Editing Federated state (section)

{{Short description|Territorial and constitutional community forming part of a federal union}}
{{Redirect|Federated states|the western Pacific state|Federated States of Micronesia}}
{{Distinguish|Federation|Federal republic}}

[[File:Map of unitary and federal states.svg|thumb|upright=1.7|Federated states of various types exist within many of the modern [[federation|federal states]] (represented in green).]]

A '''federated state''' (also  [[State (polity)|state]], [[province]], [[region]], [[Canton (administrative division)|canton]],  [[Länder|land]],  [[governorate]],  [[oblast]], [[emirate]], or  [[country]]) is a [[territorial]] and [[constitution]]al community forming part of a [[federation]].<ref>''The Australian National Dictionary: Fourth Edition'', pg 1395. (2004) Canberra. {{ISBN|978-0-19-551771-2}}.</ref> A federated state does not have international [[sovereignty]] since powers are divided between the other federated states and the [[federal government]]. Unlike international [[sovereign state]]s, which have what is often referred to as [[Westphalian sovereignty]] (such as exercised by their federal government), federated states operate under their domestic or federal law with relation to the rest of the world.

Importantly, federated states do not have automatic standing as entities of international law. Instead, the federal union (federation) as a single entity is the sovereign state for purposes of international law.<ref>Crawford, J. (2006). The Creation of States in International Law. Oxford, Clarendon Press.</ref> Depending on the constitutional structure of a particular federation, a federated state can hold various degrees of legislative, judicial, and administrative jurisdiction over a defined geographic territory and is a form of regional government.  A federated state may nonetheless establish offices internationally, for example, to promote trade or tourism, while still operating only within the trade policy or other applicable law of their federation, and their host country.  They also may enter into international regional agreements under the laws of their federation and state, such as to protect a cross-border resource like water or other shared matters.

In some cases, a federation is created from the union of political entities that are either independent or [[dependent territories]] of another sovereign entity (most commonly a [[colonial power]]).{{efn-ua|Examples are [[Australia]], [[Canada]] and the [[United States]].}} In other cases, federated states have been created out of the [[administrative division]]s of previously [[unitary state]]s.{{efn-ua|This occurred in Belgium in 1993. The Belgian regions had previously devolved powers.}} Once a federal constitution is formed, the rules governing the relationship between federal and regional powers become part of the country's constitutional law and not [[international law]].

In countries with federal constitutions, there is a division of power between the central government and the component states. These entities – states, provinces, counties, cantons, Länder, etc. – are partially [[self-governing]] and are afforded a degree of constitutionally guaranteed [[autonomy]] that varies substantially from one federation to another.{{efn-ua|For instance, Canadian provinces and Swiss cantons possess substantially more powers and enjoy more protection against interference and infringements from the central government than most non-Western federations.}} Depending on the form the [[decentralization]] of powers takes, a federated state's legislative powers may or may not be overruled or [[veto]]ed by the federal government. [[Law]]s governing the relationship between federal and regional powers can be amended through the national or federal constitution, and, if they exist, [[Constitution#Distribution of sovereignty|state constitutions]] as well.

In terms of internal politics, federated states can have [[republic]]an or [[monarchical]] forms of government. Those of republican form (federated republics) are usually called ''states'' (like [[states of the US]]) or ''republics'' (like [[Republics of the USSR|republics]] in the former [[USSR]]).