Editing Confederation

{{Short description|Union of sovereign states linked by treaty}}
{{About|the type of state|the Canadian political event|Canadian Confederation|other uses}}
{{Redirect|Confederate state|the secessionist Southern states during the American civil war|Confederate States of America}}
{{Distinguish|Federation}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Basic forms of government}}

A '''confederation''' (also known as a '''confederacy''' or '''league''') is a political union of [[sovereign state]]s united for purposes of common action.<ref>Oxford English Dictionary</ref> 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 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 the member states and the general government and their distribution of powers varies. Some looser confederations are similar to [[intergovernmental organization|international organisations]]. Other confederations with stricter rules may resemble [[federal system]]s.
These elements of such confederations, the international organization and federalist perspective, has been combined as [[supranational union]]s.

Since the member states of 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".<ref>Vattel, Emmerich (1758) ''The Law of Nations'', cited in Wood, Gordon (1969) ''The Creation of the American Republic 1776–1787'', University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, p.355.</ref>

Under a confederation, compared to a [[federal state]], the central authority is relatively weak.<ref>McCormick, John (2002) ''Understanding the European Union: a Concise Introduction'', Palgrave, Basingstoke, p. 6.</ref> 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.<ref>This was the key feature that distinguished the first American union, under the [[Articles of Confederation]] of 1781, from the second, under the current [[US Constitution]] of 1789. [[Alexander Hamilton]], in ''Federalist 15'', called the absence of directly-effective law in the Articles a "defect" and the "great and radical vice" in the initial system. Madison, James, Hamilton, Alexander and Jay, John (1987) ''The Federalist Papers'', Penguin, Harmondsworth, p. 147.</ref> Also, decision-making in the general government usually proceeds by consensus (unanimity), not by 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]].

==Confederated states==
{{Further|Constituent states}}

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 [[republic]]an or [[monarchy|monarchical]] forms of government. Those that have a republican form (confederated republics) are usually called ''states'' (like states of the American [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]], 1861–1865) or ''republics'' (like [[republics]] of [[Serbia]] and [[Montenegro]] within the former [[State Union of Serbia and Montenegro]], 2003–2006).{{sfn|Miller|2005|p=529–581}} Those that have a monarchical form of government (confederated monarchies) are defined by various hierarchical ranks (like kingdoms of [[Iraq]] and [[Jordan]] within the [[Hashemite Arab Union]] in 1958).

==Examples==
===Belgium===
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'',<ref>French ''Le confédéralisme n'est pas loin'' Charles-Etienne Lagasse, ''Les Nouvelles institutions politiques de la Belgique et de l'Europe'', Erasme, [[Namur]] 2003, p. 405 {{ISBN|2871277834}}</ref> and the director of the ''Centre de recherche et d'information socio-politiques'' (CRISP) [[Vincent de Coorebyter]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.crisp.be/UK/UK_index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070203222600/http://www.crisp.be/UK/UK_index.html |url-status=dead |title=Belgian research center whose activities are devoted to the study of decision-making in Belgium and in Europe|archive-date=3 February 2007}}</ref> called Belgium "undoubtedly a federation...[with] some aspects of a confederation" in ''[[Le Soir]]''.<ref>French: "La Belgique est  (...) incontestablement, une fédération : il n'y a aucun doute  (...) Cela étant, la fédération belge possède d'ores et déjà des traits confédéraux qui en font un pays atypique, et qui encouragent apparemment certains responsables à réfléchir à des accommodements supplémentaires dans un cadre qui resterait, vaille que vaille, national." Vincent de Coorebyter "La Belgique (con)fédérale" in [[Le Soir]] 24 June 2008</ref> Also in ''Le Soir'', Michel Quévit of the [[Université catholique de Louvain|Catholic University of Louvain]] wrote that the "Belgian political system is already in dynamics of a Confederation".<ref>French: ''Le système institutionnel belge est déjà inscrit dans une dynamique de type cs'', [[Le Soir]], 19 September 2008</ref><ref>Robert Deschamps, Michel Quévit, Robert Tollet, "Vers une réforme de type confédéral de l'État belge dans le cadre du maintien de l'union monétaire," in ''Wallonie 84'', n°2, pp. 95-111</ref>

Nevertheless, the Belgian regions and 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.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}}

