Federalism
Divides public authority between different territorial levels instead of locating all final decisions in one centralized government. Constitutional rules allocate shared and separate responsibilities.
Foundational doctrines
- Divided sovereignty
- Shared rule
- Constitutional self-government
- Subsidiarity
Disagreement and variation
Federalists disagree over how powers should be divided and whether local self-rule protects diversity or entrenches unequal rights and resources. Federal arrangements can serve diverse economic and cultural projects; institutional design alone does not determine them.
Numerical positions in the interactive model are editorial reference estimates, not scientifically validated measurements.