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The termfederalist describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselvesFederalists.[1]
InEurope, proponents ofdeeper European integration are sometimes called Federalists. A major EuropeanNGO andadvocacy group campaigning for such a political union is theUnion of European Federalists. Movements towards a peacefully unified European state have existed since the 1920s, notably thePaneuropean Union. A pan-European party with representation in theEuropean Parliament fighting for the same cause isVolt Europa.
In theEuropean Parliament theSpinelli Group brings togetherMEPs from different political groups to work together of ideas and projects of European federalism; taking their name from Italian politician and MEPAltiero Spinelli, who himself was a major proponent of European federalism, also meeting with fellow deputies in theCrocodile Club.
Notable European Federalists are formerEuropean CommissionpresidentJean-Claude Juncker, current EC presidentUrsula von der Leyen, leader ofALDE groupGuy Verhofstadt, GermanFederal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy of GermanyPeter Altmaier, German MEPElmar Brok and the former leader of theSPDMartin Schulz.
In theSpanish-speaking parts ofLatin America the term "federalist" is used in reference to the politics of 19th-centuryArgentina andColombia. The Federalists opposed theUnitarians in Argentina and theCentralists in Colombia through the 19th century. Federalists fought for complete self-government and full provincial autonomy, as opposed to thecentralized government that the Unitarians and Centralists favored. Furthermore, Federalists demandedtariff protection for their industries and, in Argentina, called for the end of the Buenos Aires customs as the only intermediary for foreign trade. During theFederal War (1859-1863) in Venezuela, liberalcaudillos confronted conservatives, leading to the establishment of the modern federalStates of Venezuela.
The oneFederalist leader in thePlatine Region wasJosé Gervasio Artigas, who opposed the centralist governments in Buenos Aires that followed theMay Revolution, and created instead theFederal League in 1814 among severalArgentine Provinces and theBanda Oriental (modern-dayUruguay). In 1819, the Federal armies rejected thecentralist Constitution of theUnited Provinces of South America and defeated the forces ofSupreme DirectorJosé Rondeau at the 1820Battle of Cepeda, effectively ending the central government and securing Provinces' sovereignty through a series of inter-Provincial pacts (v.g.Treaty of Pilar,Treaty of Benegas,Quadrilateral Treaty). A new National Constitution was proposed only in 1826, during thePresidency of UnitarianBernardino Rivadavia, but it was again rejected by the Provinces, leading to the dissolution of the National Government the following year.
FederalistBuenos Aires GovernorManuel Dorrego took over the management of the foreign affairs of the United Provinces, but he was deposed and executed in 1828 by Unitarian GeneralJuan Lavalle, who commanded troops dissatisfied with thenegotiations that ended theWar with Brazil. The following year,Juan Manuel de Rosas, leader of Buenos Aires Federalists,defeated Lavalle andsecured his resignation. Rosas was elected Governor of Buenos Aires later that year by the Provincial Legislature. To counteract these developments, theUnitarian League was created by GeneralJosé María Paz in 1830, uniting nine Argentine Provinces. The 1831Federal Pact betweenBuenos Aires,Entre Ríos andSanta Fe Provinces opposed a military alliance to the League and ultimately defeated it during 1832, its former members joining the Federal Pact into a looseconfederation of Provinces known as theArgentine Confederation. Although the Unitarians were exiled in neighboring countries, theCivil War continued for two decades.
Buenos Aires Governor Juan Manuel de Rosas exerted a growing hegemony over the rest of the country during his 1835-1852 Government and resisted several Unitarian uprisings, but was finallydefeated in 1852 by a coalition Army gathered by Entre Ríos Federalist GovernorJusto José de Urquiza, who accused Rosas of not complying withFederal Pact provisions for a National Constitution. In 1853, aFederal Constitution was enacted (the current Constitution of Argentina, through amendments) and Urquiza was elected President of theArgentine Confederation. However, on the aftermath of 1852Battle of Caseros, theProvince of Buenos Aires had seceded from the Confederation. In 1859, after theBattle of Cepeda the State of Buenos Aires rejoined the Confederation, although it was granted the right to make some amendments to its Constitution. Finally, after the 1861Battle of Pavón, Buenos Aires took over the Confederation.
The following federal governments fought the weaker Federalist and Autonomist resistances in the countryside until the 1870s. The last Autonomist rebellion in Buenos Aires was quelled in 1880, leading to thefederalization of Buenos Aires city and the stabilization of the Argentine State and government through theNational Autonomist Party.
Federalism, in regard to theNational Question, refers to support forQuebec remaining withinCanada, while either keeping thestatus quo or pursuing greater autonomy andconstitutional recognition of a Quebec nation, with corresponding rights and powers for Quebec within the Canadian federation. This ideology is opposed toQuebec sovereigntism, proponents of Quebec independence, most often (but not for all followers) along with an economic union with Canada similar to the European Union.
In theUnited States the termfederalist usually applies to a member of one of the following groups:
TheFederalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies is an organization ofconservative andlibertarian lawyers and others dedicated to debate of these principles.
TheWorld Federalist Movement is aglobal citizens movement that advocates for strengthened and democratic world institutions subjected to the federalist principles of subsidiarity, solidarity and democracy. It states that "[w]orld federalists support the creation of democratic global structures accountable to the citizens of the world and call for the division of international authority among separate agencies".