The increasingly-confederal aspects of the Belgian Federal State appear to be a political reflection of the profound cultural, sociological and economic differences between the ''Flemish'' (Belgians who speak Dutch or Dutch dialects) and the ''Walloons'' (Belgians who speak French or French dialects).<ref>Le petit Larousse 2013 p1247</ref> 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 [[New Flemish Alliance|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 a marginal role in nationwide general elections. The system in Belgium is known as [[consociationalism]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wolff|first1=Stefan|title=Disputed Territories: The Transnational Dynamics of Ethnic Conflict Settlement|date=2004 |publisher=Berghahn Books|pages=30–31| isbn=978-1571817181 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QYTKZ0z6QygC}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Wippman|first1=David|editor1-last=Wippman|editor1-first=David|title=International Law and Ethnic Conflict|date=1998|publisher=Cornell University Press|page=220|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uy1CCqO6qUIC|chapter=Practical and Legal Constraints on Internal Power Sharing| isbn=978-0801434334 }}</ref>

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 (autonomous community)|Basque Country]] (both part of [[Spain]]), [[Northern Ireland]] and [[Scotland]] (both part of 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.

===Canada===
[[File:Proclamation Canadian Confederation.jpg|thumb|Proclamation of [[Canadian Confederation]]]]
Canada is an unusually decentralized [[federal state]], not a confederate association of sovereign states,<ref name=":0" /> the usual meaning of ''confederation'' in modern terms. In [[Canada]], the word ''confederation'' has an additional unrelated meaning.<ref name=":0">[[Eugene Forsey]], ''[http://publications.gc.ca/pub?id=9.810414&sl=0 How Canadians Govern Themselves]'', 9th ed. (Ottawa: [[Library of Parliament|Library of Parliament / Bibliothèque du Parlement]], Catalogue No. X9‑11/2016E, 2016‑03), {{ISBN|9780660044897}}, pp. 7, 29. French version published as ''Les [http://publications.gc.ca/pub?id=9.810417&sl=1 Canadiens et leur système de gouvernement]'', n<sup>o</sup> de catalogue X9‑11/2016F, {{ISBN|9780660044910}} First edition published in 1980.</ref> "[[Canadian Confederation|Confederation]]" refers to the process of (or the event of) establishing or joining the Canadian federal state. 

In modern terminology, Canada is a federation, not a confederation.<ref>P.W. Hogg, ''Constitutional Law of Canada'' (5th ed. supplemented), para. 5.1(b).</ref> However, to contemporaries of the ''[[Constitution Act, 1867]]'', ''confederation'' did not have the same connotation of a weakly-centralized federation.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Life and Times of Confederation, 1864–1867|last=Waite|first=Peter B.|date=1962|publisher=University of Toronto Press|at=Pages 37–38, footnote 6}}</ref> [[Canadian Confederation]] generally refers to the ''Constitution Act, 1867'', which formed the [[Canada|Dominion of Canada]] from three of the colonies of [[British North America]], and to 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 [[Federalism|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 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 [[Devolution|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 a subsequent [[Clarity Act|federal]] law, set forth negotiating conditions for a [[Canadian provinces|Canadian province]] (though not a [[Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories|territory]]) to leave the Canadian federal state (addressed also by [[Bill 99|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 is democratically feasible without resorting to extralegal means or international involvement.

