Federal republic

A federal republic is a federation of states with a democratic form of government. Usage of the term republic is inconsistent; however, at its core, the literal meaning of the word republic when used to reference a form of government means: "a state where sovereignty rests with the people or their representatives, rather than with a monarch or emperor; a country with no monarchy".

In a federal republic, there is a division of powers between the federal government and the government of the individual subdivisions. While each federal republic manages this division of powers differently, common matters relating to security and defense, and monetary policy are usually handled at the federal level, while matters such as infrastructure maintenance and education policy are usually handled at the regional or local level. However, views differ on what issues should be a federal competence, and subdivisions usually have sovereignty in some matters where the federal government does not have jurisdiction. A federal republic is thus best defined in contrast to a unitary republic, whereby the central government has complete sovereignty over all aspects of political life. As in the United States, most federal republics codify the division of powers between orders of government in a written constitutional document.

Serbia and Montenegro

Serbia and Montenegro was a country in Southeast Europe, created from the two remaining republics of Yugoslavia after its breakup in 1991. The republics of Serbia and Montenegro together established a federation in 1992 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (abbreviated FRY, sometimes and as FR Yugoslavia; Serbian: Savezna Republika Jugoslavija (abbreviated SRJ, sometimes and as SR Jugoslavija), Serbian Cyrillic: Савезна Република Југославија (abbreviated СРЈ, sometimes and as СР Југославија)). In 2003, it was reconstituted as a state union officially known as the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, transitioning to two independent nations by 2006.

The FRY aspired to be a sole legal successor to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, but those claims were opposed by other former republics. The United Nations also denied its request to automatically continue the membership of the former state. Eventually, after the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević from power as president of the federation in 2000, the country rescinded those aspirations and accepted the opinion of the Badinter Arbitration Committee about shared succession. It re-applied for UN membership on 27 October and was admitted on 1 November 2000. From 1992 to 2000, some countries, including the United States, referred to the FRY as "Serbia and Montenegro".

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFR Yugoslavia or SFRY) was the Yugoslav state that existed from its foundation in the aftermath of World War II until its dissolution in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia. In addition, it included two autonomous provinces within Serbia: Kosovo and Vojvodina.

After initially siding with the Eastern bloc under the leadership of Josip Broz Tito at the beginning of the Cold War, Yugoslavia pursued a policy of neutrality after the Tito–Stalin split of 1948, and it became one of the founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement. After the death of Tito in 1980, rising ethnic nationalism in the late 1980s led to dissidence among the multiple ethnicities within the constituent republics, followed by collapse of inter-republic talks on transformation of the country and recognition of their independence by some European states in 1991. This led to the country collapsing along the federal units, followed by the final downfall and breakup of the country in 1992, and the start of the Yugoslav Wars.

Germany

Coordinates: 51°N 9°E / 51°N 9°E / 51; 9

Germany (/ˈdʒɜːrməni/; German: Deutschland [ˈdɔʏtʃlant]), officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland,  listen ), is a federal parliamentary republic in West-Central Europe. It includes 16 constituent states and covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres (137,847 sq mi) with a largely temperate seasonal climate. Its capital and largest city is Berlin. With about 81.5 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state in the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular migration destination in the world.

Various Germanic tribes have occupied northern Germany since classical antiquity. A region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation.

German Republic

German Republic can refer to: