Confederal Governments

Confederal Governments

A confederal system sits at the other extreme in terms of centralization. A confederacy is a loose relationship among a number of smaller political units. The vast majority of political power rests with the local governments; the central federal government has very little power. Local governments have a great deal of freedom to act as they wish, but this freedom often leads to conflicts between states and the federal government. In some cases, a confederate government is little more than an alliance between independent states.

A confederation (also known as a confederacy) is a union of sovereign states, united for purposes of common action often in relation to other states. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issues, such as defense, foreign relations, internal trade or currency, with the general government being required to provide support for all its members.

For Americans, the Confederate States of America—which governed the South during the Civil War—is the best-known example of a confederacy, but there have been others. In fact, the first government of the United States, created by the Articles of Confederation (finished in 1777), was this type of system. Today, Belgium is basically a confederacy between two largely independent states, Flanders in the north and Wallonia in the south.

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 the distribution of powers among them is highly variable. Some looser confederations are similar to international organisations. Other confederations with stricter rules may resemble federal systems. Since the member states of a confederation retain their sovereignty, they have an implicit right of secession. 

Under a confederal arrangement, in contrast with a federal one, the central authority is relatively weak. 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 therefore not laws acting directly upon the individual, but instead have more the character of inter-state agreements. Also, decision-making in the general government usually proceeds by consensus (unanimity) and not by majority, which makes for a slow and inefficient government. These problematic features, limiting the effectiveness of the union, mean that political pressure tends to build over time for the transition to a federal system of government, as happened in the American, Swiss, German and European cases of regional integration.

Features of Confederal Systems of Government

• A confederation is made up of two or more independent states.
• The component states are allowed to remain as separate international entities reserving for them the power to handle their own foreign policy.
• The central government is usually weak while the component units are rather strong.
• The confederal government depends upon the component states to contribute military resources to defend the confederation. 
• When it comes to power sharing, the component states are vested with exclusive powers while the residual powers are reserved for the central government. 
• In a confederation, the constitution allows for any of the component units to secede at any time if it so desires. This is unlike in the federal system of government where the right of secession is denied.
• Citizens tend to be loyal to the component states rather than the central government.