confederal
1
7.5
- adjective
- /kənˈfɛdərəl/
:
confederal
- The confederal government would likely exercise control over existing Soviet strategic forces, probably staffed mostly by Russian nationals, but there could be an arrangement—perhaps as in NATO—for a republican decision-making role regarding the use of such forces.
- confederal union
Examples
-
"What we have in mind," said Bernard Landry in 2001, "is a confederal-type union, European-style."
Academic text (2006) -
As Europe's unwieldy confederal mechanisms lumber forward, however, American elites must avoid alarmism.
Academic text (1998) -
Of course, the idea of encouraging confederal frameworks will appear utopian when warring ethnic groups are determined to seek exclusive territorial states.
Academic text (1994) -
The combination of la patrie and Europe echoes De Gaulle's idea of Europe, conceived as a confederal union of autonomous nation-states.
Academic text (1994) -
The months that followed were the low point of Congolese unity, with the secessionist leadership in Katanga supporting a confederal state structure with virtual independence for the different provinces.
Academic text (2004) -
In a Soviet confederation, the existing Soviet army, a huge multinational establishment based on compulsory military service, might gradually be transformed into a professional and smaller military formation, presumably subject to the confederal government.
Academic text (1991) -
This approach sought to enable regional governments, organizations, and donor bodies to engage with ongoing political processes that were producing regional and transregional entities as a precursor for a reunified federal or confederal state.
Academic text (2003) -
If fully implemented, the Higher Council suggested by the Treaty would introduce a loose confederal framework over the two countries; and since it would be dominated by the more powerful partner, Syria, it would bureaucratize, stabilize, and legitimize an already extensive Syrian influence over Lebanon.
Academic text (1994) -
According to the agreement, the state formation of the new Bosnia and Herzegovina is made from the federal, confederal, and consociational institutions, particularly if we include the options for confederal connectedness with Croatia and parallel arrangements with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Academic text (1999) -
The new treaty established a confederal system allowing member states to retain some level of autonomy.
Synonyms
1
9.9
Belonging to a group of states that join together
Relating to a group of states that keep most power but work together
How United
Surface Forms
Morphology
confederal = confederation (semi-transparent) = con + feder + al
The meaning 'relating to a confederation' is fairly clear from the noun base, but the form change from 'confederation' to 'confederal' is not a fully straightforward productive pattern for many learners.
Etymology
Confederal comes from Latin parts con- ('together') and foedus ('treaty' or 'league'), the same root behind federal and confederation. So, something confederal describes a system where separate states or groups join by agreement to work together while keeping much of their own power.