6/27/2021 Constituent state - Wikipedia

Constituent state
A constituent state is a state entity that constitutes a part of a sovereign state. A constituent state holds regional jurisdiction over a defined administrative territory, within a sovereign state. Government of a constituent state is a
form of regional government. Throughout history, and also in modern political practice, most constituent states are part of complex states, like federations or confederations. Constituent states can have republican or monarchical
forms of government. Those of republican form are usually called states or autonomous states, republics or autonomous republics, or cantons. Those that have a monarchical form of government are often defined by traditional
hierarchical rank of their ruler (usually a principality, or an emirate).

Contents
Associated state
Confederated state
Federated state
Other forms of constituent states
Political status of breakaway states
The Caucasus
Cyprus
Kosovo
Korean reunification
Proposal for Palestine
Somalia
Other administrative entities
Myanmar
Palau
Other uses
See also
References
External links

Associated state
States existing in free association with another sovereign state can be considered constituent states of a constitutional entity, depending on circumstances. For example, the Cook Islands, New Zealand and Niue constitute the three
constituent countries of the Realm of New Zealand, united under a single head of state: the King or Queen of New Zealand.[1]

Confederated state
Constituent states united in a confederal union under a confederal government are more specifically known as confederated states. Some of the most notable historical examples of constituent states within a confederation are the
United States under the Articles of Confederation, the States of the German Confederation and States of the Confederate States of America. In modern political practice, notable examples are Cantons of Switzerland or Entities of
Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Federated state
Constituent states united in a federal union under a federal government are more specifically known as federated states.[2][3] There are numerous historical examples for constituent states within various federations. In modern
political practice, among the most notable examples are U.S. states and constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

Other forms of constituent states

Administrative units that are not federated or confederated but enjoy a greater degree of autonomy or self-government than other territories within the same country can be considered constituent states of that country. This
relationship is by some authors called a federacy.[4] Autonomous republics like Karakalpakstan in Uzbekistan[5]

Political status of breakaway states

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The concept of a constituent state is also used in political processes and negotiations regarding the status of various breakaway states. It is often proposed as a compromise solution or
an alternative to formal recognition of a secessionist state that has unilaterally declared independence, and whose de jure sovereignty remains in dispute.

The Caucasus

The South Caucasus region consists of a number of breakaway and autonomous republics in addition to the states of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia recognised by the United
Nations.

The breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which have effectively maintained independence since declaration, are considered constituent republics of Georgia by the
majority of world governments. The Republic of Artsakh, which is also independent in effect, is considered by the United Nations to be a constituent entity of Azerbaijan.[6]
Map showing the constituent states of the United
States
Cyprus

The country of Cyprus is divided between two independent political entities: the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus in the south, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is recognised as a sovereign state only
by Turkey. Both entities are given the title of constituent state of Cyprus by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the Annan Plan for reuniting Cyprus consistently used the term constituent state to refer to each entity.[7]

Kosovo

The Republic of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from the Republic of Serbia in February 2008.

Korean reunification

Some proposals have called a confederacy between South Korea and North Korea as a measure of Korean reunification,[8] which both Koreas will remain their own political systems.

Proposal for Palestine

The term constituent state has also been used to label both states in proposals for federal solutions to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.[9] It can also describe the region of Palestine at present, which is divided between the
governments of Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Somalia

Because of the ongoing war in Somalia, the Somali country is now divided into a number of constituent states with varying degrees of independence from the Transitional Federal Government.

The breakaway republic of Somaliland in the north, which maintains de facto independence over its territory, is still regarded by member states of the United Nations as a constituent state of Somalia despite its declaration of
independence in 1991.[10][11] The states of Puntland and Galmudug in central and northeastern Somalia retain control over their own territories with little to no oversight from the federal government, which is based in Mogadishu in
the south. The administrations in these states have stated that, unlike Somaliland, they do not seek outright independence from Somalia, and are merely maintaining stability until such a time when the government can effectively
implement a permanent constitution for the country.[12]

In the south and in opposition to the central government are regions administered by various Islamic insurgent groups, most notably Hizbul Islam and al-Shabaab, both of which seek to establish Sharia law within the country.

Other administrative entities

Myanmar

Like Palau, the government of Myanmar, or Burma, presently operates as a unitary state, with sovereignty confined within the central government. Myanmar is divided into a number of regions, zones and states with constitutionally
defined levels of autonomy.[13] Both regions and states can be described as ethnically defined; while the Bamar are the dominant ethnic group within regions, the states are mostly dominated by various minority groups, such as the
Shan (Shan State), the Rakhine (Rakhine State) and the Karen (Karen State), among others.[14]

In terms of politics, the use of the term "state" in this context is largely historical, with a number of these states having been united in various federal unions during the British colonial period. At present, most states are afforded a
greater degree of autonomy than other divisions. Political separatism in many states is rampant, and territory controlled by the central government in these cases is limited. In these cases, jurisdiction within a state is mostly confined
to its respective regional government.[15]

In addition, various proposals have been made for instituting federalism in Myanmar, which would allow these states to implement individual constitutions.[16][17]

Palau

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Palau is divided into sixteen administrative divisions termed "states",[13]
which were before 1984 called municipalities. The change in terminology reflects the fact that these divisions are afforded a larger degree of autonomy than
before, with each state having its own constitution. As a unitary republic, however, the Government of Palau is centralised and these divisions exist solely to establish regional government; they are not united in a federal union.

