Confederation, primarily any league or union of people or bodies of people. The term in modern political use is generally confined to a permanent union of sovereign states for certain common purposes—e.g., the German Confederation established by the Congress of Vienna in 1815.
The Dickinson Draft of the Articles of Confederation named the confederation "the United States of America." After considerable debate and revision, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation on .
- the act of confederating. 2. the state of being confederated. 3. a league or alliance. 4. a group of confederates, esp. of states more or less permanently united for common purposes. 5. the Confederation, the union of the 13 original U.S. states under the Articles of Confederation 1781–89.
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Confederalism represents a main form of intergovernmentalism, defined as any form of interaction around states that takes place on the basis of sovereign independence or government. The nature of the relationship among the member states constituting a confederation varies considerably.
A confederation (or confederacy) is a voluntary alliance of sovereign, independent states established to manage matters of common concern to the member states, such as defense.
The easiest way to understand the difference: in a confederation, the central government works through member states; in a federation, it works directly on citizens. That single distinction cascades into every other difference between the two systems.
The meaning of CONFEDERATION is an act of confederating : a state of being confederated : alliance. How to use confederation in a sentence.