===European Union===
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<ref>Kiljunen, Kimmo (2004). The European Constitution in the Making. Centre for European Policy Studies. pp. 21–26. {{ISBN|978-9290794936}}.</ref> (or a "new" type of confederation) and a federation.<ref>Burgess, Michael (2000). Federalism and European union: The building of Europe, 1950–2000. Routledge. p. 49. {{ISBN|0415226473}}. "Our theoretical analysis suggests that the EC/EU is neither a federation nor a confederation in the classical sense. But it does claim that the European political and economic elites have shaped and moulded the EC/EU into a new form of an international organization, namely, a species of "new" confederation".</ref> The term [[supranational union]] has also been applied. The EU operates common economic policies with thousands of [[Law of the European Union|common laws]], which enable a [[European Single Market|single economic market]], a [[European Union Customs Union|common customs territory]], (mainly) [[Schengen zone|open internal borders]], and a [[euro|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-[[European Union citizenship|EU nationals]]. Furthermore, most [[EU laws]], which have been developed by consensus between [[Council of the European Union|relevant national government ministers]] and then scrutinised and approved or rejected by the [[European Parliament]], must be [[transposition (law)|transposed]] into national law by national parliaments (in the case of [[Directive (European Union)|directives]]). Most collective decisions by member states are taken by [[qualified majority voting|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 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.<ref name="Josselin2006">{{Cite journal |last1=Josselin |first1=Jean Michel |last2=Marciano |first2=Alain |year=2006 |title=The Political Economy of European Federalism |series=Series: Public Economics and Social Choice |publisher=Centre for Research in Economics and Management, University of Rennes 1, University of Caen |page=12 |id=WP 2006–07; UMR CNRS 6211 |url=http://crem.univ-rennes1.fr/wp/2006/ie-200607.pdf |quote=A complete shift from a confederation to a federation would have required to straightforwardly replace the principalship 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 the judicial landscape. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080819213748/http://crem.univ-rennes1.fr/wp/2006/ie-200607.pdf |archive-date=19 August 2008 }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |url=https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs11558-006-9001-y |doi=10.1007/s11558-006-9001-y |title=How the court made a federation of the EU |year=2007 |last1=Josselin |first1=Jean-Michel |last2=Marciano |first2=Alain |journal=The Review of International Organizations |volume=2 |pages=59–75 |s2cid=153687230 |url-access=subscription }} (referring to the [[European Court of Justice]]). Josselin (U. de Rennes-1/CREM) and Marciano (U. de Reims CA/CNRS).</ref> As the international law professor [[Joseph H. H. Weiler]] (of the [[Hague Academy of International Law|Hague Academy]] and [[New York University]]) wrote, "Europe has charted its own brand of constitutional federalism".<ref>{{cite book |author=J.H.H. Weiler |author-link=Joseph H. H. Weiler |title=The federal vision: legitimacy and levels of governance in the United States and the European Union |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0199245002 |chapter=Chapter 2, Federalism without Constitutionalism: Europe's ''Sonderweg'' |quote=Europe has charted its own brand of constitutional federalism. It works. Why fix it? |year=2003 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/federalvisionleg00kaly }}</ref> Jean-Michel Josselin and Alain Marciano see the [[European Court of Justice]] in Luxembourg City as being a primary force behind the building of a federal legal order for the EU,<ref name=":1" /> 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 the judicial landscape".<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Josselin |first1=Jean Michel |last2=Marciano |first2=Alain |year=2006 |title=The political economy of European federalism |series=Series: Public Economics and Social Choice |publisher=Centre for Research in Economics and Management, University of Rennes 1, University of Caen |page=12 |id=WP 2006-07; UMR CNRS 6211 |url=http://crem.univ-rennes1.fr/wp/2006/ie-200607.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080819213748/http://crem.univ-rennes1.fr/wp/2006/ie-200607.pdf |archive-date=19 August 2008}}</ref> [[Rutgers University|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 the EU as a federal system".<ref name="A Political Theory of Federalism">{{cite book|last=Bednar|first=Jenna|title=A Political Theory of Federalism|year=2001|publisher=Cambridge University|pages=223–270}}</ref> 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".<ref>Thomas Risse and Tanja A. Börzel, [https://web.archive.org/web/20130523231230/http://centers.law.nyu.edu/jeanmonnet/archive/papers/00/00f0101-04.html Who is Afraid of a European Federation? How to Constitutionalise a Multi-Level Governance System, Section 4: The European Union as an Emerging Federal System], Jean Monnet Center at [[NYU School of Law]]</ref>

[[Valéry Giscard d'Estaing]], 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 [[Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe|European Constitution]] and the word was replaced with either "Community" or "Union".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/1435550/Giscard%27s-%27federal%27-ruse-to-protect-Blair.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130114035522/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/1435550/Giscard%27s-%27federal%27-ruse-to-protect-Blair.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 January 2013 |title=Giscard's "federal" ruse to protect Blair |work=The Daily Telegraph |author=Evans-Pritchard, Ambrose |date= 8 July 2003 |access-date=2008-10-15}}</ref>

A majority of the [[Political groups of the European Parliament|Political Groups in the European Parliament]], including the [[European People's Party Group|EPP]], the [[Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats|S&D Group]] and [[Renew Europe]], support a federal model for the European Union. The [[European Conservatives and Reformists Group|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".<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 March 2017 |title=The Future of the European Union ECR Statement |url=https://ecrgroup.eu/files/ECR_statement_on_the_Future_of_the_EU.pdf |access-date=25 June 2022 |website=www.ecrgroup.eu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Gehrke |first=Laurenz |date=29 September 2020 |title=Italy's Giorgia Meloni elected president of European Conservatives and Reformists |work=Politico |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/italy-giorgia-meloni-ecr-president-european-parliament/ |access-date=28 July 2022}}</ref>

===Indigenous confederations in North America===
[[File:Map of the Country of the Five Nations belonging to the province of New York and of the Lakes near which the Nations of Far Indians live with part of Canada taken from the Map of the Louisiane done 1730.png|left |thumb|upright=1.6|Map of the [[Iroquois#Iroquois Confederacy|Five Nations]] (from the [[Darlington Collection]]) ]]
In 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 the [[Wabanaki Confederacy]], [[Western Confederacy]], [[Tsenacommacah]], [[Seven Nations of Canada]], [[Pontiac's War#Origins|Pontiac's Confederacy]], [[Pennacook|Pennacook Confederacy]], [[Illinois Confederation]], [[Tecumseh's Confederacy]], [[Muscogee|Muscogee Confederacy]], [[Great Sioux Nation]], [[Blackfoot Confederacy]], [[Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs|Warm Springs Confederacy]], [[Manahoac|Manahoac Confederacy]], [[Iron Confederacy]]<!--Article deleted:, [[United Confederation of Taino People]]--> and [[Council of Three Fires]].