Other uses
The term "constituent state" is sometimes also used to refer to member states of an international organization.

Member states of the European Union are occasionally referred to as "constituent states" by pro-European politicians and activists within the European Union, especially those in favour of further internal integration and
federalisation.

It is also used to refer to sovereign states in bilateral negotiations or agreements between two or more states.

See also
Constituency
Country
Federated state

References
1. Website of the Governor-General of New Zealand (http://www.gg.govt.n
z/). Accessed 2009-11-01.
2. Constituent Units Risk Lengthy Dependency on Federal Aid (http://ww
w.forumfed.org/en/products/magazine/vol8_num2/overview-dependenc
y.php) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20101218004657/http://w
ww.forumfed.org/en/products/magazine/vol8_num2/overview-dependen
cy.php) 2010-12-18 at the Wayback Machine. Bird, Richard M (2009).
Forum of Federations. Accessed 2009-11-01.
3. California (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/89503/Californi
a). Encyclopædia Britannica. Accessed 2009-11-01.
4. Stepan, Alfred (1999), "Federalism and Democracy: Beyond the U.S.
Model" (https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/fesnic/fspub/6_7_Stepan_1999_Federa
lism_J_of_Dem.pdf) (PDF), Journal of Democracy, 10 (4): 19–34,
doi:10.1353/jod.1999.0072 (https://doi.org/10.1353%2Fjod.1999.0072),
S2CID 201765897 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:20176589
7)
5. International Covenant On Civil And Political Rights (http://www.unhchr.
ch/tbs/doc.nsf/898586b1dc7b4043c1256a450044f331/8be9009ac37f2d
75c1256f17004b6e68/$FILE/G0443118.doc), p 5. United Nations
Human Rights Committee. Accessed 2009-11-01.
6. Aghayev, Nasimi (2008), Caucasian Review of International Affairs (htt
p://se2.isn.ch/serviceengine/Files/RESSpecNet/104432/ipublicationdoc
ument_singledocument/1FB98779-D2B2-4F7C-A2DF-342E28FE5E3F/
en/Full.pdf) (PDF), p. 13, retrieved 2009-11-01
7. Annan Plan - Final Revision (http://www.unficyp.org/media/Other%20off
icial%20documents/annanplan.pdf) Archived (https://web.archive.org/w
eb/20110721064828/http://www.unficyp.org/media/Other%20official%2
0documents/annanplan.pdf) 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine.
UNFICYP. Accessed 2009-11-01.
8. Pak, Chi Young (7 June 2000). Korea and the United Nations (https://bo
oks.google.com/books?id=dB_8L4ysZrEC&q=koryo+confederal+republi
c&pg=PA67). Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. ISBN 9041113827. Archived
(https://web.archive.org/web/20170420045528/https://books.google.co
m/books?id=dB_8L4ysZrEC&pg=PA67&lpg=PA67&dq=koryo%20confe
deral%20republic&source=bl&ots=UgKAyvQ9tw&sig=c9HvyLly6tWrikd
E_mCtnKdObws&hl=en&ei=WevASrT3HNLZ-QaF3pjFAQ&sa=X&oi=bo
ok_result&ct=result&resnum=8) from the original on 20 April 2017 – via
Google Books.
9. Federal/Confederal Solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian-Jordanian
Conflict (http://www.jcpa.org/dje/articles/fedconfed-sol.htm) Elazar,
Daniel J. Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Accessed 2009-11-01.
10. Somaliland's 'Path to Recognition' (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/736
5002.stm). Reynolds, Paul (2008). BBC. Accessed 2009-11-01.
11. The Signs Say Somaliland, but the World Says Somalia (https://www.ny
times.com/2006/06/05/world/africa/05somaliland.html?_r=1). Lacey,
Mark (2006). The New York Times. Accessed 2009-11-01.
12. Political Background (http://www.rangeresources.com.au/fileadmin/user
_upload/research_Reports/gecr_29Nov07_RangeResources_mainnot
e.pdf) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20121120100415/http://ww
w.rangeresources.com.au/fileadmin/user_upload/research_Reports/gec
r_29Nov07_RangeResources_mainnote.pdf) 2012-11-20 at the
Wayback Machine Stylianou, Stelios. Range Resources, p 7. Accessed
2009-11-01.
13. "Field Listing: Administrative Divisions" (https://web.archive.org/web/20
090809091332/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbo
ok/fields/2051.html?countryName=&countryCode=&regionCode=&).
The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 2009-10-01.
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14. Callahan, Mary (2007). Political Authority in Burma's Ethnic Minority
States (https://books.google.com/books?id=C6t_hgjp9p8C). Pasir
Panjang, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. p. 56.
ISBN 978-981-230-462-9. p18.
15. Wa Army to Celebrate 20th Anniversary (http://www.irrawaddy.org/articl
e.php?art_id=15456) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/200904170
82050/http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=15456) April 17,
2009, at the Wayback Machine. Wai Moe (2009). The Irrawaddy.
Accessed 2009-11-01.
16. Federal and State Constitutions (http://www.burmalibrary.org/show.ph
p?cat=2117) Online Burma Library. Accessed 2009-11-01.
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External links
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