Federated state

Lore & Background

It does not have international sovereignty since powers are divided between the other federated states and the federal government. Unlike international sovereign states, which have Westphalian sovereignty, federated states operate under their domestic or federal law with relation to the rest of the world. Federated states do not have automatic standing as entities of international law; instead, the federal union as a single entity is the sovereign state for purposes of international law.

Reader's Guide

Federated states are significant as the component units of federal systems, providing a degree of constitutionally guaranteed autonomy that varies substantially from one federation to another. They can hold various degrees of legislative, judicial, and administrative jurisdiction over a defined geographic territory and are a form of regional government. Federated states may establish offices internationally to promote trade or tourism, while operating only within the trade policy or other applicable law of their federation and 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. In some cases, a federation is created from the union of political entities that were independent or dependent territories; in other cases, federated states have been created out of the administrative divisions of previously unitary states. The rules governing the relationship between federal and regional powers become part of the country's constitutional law, not international law.