The Haudenosaunee Confederacy, historically known as the Iroquois League or the League of Five (later Six) Nations, is the country of [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] (in what is now the United States) and [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] (in what is now Canada) that consists of six nations: the [[Mohawk people|Mohawk]], the [[Oneida people|Oneida]], the [[Onondaga people|Onondaga]], the [[Cayuga people|Cayuga]], the [[Seneca people|Seneca]] and the [[Tuscarora people|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.<ref>Jennings, F. (1984). ''The Ambiguous Iroquois Empire: The Covenant Chain Confederation of Indian Tribes with English Colonies from Its Beginnings to the Lancaster Treaty of 1744''. United Kingdom: Norton., p.94</ref> Each clan from 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.

=== Indigenous confederations in South America ===
Several of the [[Pre-Columbian cultures of Colombia]], such as the [[Muisca Confederation|Muisca]] and [[Tairona]] were composed of loose confederations. The Muisca form of government consisted of two different [[Muisca rulers|rulers]] that governed 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.

===Serbia and Montenegro===
In 2003, the [[Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]] was transformed into the [[State Union of Serbia and Montenegro]], a confederation of the [[Republic of Montenegro (1992–2006)|Republic of Montenegro]] and the [[Republic of Serbia (1992–2006)|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 a weak [[President of Serbia and Montenegro|common president]], [[Council of Ministers of Serbia and Montenegro|ministerial council]] and [[Parliament of Serbia and Montenegro|parliament]].{{sfn|Miller|2005|p=529–581}}

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 [[Serbian dinar|dinar]] was and still is the legal tender in Serbia). On 21 May 2006, the [[Montenegrin independence referendum, 2006|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===
{{Further information|Eidgenossenschaft}}
[[Switzerland]], officially known as the ''Swiss Confederation'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.admin.ch/ |title=Startseite |publisher=admin.ch |date=13 February 2011 |access-date=2011-02-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bk.admin.ch/dokumentation/02070/index.html?lang=en |title=Federal Chancellery – The Swiss Confederation – a brief guide |publisher=Bk.admin.ch |date=1 March 2010 |access-date=2011-02-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514013106/http://www.bk.admin.ch/dokumentation/02070/index.html?lang=en |archive-date=14 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://swissconfederationinstitute.org/|title=The Swiss Confederation Institute|website=The Swiss Confederation Institute|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110123160641/http://www.swissconfederationinstitute.org/|archive-date=2011-01-23|url-status=dead|access-date=2013-07-12}}</ref> is an example of a modern country that traditionally refers to itself as a confederation because the official (and traditional) name of Switzerland in German ([[Languages of Switzerland|the majority language of the Swiss]]) is ''{{lang|de|Schweizerische [[Eidgenossenschaft]]}}'' (literally "Swiss Comradeship by Oath"), an expression which was translated into the [[Latin]] ''{{lang|la|Confoederatio Helvetica}}'' (Helvetic Confederation). It had been a confederacy since its inception in [[1291]] as 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 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 (''{{lang|de|Sonderbund}}'' in German) against the Protestant majority, a vote was held and the majority of the cantons approved the new Federal Constitution which changed the political system to one of a [[federation]].<ref>[http://www.swissworld.org/en/politics/general_information/ch_confoederatio_helvetica/ CH: Confoederatio Helvetica – Switzerland – Information] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150330035550/http://www.swissworld.org/en/politics/general_information/ch_confoederatio_helvetica/ |date=30 March 2015 }}. Swissworld.org. Retrieved on 2013-07-12.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.admin.ch/ |title=On the way to becoming a federal state (1815-1848) |publisher=admin.ch |date=27 November 2017 |access-date=2021-01-28}}</ref>

