejecting it. The Ethiopian government also failed to enforce its own constitutional laws in this regard. Article 3(3) authorized over

3819-447: The other hand, if federation is defined as the constitutional entrenchment of the powers of subcentral units (provinces, etc.) that is not unilaterally changeable or revocable by the central authority, South Africa does qualify, formally, as a federal state. The European Union (EU) is a sui generis political union or confederation (the assemblage of societies or an association of two or more states into one state). Robert Schuman ,

3886-517: The preceding one being the 1987 Constitution . The 1995 constitution has been subjected to constitutional crisis with involvement of few cliques to run their own agenda. Some critics claim that the constitution was drafted by the TPLF / EPRDF coalition in closed door and enacted overnight. The Constitutional Commission of the Transitional Government of Ethiopia (TGE) had worked with Regional Affairs Coordination Department for two years (1993 and 1994). The constitution organized public discussion from

3953-516: The provinces, to handle economic affairs and implement national policies, resulting in a system some have termed federalism " with Chinese characteristics ". Constitutionally a unitary state , the political system in Myanmar bears many elements of federalism. Each administrative division has its own cabinets and chief ministers, making it more like a federation rather than a unitary state. The French overseas collectivity Wallis and Futuna maintains some quasi-federation attributes. The territory

4020-406: The results at kebele , district , zone , region or national level. It deals with the rights of the nations, nationalities, and peoples of Ethiopia, including the provision that "Every Nation, Nationality and People in Ethiopia has an unconditional right to self-determination, including the right to secession". Article 3(1) says "The Ethiopian flag shall consist of green at the top, yellow in

4087-411: The right to sign binding treaties. Basically, a modern federal government, within the limits defined by its constitution, has the power to make laws for the whole country, unlike local governments. As originally written, the United States Constitution was created to limit the federal government from exerting power over the states by enumerating only specific powers. It was further limited by the addition of

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4154-410: The sovereign state, which only takes care of their foreign relations and defense. However, they are neither considered to be part of it nor recognized as sovereign or associated states. The distinction between a federation and a unitary state is often quite ambiguous. A unitary state may closely resemble a federation in structure and, while a central government may possess the theoretical right to revoke

4221-525: The time of the signing of the Treaty of Paris on 18 April 1951 saying that Europe should be organized on a transnational foundation. They envisaged a structure quite different from a federation called the European Political Community . The EU is a three-pillar structure of the original supranational European Economic Community and the nuclear energy cooperation and non-proliferation treaty, Euratom , plus two largely intergovernmental pillars dealing with External Affairs and Justice and Home Affairs. The EU

4288-407: The upper Senate (composed largely of nobility, the aristocracy, ministers, Distinguished Veterans and military commanders) and the lower Chamber of Deputies (constituting members chosen by the Emperor, the nobility and the aristocrats). It was interrupted by the Italian invasion in 1936, and did not meet again until after 1941. By 1955, elders in the districts largely elected the landed aristocrats to

4355-455: Was a unitary state with crown lands , after the transformation into the Austria-Hungary monarchy the remaining crown lands of so-called Cisleithania became federated as Länder of the Republic of Austria through the implementation of its constitution . Germany , with its 16 states, or Länder , and Nigeria , with its 36 states and federal capital territory , are examples of federations. Federations are often multi-ethnic and cover

4422-437: Was the German Empire (1871–1918). A federacy is a unitary state that incorporates one or more self-governing autonomous areas . It is distinguished from a federation in that the constitutional structure of the state is still unitary, but incorporates federalist principles. Some federacies, notably Åland , were established through international treaty . A federation differs from a devolved state , such as Indonesia and

4489-435: Was the case with the United States and Switzerland. However, as the histories of countries and nations vary, the federalist system of a state can be quite different from these models. Australia, for instance, is unique in that it came into existence as a nation by the democratic vote of the citizens of each state, who voted "yes" in referendums to adopt the Australian Constitution . Brazil, on the other hand, has experienced both

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