This article is about unified state entities or polities, or the merging of these. For organisations formed to bargain for workers (or labour), see Trade union. For other uses, see Unionism (disambiguation).
A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller polities, or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal government; and prefectures, regions, or provinces in the case of a centralised government. This form of government may be created through voluntary and mutual cession and is described as unionism[a] by its constituent members and proponents. In other cases, it may arise from political unification, characterised by coercion and conquest. The unification of separate states which, in the past, had together constituted a single entity is known as reunification.[2] Unlike a personal union or real union, the individual constituent entities may have devolution of powers but are subordinate to a central government or coordinated in some sort of organization. In a federalised system, the constituent entities usually have internal autonomy, for example in the setup of police departments, and share power with the federal government, for whom external sovereignty, military forces, and foreign affairs are usually reserved. The union is recognised internationally as a single political entity. A political union may also be called a legislative union or state union.[3]
A union may be effected in many forms, broadly categorized as:
Incorporating union
Incorporating annexation
Federal union
Federative annexation
Mixed unions
^"unionism (n.)". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
^"Political Union". TheFreeDictionary.com. Archived from the original on 2020-08-06. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
^Wohlgemuth, Michael (2017-06-01). "Political union and the legitimacy challenge". European View. 16 (1): 57–65. doi:10.1007/s12290-017-0432-z. ISSN 1865-5831.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
The union is recognised internationally as a single political entity. A politicalunion may also be called a legislative union or state union. A union may...
Yale PoliticalUnion (YPU) is a debate society at Yale University, founded in 1934 by Alfred Whitney Griswold. It was modeled on the Cambridge Union and...
The Real PoliticsUnion (Polish: Unia Polityki Realnej, UPR) is a national conservative and economically liberal political party in Poland. In the past...
National PoliticalUnion (1946), a Greek coalition of political parties from 1946 to 1950 National PoliticalUnion (1984), a Greek political party founded...
The political system of the Soviet Union took place in a federal single-party soviet socialist republic framework which was characterized by the superior...
The political structure of the European Union (EU) is similar to a confederation, where many policy areas are federalised into common institutions capable...
Maghreb Union (AMU) (Arabic: إتحاد المغرب العربي Ittiḥād al-Maghrib al-‘Arabī, French: Union du Maghreb Arabe) is a politicalunion and economic union trade...
The Sheffield PoliticalUnion (SPU) was an organisation established to campaign for Parliamentary Reform in Sheffield, England. It attracted 12,000 members...
in a politicalunion. It is a development from personal union and has historically been limited to monarchies. Unlike personal unions, real unions almost...
bring speakers on contemporary political thought to Amherst in a nonpartisan and unbiased manner. The Amherst PoliticalUnion prides itself on its nonpartisan...
The Maltese PoliticalUnion (Italian: Unione Politica Maltese, Maltese: Unjoni Politika Maltija) was a political party in Malta. The party was established...
organizations, to supranational politico-economic unions. Continental unions are a relatively new type of political entity in the history of human government...
organizations. The European Union (EU) has been described as a paradigmatic case of a supranational organization, as it has deep political, economic and social...
A federation (also a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under...
religious union. Although the treaty referred repeatedly to 'union' between England, Scotland, and Ireland, it did not explicitly commit to politicalunion. The...
The Arab Union is a theoretical politicalunion of the Arab states. The term was first used when the British Empire promised the Arabs a united independent...
The Birmingham PoliticalUnion (General PoliticalUnion) was a grass roots pressure group in Great Britain during the 1830s. It was founded by Thomas Attwood...
Union (EU). They are regulated and funded by EU Regulation 1141/2014 on the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations...
This article lists political parties in Argentina. Argentina has a multi-party system with two strong political parties or alliances, and various smaller...
Sweden has for political and dynastic reasons been in union with other kingdoms and princely states, ostensibly personal unions. In 1319 the infant Magnus...
had been the first to refer to himself as "king of Great Britain", a politicalunion between the two mainland British kingdoms had been repeatedly attempted...
The Hebrew PoliticalUnion (Greek: Κόμμα Εβραϊκής Πολιτικής Ενώσεως) was a political party in Greece in the 1920s. The party first contested national...
The following is a list of political parties in the Soviet Union: Communist Party of the Soviet Union (established in January 1912, dissolved in August...
federal government Union (Hungarian-German trade union council) Union (Madagascar), a political party Union, Elgin County, Ontario Union, Leeds and Grenville...
A Celtic union or Celtic alliance refers to political unity between the Celtic nations either within the UK or together as independent countries. In 1864...
with the Lithuanian Union of Political Prisoners and Deportees and the Right Union of Lithuania, it was known just as the Homeland Union (Lithuanian Conservatives)...
was initially a politicalunion between Egypt (including the occupied Gaza Strip) and Syria from 1958 until Syria seceded from the union following the 1961...
Global Information