=== Union State of Russia and Belarus===
{{main|Union State}}

In 1999, [[Russia]] and [[Belarus]] signed a treaty to form a confederation,<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2021-09-10|publisher=BBC News |title= Russia and Belarus form confederation|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/555384.stm|date=8 December 1999}}</ref> which came into force on 26 January 2000.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Cesare|last1=Romano|first2=Karen|last2=Alter|first3=Yuval|last3=Shany|title=The Oxford Handbook of International Adjudication|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SklYAgAAQBAJ&q=Russia+%2522union+State%2522+%252226+January+2000%2522&pg=PA251|publisher=OUP Oxford|date= 2014 |isbn=978-0199660681|page=251}}</ref> Although it was given the name ''Union State'', and has some characteristics of a federation, it remains a confederation of two sovereign states.<ref name=Kembayev>{{cite book|first1=Zhenis|last1=Kembayev|title=Legal Aspects of the Regional Integration Processes in the Post-Soviet Area|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x6dFsBVzslkC&q=%2522union+state%2522+confederation+russia&pg=PA101|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|date=2009|isbn=978-3540876526|pages=98, 100–101}}</ref> Its existence has been seen as an indication of Russia's political and economic support for the [[Politics of Belarus#Lukashenko's administration|Belarusian government]].<ref name=Lagutina>{{cite book|last1=Lagutina|first1=Maria|title=Regional Integration and Future Cooperation Initiatives in the Eurasian Economic Union|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hxTFDwAAQBAJ&q=%2522Union+state%2522+russia+not+implemented&pg=PA180|publisher=IGI Global|date=2019|isbn=978-1799819523|page=180}}</ref> The confederation was created with the objective of co-ordinating common action on economic integration and foreign affairs.<ref name=Kembayev/> However, many of the treaty's provisions have not yet been implemented.<ref name=Lagutina/> Consequently, ''[[The Times]]'', in 2020, described it as "a mostly unimplemented confederation".<ref>{{cite news|first1=Johnny|last1=O'Reilly |first2= Alec|last2= Luhn|date=17 August 2020|access-date=2021-09-10|title=Belarus protests: Putin threatens to intervene as 200,000 gather to oppose Lukashenko|url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/europe/article/belarus-protests-russia-ready-to-step-in-as-protests-grip-minsk-5jhmmtqb0|issn=0140-0460|newspaper=[[The Times]]}}</ref>
=== Alliance of Sahel States ===
On July 6, 2024, at the end of the first summit of the [[Alliance of Sahel States]] (AES), the final communiqué announced the creation of a confederation of the three countries of the AES, namely [[Mali]], [[Burkina Faso]] and [[Niger]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Balima |first1=Boureima |date=6 July 2024 |title=Junta-led Sahel states rule out return to West African economic bloc |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/junta-led-sahel-states-rule-out-return-west-african-economic-bloc-2024-07-06/ |access-date=2024-07-08 |newspaper=Reuters}}</ref> All three countries were members of [[ECOWAS]], before their memberships were suspended after a successive string of military coups. Subsequently, the countries withdrew from ECOWAS and formed the AES.

== Historical confederations ==
{{see also|List of confederations}}
Historical confederations (especially those predating the 20th century) may not fit the current definition of a confederation, may be proclaimed as 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.

===List===
Some have more the characteristics of a [[personal union]], but appear here because of their self-styling as a "confederation":

{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Name
!Period
!Notes
|-
| [[Three Crowned Kings]] 
|align="center"|1050 BCE&ndash;second century BCE

