The federalist movements

The federalist movements


In 1945, at the time the United Nations (UN) was being formed, the idea of world federalism was becoming popular in America and Europe. The profound desire for peace united the peoples of the world and gave an impetus to certain national elites. The World Federalist Movement advocated the introduction of world citizenship and a union of all democratic countries. In so doing, they differed from the European Federalists who were striving for the creation of a Western European regional federation without, however, rejecting the world perspective in the longer term. For the supporters of total federalism, a federation of States must also be accompanied by a radical transformation of economic, social and cultural structures.


The Federalists wanted to establish a structure governed by the ‘principle of subsidiarity’, devolving to the regions and to the federal institutions those powers that could not be exercised legitimately or more effectively at national level.

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