The Origin of Federal Government

Abstract

Commentary. Suppose one wishes to consolidate some existing political units. How might this be done? The answer is presented here as the law of federal origins. One possible method of consolidation is, at minimum, an alliance, in which all the units retain full autonomy except their (only loosely binding) obligations to their allies. The converse possibility, at a maximum, is empire, in which one unit conquers and rules the others. In between are various kinds of federations in which the units create a superior and general government to coordinate their actions, but retain some freedom from control by that superior.