|style="font-size:95%;"|  As described in the [[Hathigumpha inscription]], On the 11th year, Kharavela broke up a confederacy of Tamil kingdoms, which was becoming a threat to Kalinga [[Kharavela]].
|-
|{{Flagicon image|Toltec Emblem.svg}} [[Toltec Empire]]
|align="center"| 496&ndash;1122
|style="font-size:95%;"| Existed as a confederation between the Toltecs and the [[Chichimeca]], simultaneously as an empire exerting control over places like [[Cholula (Mesoamerican site)|Cholula]].
|-
|{{Flagicon|Holy Roman Empire}} [[Holy Roman Empire]]<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Theories of Federalism under the Holy Roman Empire|author=Heinz H. F. Eulau|year=1941|journal=The American Political Science Review|volume=35|issue=4|pages=643–664|doi=10.2307/1948073|jstor=1948073|s2cid=145527513 }}</ref>
|align="center"| 800/962–1806
|style="font-size:95%;"| ''De jure'' an [[empire]], ''de facto'' a multi-ethnic [[Christian state|Christian confederation]] of German, Italian, Czech, Dutch, and French states.
|-
|{{Flagicon image|Bandera de la confederacion muisca.png}} [[Muisca Confederation]]
|align=“center”| {{Circa|800}}&ndash;1540
|style=“font-size:95%;”| Consisted of the Southern Muisca of [[Bacatá]] led by the Zipazgo and the Northern Muisca of [[Tunja|Hunza]] led by the Zacazgo.
|-
| [[Tui Manu'a|Tui Manuʻa Confederacy]]
|align="center"|
|style="font-size:95%;"| 
|-
| [[Kimek–Kipchak confederation]]
|align="center"| 9th century&ndash;13th century
|style="font-size:95%;"| A [[Turkic peoples|Turkic confederation]] in the eastern part of the Eurasian Steppe, between the 9th and 13th centuries. The confederation was dominated by two Turkic nomadic tribes: the [[Kimeks]] and the [[Kipchaks]].
|-
| [[Cumania]]
|align="center"| 10th century&ndash;1242
|style="font-size:95%;"| A Turkic confederation in the western part of the Eurasian Steppe, between the 10th and 13th centuries. The confederation was dominated by two Turkic nomadic tribes: the [[Cumans]] and the [[Kipchaks]].
|-
| [[League of Mayapan]]
|align="center"| 987&ndash;1461
|style="font-size:95%;"| 
|-
|{{Flagicon image|Royal Banner of Aragón.svg}} [[Crown of Aragon]]
|align="center"| 1137&ndash;1716
|style="font-size:95%;"| Parts of present-day [[Balearic Islands]], [[France]], [[Italy]], [[Malta]], and [[Spain]].
|-
|{{Flagicon image|Flag of the Iroquois Confederacy.svg}} [[Haudenosaunee]]
|align="center"| 1142&ndash;present
|style="font-size:95%;"| Also known as the Iroquois Confederacy or the [[Native Americans in the United States|Six (formerly Five) Nations]].
|-
|{{Flagicon image|Hanseatenwimpel.svg}}[[Hanseatic League]]
|align="center" style="white-space:nowrap;"| 13th–17th centuries
|style="font-size:95%;"| Member cities located in present-day [[Belgium]], [[Estonia]], [[Germany]], [[Latvia]], [[Lithuania]], [[Netherlands]], [[Poland]], [[Russia]], and [[Sweden]].
|-
|{{Flagicon image|Early Swiss cross.svg}} [[Old Swiss Confederacy]]
|align="center"| 1291&ndash;1848
|style="font-size:95%;"| Officially, the "Swiss Confederation".
|-
| [[Qara Qoyunlu]]
| align="center"| 1374&ndash;1468
|style="font-size:95%;"| A [[Turkoman (ethnonym)|Turkoman]] tribal confederation.
|-
| [[Aq Qoyunlu]]
| align="center"| 1378&ndash;1503
|style="font-size:95%;"| A Turkoman tribal confederation.
|-
|{{Flagicon|Kalmar Union}} [[Kalmar Union]]{{sup|a}}
|align="center"| 1397&ndash;1523
|style="font-size:95%;"| Parts of present-day [[Denmark]], [[Norway]], and [[Sweden]].
|-
|{{Flagicon image|Aztec Triple Alliance.png}} [[Aztec Empire]]
|align="center"| 1428&ndash;1521
|style="font-size:95%;"| Consisted of the [[city-state]]s of [[Tenochtitlan]], [[Texcoco (altepetl)|Texcoco]], and [[Tlacopan]].
|-
|{{Flagicon image|Baltic coat of arms.svg}} [[Terra Mariana#Livonian Confederation|Livonian Confederation]]
|align="center"| 1435&ndash;1561
|style="font-size:95%;"| 
|-
|{{Flagicon image|Kingdom of Poland-flag.svg}} Pre-[[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Commonwealth]] [[Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)|Poland]] and [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania|Lithuania]]{{sup|a}}
|align="center"| 1447&ndash;1492<br />1501&ndash;1569
|style="font-size:95%;"| Shared a monarch ([[List of rulers of Lithuania#Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1236–1569)|Grand Duke of Lithuania]] and [[List of Polish monarchs|King of Poland]]), parliament (''[[Sejm#History|Sejm]]''), and currency.
|-
|{{Flagicon|Denmark–Norway}} [[Denmark–Norway]]{{sup|a}}
|align="center"| 1536&ndash;1814
|style="font-size:95%;"| Parts of present-day [[Denmark]] and [[Norway]].
|-
|{{Flagicon|Dutch Republic}} [[Dutch Republic|Seven United Provinces of the Netherlands]]
|align="center"| 1581&ndash;1795
|style="font-size:95%;"| 
|-
| [[Wampanoag people|Wampanoag Confederacy]]
|align="center"| 
|style="font-size:95%;"| 
|-
| [[Powhatan|Powhatan Confederacy]]
|align="center"| 
|style="font-size:95%;"| 
|-
| [[Illinois Confederation]]
|align="center"| 
|style="font-size:95%;"| 
|-
|{{Flagicon image|Green harp flag of Ireland 17th century.svg}} [[Confederate Ireland]]
|align="center"| 1641&ndash;1649
|style="font-size:95%;"| 
|-
|{{Flagicon image|English Red Ensign 1620.svg}} [[New England Confederation]]
|align="center"| 1643&ndash;1684
|style="font-size:95%;"| 
|-
|[[Kingdom of Lunda]]
|{{Center|{{circa|1665}}–1887}}
|
|-
|{{Flagicon image|Flag of the Aro Confederacy.svg}} [[Aro Confederacy]]
|align="center"| 1690&ndash;1902
|style="font-size:95%;"| Parts of present-day [[Nigeria]], [[Cameroon]], and [[Equatorial Guinea]].
|-
|{{Flag|Maratha Confederacy}}
| align="center" | 1713&ndash;1818
| style="font-size:95%;" |
|-
|{{Flagicon|United States|variant=1777}} [[Confederation period|The United States of America]]
|align="center"| 1781&ndash;1789
|style="font-size:95%;"| Organization of the [[United States]] under the [[Articles of Confederation]].
|-
| [[Western Confederacy]]
|align="center"| 1785&ndash;1795
|style="font-size:95%;"| 
|-
| [[Tecumseh's confederacy]]
|align="center"| {{circa|1805&ndash;1824}}
|style="font-size:95%;"| 
|-
|{{Flagicon image|Commemorative Medal of the Rhine Confederation.svg}} [[Confederation of the Rhine]]
|align="center"| 1806&ndash;1813
|style="font-size:95%;"| [[Client state]]s of the [[First French Empire|French Empire]]; had no head of state nor government.
|-
|{{Flagicon|German Confederation}} [[German Confederation]]
|align="center"| 1815&ndash;1866
|style="font-size:95%;"| 
|-
|{{Flagicon|United Provinces of New Granada}} [[United Provinces of New Granada]]
|align="center"| 1810&ndash;1816
|style="font-size:95%;"| Parts of present-day [[Colombia]].
|-
|{{Flagicon image|Union Jack of Sweden and Norway (1844-1905).svg}} [[Union between Sweden and Norway|Sweden–Norway]]{{sup|a}}
|align="center"| 1814&ndash;1905
|style="font-size:95%;"| Parts of present-day [[Norway]] and [[Sweden]].
|-
|{{Flagicon image|Bandeira da Confedereção do Equador.svg}} [[Confederation of the Equator]]
|align="center"| 1824
|style="font-size:95%;"| Located in northeastern [[Brazil]].
|-
|{{Flagicon|Argentine Confederation}} [[Argentine Confederation]]
|align="center"| 1832&ndash;1860
|style="font-size:95%;"| 
|-
|{{Flagicon|Peru-Bolivian Confederation}} [[Peru–Bolivian Confederation]]
|align="center"| 1836&ndash;1839
|style="font-size:95%;"| Parts of present-day [[Bolivia]] and [[Peru]].
|-
| {{Flag|Federal Republic of Central America}}
|align="center"| 1842&ndash;1844
|style="font-size:95%;"| Parts of present-day [[El Salvador]], [[Guatemala]], [[Honduras]], and [[Nicaragua]].
|-
|{{Flagicon|Granadine Confederation}} [[Granadine Confederation]]
|align="center"| 1858&ndash;1863
| 
|-
|{{Flagicon|Confederate States of America}} [[Confederate States of America]]
|align="center"| 1861&ndash;1865
|style="font-size:95%;"| 11 [[Southern United States|Southern U.S.]] secessionist states during the [[American Civil War]].
|-
|{{Flagicon|Colombia}} [[United States of Colombia]]
|align="center"| 1863&ndash;1886
|-
|{{Flagicon image|Flag of Cross of Burgundy.svg}} [[Carlism|Carlist States]]
|align="center"| 1872&ndash;1876
|style="font-size:95%;"| Parts of present-day [[Spain]].
|-
|{{Flagicon image|Flag of the Mountain Republic.svg}} [[Mountain Republic|United Republics of North Caucasus]]
|align="center| 1918&ndash;1919
|
|-
|{{Flagicon|Republic of the Rif}} [[Republic of the Rif|Confederal Republic of the Tribes of the Rif]]
|align="center"| 1921&ndash;1926
|style="font-size:95%;| Also known as the Rif Republic; short-lived republic in [[Spanish protectorate in Morocco|Spanish-occupied Northern Morocco]] during the [[Rif War]].

