Читать книгу Political Science For Dummies - Marcus A. Stadelmann - Страница 97

There a few reasons to create or join a federation. First, some smaller states facing a common foreign threat can join to become more powerful and protect each other. You can make a good argument that one of the major reasons the 13 original American colonies came together to create the United States of America was because they faced a common threat from several European powers, especially Great Britain, France, and Spain. By combining and joining resources, the 13 colonies were suddenly able to establish a viable economy, implement a system of taxation, and especially create a common military force to face any future threats.

Second, federalism can be a prerequisite to create a new nation-state. It’s implausible that the 13 original states would have joined a unitary system. A federation allowed each to maintain its own way of doing things. In other words, not just local culture but also the power of local leaders was protected by federalism. Local autonomy makes it easier for previously independent states to join a new federation. Other examples include Brazil and Argentina in Latin America.