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Federalism is a political concept describing the practice whereby a ''group'' of members are bound together by agreement or covenant (Latin: ''foedus'', covenant) with a governing representative head. It refers to a system of government in which sovereignty is constitutionally shared between a central governing authority and constituent political units (such as states or provinces).〔Thomas O. Hueglin and Alan Fenna, ''Comparative Federalism: a systematic inquiry'', 2nd edn (Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 2015)〕 Leading examples of such a political system, or federation, include Switzerland, Germany, the United States, Canada, Australia and India. Federalism is a system based upon democratic rules and institutions in which the power to govern is shared between national and provincial/state governments. The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world depending on context. In a federal system where sovereignty is shared between a central governing authority and constituent political units, power is also divided. The central governing authority has certain exclusive federal powers, the constituent political units have certain powers (sometimes known as states' rights), and there may be a number of shared concurrent powers. ==European vs. American Federalism== In Europe, "Federalist" is sometimes used to describe those who favor a common federal government, with distributed power at regional, national and supranational levels. Most European federalists want this development to continue within the European Union. European federalism originated in post-war Europe; one of the more important initiatives was Winston Churchill's speech in Zurich in 1946.〔(Winston Churchill's speech in Zurich in 1946 )〕 In the United States, federalism originally referred to belief in a stronger central government. When the U.S. Constitution was being drafted, the Federalist Party supported a stronger central government, while "Anti-Federalists" wanted a weaker central government. This is very different from the modern usage of "federalism" in Europe and the United States. The distinction stems from the fact that "federalism" is situated in the middle of the political spectrum between a confederacy and a unitary state. The U.S. Constitution was written as a reaction to the Articles of Confederation, under which the United States was a loose confederation with a weak central government. In contrast, Europe has a greater history of unitary states than North America, thus European "federalism" argues for a weaker central government, relative to a unitary state. The modern American usage of the word is much closer to the European sense. As the power of the Federal government has increased, some people have perceived a much more unitary state than they believe the Founding Fathers intended. Most people politically advocating "federalism" in the United States argue in favor of limiting the powers of the federal government, especially the judiciary (see Federalist Society, New Federalism). In Canada, federalism typically implies opposition to sovereigntist movements (most commonly Quebec separatism). The governments of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, India, and Mexico, among others, are also organized along federalist principles. Federalism may encompass as few as two or three internal divisions, as is the case in Belgium or Bosnia and Herzegovina. In general, two extremes of federalism can be distinguished: at one extreme, the strong federal state is almost completely unitary, with few powers reserved for local governments; while at the other extreme, the national government may be a federal state in name only, being a confederation in actuality. In 1999, the Government of Canada established the Forum of Federations as an international network for exchange of best practices among federal and federalizing countries. Headquartered in Ottawa, the Forum of Federations partner governments include Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ethiopia, Germany, India, Mexico, Nigeria, and Switzerland. Some Christian denominations are organized on federalist principles; in these churches this is known as ''ecclesiastic'' or ''theological federalism''. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Federalism」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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