|-
|{{flag|Arab League}}
|1945&ndash;present
|
|-
| [[Netherlands-Indonesia Union]]
|align="center"| 1949&ndash;1956
|style="font-size:95%;"| Parts of present-day [[Indonesia]] and [[Netherlands]].
|-
|{{Flagicon image|Flag of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (1953–1963).svg}} [[Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland]]
|align="center"| 1953&ndash;1963
|style="font-size:95%;"| Also known as the Central African Federation, consisting of the then-British colonies of [[Northern Rhodesia]], [[Southern Rhodesia]], and [[Nyasaland]] (present-day [[Malawi]], [[Zambia]], and [[Zimbabwe]]).
|-
|{{Flagicon|Arab Federation}} [[Arab Federation]]{{sup|b}}
|align="center"| 1958
|style="font-size:95%;"| Parts of present-day [[Iraq]] and [[Jordan]].
|-
|{{Flagicon|United Arab Republic}} [[United Arab Republic]]{{sup|b}}<br />and the [[United Arab States]]{{sup|b}}
|align="center"| 1958&ndash;1961
|style="font-size:95%;"| Parts of present-day [[Egypt]] and [[Syria]], joined by the [[Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen|former Kingdom of Yemen]].
|-
|{{Flagicon image|Flag of the Union of African States (1961–1962).svg}} [[Union of African States]]
|align="center"| 1961&ndash;1963
|style="font-size:95%;"| Parts of present-day [[Mali]], [[Ghana]], and [[Guinea]].
|-
|{{Flagicon image|Flag of Syria (1972–1980).svg}} [[Federation of Arab Republics]]{{sup|b}}
|align="center"| 1972
|style="font-size:95%;"| Parts of present-day [[Egypt]], [[Libya]], and [[Syria]].
|-
|{{Flagicon image|Drapeau de la République Arabe Islamique (Union tuniso-libyenne).svg}} [[Arab Islamic Republic]]{{sup|b}}
|align="center"| 1974
|style="font-size:95%;"| Parts of present-day [[Libya]] and [[Tunisia]].
|-
| [[Senegambia Confederation|Senegambia]]
|align="center"| 1982&ndash;1989
|style="font-size:95%;"| Parts of present-day [[Gambia]] and [[Senegal]].
|-
|{{Flag|European Union}}
|1992&ndash;present
|
|-
|{{Flagicon image|Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional, Flag.svg}} [[Rebel Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities]]
|1994&ndash;2023
|style="font-size:95%;"| ''De facto'' [[autonomous territories]], formerly located in the [[Mexico|Mexican state]] of [[Chiapas]].
|-
|{{flag|African Union}}
|2002&ndash;present
|-
|{{Flag|Serbia and Montenegro}} 
|align="center"| 2003&ndash;2006
|style="font-size:95%;"| Parts of present-day [[Montenegro]] and [[Serbia]].
|}
{{unbulleted list |style=padding-left:0.5em;
 | {{sup|a}} Confederated personal union.
 | {{sup|b}} ''[[De facto]]'' confederation.
}}

