Difference Between Federation and
Confederation
The terms federation and confederation refer to
similar – yet very different – concepts. In a
confederation, states come together creating a loose
(often temporary) union for matters of political,
economic or administrative convenience. Within a
confederation, member states maintain their
sovereignty and often appoint a weak central authority
to speed up bureaucratic matters. Conversely, states
or provinces that join a federation, agree to give up
part of their powers and to answer to the central
government, which has the power to enforce laws and
regulations. In both cases, we are talking about a
union of countries, states or provinces, but members of
the confederation maintain a large degree of autonomy
and independence – and can (almost) freely leave the
union when they decide to do so – while members of a
federation are bound to respect the authority of the
central government and maintain limited powers.
What is a Federation?
A federation is a political system in which individual
states come together under the umbrella of a central
authority. The decision of entering a federation of state
can be voluntary, but in most cases, it is the result of a
long historic process or the transformation of a
confederation (i.e. temporary and voluntary
agreement) into a federation. The balance of power
between the constituents and the central government
is laid out in a written constitution. Provinces and
states members of a federation do not entirely lose
their power, and can enjoy a certain degree of
independence. Individual states can maintain separate
laws, traditions and habits, but the central government
has authority over:
Defense and security matters;
Foreign policy;
International relations and diplomacy;
Decision to start or end a war;
National currency; and
Military.
In addition, the central government can interfere on
the legal and economic aspects of the member
states/provinces. Policies and regulations approved by
the central government apply to the federation
members – in line with the provisions laid out in the
constitution – and constituents are legally bound to
respect such regulations.
Federations are quite common today: the United
States, Canada and Switzerland are just few of the
most notorious examples, although Switzerland
retained the title “confederation” (Confederatio
Helvetica) even after becoming a federation. In the
United States, the federation is formed of 50 individual
states, while in Canada and Switzerland provinces are
tied together under the umbrella of the central
government.
What is a Confederation?
A confederation is a system of governance, in which
the constituents (states or provinces) come together
for political, economic, security or administrative
reasons. Entering a confederation is entirely voluntary
and depends on the government of every individual
states – or on the local authority in the case of
provinces. Once entered the confederation, the
constituents maintain their sovereignty and their
powers (almost entirely), and there is no superior,
unified, central government. Depending on the
structure of the confederation, there might be a weak
central body, appointed by all constituents, created to
speed up bureaucratic processes and facilitate
communication. In a confederation there is no:
Unitary budget;
Common military;
Common foreign policy strategy;
Common diplomatic representatives; and
Common legal system.
The United States started as confederation and later
turned into a federation once the constitution was
created, signed and ratified by all members. The
concept of confederation is similar to the principles on
which international organizations stand. For instance,
the European Union has similar structure, even though
it is not officially defined as such, in particular because
there are legally binding documents that prevent
states to enter and exit the union as they please. The
European Union is formed of various countries that
willingly decided to give up part of their independence
– but still maintaining their sovereignty – in order to
create an international body and present a united front
on the international scale. All international
governmental organizations – like the United Nations –
follow the concept of confederation. States decide to
create a union, but maintain their power and are only
subject to international laws and norms if they decide
to ratify treaties and covenants
Similarities between
Federation and
Confederation
Despite their natural differences, federation and
confederation have some aspects in common:
1. In both cases, various states, countries or
provinces come together to create a new entity for
matters of political, economic and security
convenience. Federations and confederations only
exist if there is a common agreement among
constituents. Indeed, members need to adopt a
common constitution to become part of the
federation, while entering a confederation is not
binding; and
2. In both cases, being part of the federation or the
confederation should benefit member states. In
the first case, constituents give up part of their
sovereignty in order to receive protection, security
and economic or political advantages. In the
second case, states and provinces enter the
confederation to create a stronger entity and enjoy
administrative and economic advantages without
losing power or authority.
Difference between
Federation and
Confederation
Federation and confederation are political and
strategical agreements among countries or provinces,
created in order to enable the constituents to enjoy
political and economic benefits. In spite of some
similarities, the two concepts are quite different:
1. Confederations were very popular in ancient
Greece and during the Middle Age, but there are
not many examples of existing confederations.
International organizations have a similar
structure, but have legal treaties and enforcement
mechanisms, while confederations were loose
agreements with no written constitution.
Conversely, federations are more common today,
and many confederations formed centuries ago
evolved into federations;
2. The powers and responsibilities of the central
authority vary greatly between the two. First of
all, there is no central government as such in a
confederation, but rather a weak body elected by
member states, while the federal government has
great power and influence over the constituents.
In a confederation, the central government has no
power de facto, and it is only in place to facilitate
the decision-making process and speed up
communication. Conversely, when states come
together to create a federation, they create a new
nation state, with a functioning and powerful
central government. The constituents lose part of
their autonomy and authority, and the central
government acquires the ability of making
decisions regarding national security, military,
foreign policy and diplomacy; and
3. The ties among states and provinces are much
stronger in the case of the federation. Indeed, in a
confederation, states agree to come together for
various purposes, but they are not legally tied
together and can technically back up or exit the
confederation whenever they want (depending on
the type of confederation). Conversely, in a
federation, there are binding legal agreements
that prevent states from leaving the union.
Relations among states within a federation are
stronger as the different entities come together to
create a new nation state.
Federation vs Confederation
Being part of a federation or a confederation has
different implications for member states. In the first
case, the constituents give up part of their power and
sovereignty – while maintaining the ability of taking
some independent decisions – while in the second
case, individual states maintain control over their
territories and citizens. Building on the differences
outlined in the previous section, we can identify few
other aspects that differentiate the two political
systems.