<!-- What I meant to put in the summary for my last edit (accidentally put exclamation mark and hit enter before I was done): From my understanding, the USSR was a de jure federation, but operated more like a unitary state -->

== See also ==
* [[Arab states of the Persian Gulf]]
* [[ASEAN|Association of Southeast Asian Nations]] (ASEAN)
* [[Associated state]]
* [[British Commonwealth]]
* [[Collective Security Treaty Organization]] (CSTO)
* [[Commonwealth of Independent States]] (CIS)
* [[Continental union]]
* [[Countries of the United Kingdom]]
* [[Customs Union of the Eurasian Economic Union]] (EAEU)
* [[ECOWAS|Economic Community of West African States]] (ECOWAS)
* [[Federalism]]
* [[Federation]]
* [[List of confederations]]
* [[Member states of NATO]]
* [[Military alliance]]
* [[Organization of Turkic States]] (OTS)
* [[Personal union]]
* [[Post-Soviet states]]
* [[Supranational union]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== Sources ==
* {{Cite book|last=Miller|first=Nicholas|chapter=Serbia and Montenegro|title=Eastern Europe: An Introduction to the People, Lands, and Culture|year=2005|volume=3|publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=Santa Barbara, California|pages=529–581|isbn=978-1576078006|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lVBB1a0rC70C}}

== External links ==
{{Wiktionary}}
* P.-J. Proudhon, [http://www.ditext.com/proudhon/federation/federation.html The Principle of Federation], 1863.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050305145500/http://www2.marianopolis.edu/quebechistory/federal/fathers.htm The Fathers of Confederation]
* [http://www.musee-mccord.qc.ca/en/keys/webtours/GE_P1_2_EN.html Confederation: The Creation of Canada] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041217231358/http://www.musee-mccord.qc.ca/en/keys/webtours/GE_P1_2_EN.html |date=17 December 2004 }}
* [http://www.uctp.org United Confederation of Taino People]

{{Autonomous types of first-tier administration}}
{{Political ideologies}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Constitutional state types]]
[[Category:Federalism]]
[[Category:Political systems]]
[[Category:Confederations| ]]