The principle of federalism means. Federalism as a form of organization and principle of government

Federalism- territorial or national-territorial form of division of power and the object of public administration between central and regional entities, ensuring independent management of regional affairs within the framework of a single state union.

To the essential features of federalismrelate:

1) the presence of territorial units - subjects of federations;

2) constitutional division of competence between the subjects and the center;

3) inadmissibility of changes in boundaries without the consent of the subjects;

4) the territory of the federation consists of the territories of the constituent entities of the federation;

5) the subjects of the federation do not have full sovereignty and do not have the right to secession (unilateral withdrawal from the federation);

6) the subjects of the federation have their own scheme of legislative, executive and judicial authorities, but in relation to the federal system of federal government bodies they are a subsystem of the limits of their jurisdiction;

7) subjects of the federation develop a constitution (charter), a system of laws, observing priority, compliance with the federal constitution and legislation;

8) in the federation there is no single state budget; there is a federal budget and the budgets of the constituent entities of the federation;

9) legislators are regulated, the equality of all citizens of the territory of the federation is guaranteed;

10) subjects do not have full supremacy on their territory and are limited in their rights to act independently in the field of international relations;

11) the federal parliament is usually bicameral, the upper house consists of representatives of the constituent entities of the federation, the lower house is a body of national representation and is popularly elected.

To the mainprinciples of federalism relate: voluntariness of the association; adoption of the federal constitution and constitutions of the constituent entities of the federation; equality of subjects of the federation; common territory and citizenship; unified monetary and customs systems.

The adoption of the Constitution of the Russian Federation in 1993 legitimized the federation as the main principle of the organization of the State Administration. The Constitution determined the subjects of jurisdiction and subjects of joint jurisdiction of the Russian Federation and the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

Problems of Russian federalism: 1) inconsistency with the principles of the federal structure laid down in the Constitution: a contradictory combination of principles for the formation of subjects of the federation - national-state and administrative-state, although in almost all subjects the share of a non-titular nation is more than half of the population; proclamation of the principles of the integrity of the state and at the same time the right of peoples to self-determination (no prohibitions on secession);

2) actual inequality of subjects expressed in geopolitical, economic, demographic differences, which leads to disproportions in the implementation of national standards of social benefits.

Currently, there are 2 trends in the development of the federal structure of public administration – decentralization and integration.

16. Federal structure. Specifics of Russian federalism. Problems and trends in the development of federal relations. Federation

(Belgium, USA, India, Iraq) - state form. structure, the division of the state into a number of entities, the status of which presupposes their independence from the center. authorities, within the framework of legally established competencies. The principle of the federal structure of the Russian Federation formally fixed with 1918 Federalism arose not as a model of democratization, but as a way of solving national problems. question. 20-30s: federalism had a formal character (in fact, there were all the signs of a unitary state). 90s:

Russia acquires the status of a sovereign state. March 1992 – signing of a federal agreement. Dec. 1993 – adoption of the Constitution. 94-98

. – conclusion of agreements between the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and the center on the delimitation of powers and areas of jurisdiction.

Modern model grew up federalism was formed as a result of a compromise between opposing approaches: maintaining the unshakable old structure of the federation; revival of the unitary state. The obstacle to a unitary state was the national one. factor. Features of the reorganization: a combination of the national-territorial principle of building a federation with the economic-geographical zoning of the country (allocation of cultural-national autonomies); various const-legal statuses of subjects. Federation

in translation, an association, a union, is a state, a state consisting of various state entities. There are two systems of supreme bodies in it: federal bodies and bodies of federal subjects. The Federation consists of the territories of its constituent entities. The presence of a bicameral federal parliament, the upper house, which is formed from representatives of the subjects and is designed to express their interests. The federation can also: national, ter-no-national and territorial.

In the Russian Federation the federation is territorial-national, i.e. belongs to the mixed type; it is based on the territorial and national principles of the formation of subjects. In the Russian Federation 83 subject.

Russian federalism- taking into account the interests of peoples and territorial countries, combined. their potential and efforts as part of a single state. Currently there are 83 subjects: 21 republics, 9 territories, 46 regions, 2 federal cities. values, 1 autonomous region, 4 autonomous okrugs.

Problems associated with the imperfection of the federal form of organization of power and management:

1. the inconsistency of the principles of the federal structure and the constitution of the Russian Federation;

a) a contradictory combination of the principle of forming federal subjects: national and territorial.

b) recognition of the formal equality of the subjects of the federation and, at the same time, their inequalities inherent in the constitution in interaction with the center and other countries in terms of the scope of rights

2. actual inequality of the subjects of the federation, expressed in geopolitical, economic, demographic and other differences, which leads to disproportions in the implementation of national standards of social benefits

3. delimitation of competence between federations. bodies and subjects.

4. the presence of confederal elements, the tendency to “wash out” Russian sovereignty (contradictions with federal legislation, constitutions and charters of constituent entities).

5. “matryoshka” problem (Tyumen region and Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug)

6. proclamation of the principles of the integrity of the state and at the same time the essential right of peoples to self-determination (no ban on secession from the federation)

Currently in effect 2 trends in the development of the federal structure of state institutions– decentralization and integration. Consolidation of subjects of the Russian Federation. During 2005-2007, 6 autonomous okrugs merged with other entities.

The specifics of the development of the Russian Federation show that the effect of federalism can be ensured under the condition of a strong central government in the presence of a single vertical government structure built on a democratic basis.

17. Civil service in the public administration system. Civil service of the Russian Federation: concept, regulatory framework, system, main development trends. Legal status of a civil servant.

Under public service(GS) refers to professional activities to ensure the execution of the powers of government bodies. It is carried out in government positions in the apparatus of the legislative (representative), executive and judicial authorities.

GS RF- Prof. official activities of citizens of the Russian Federation to ensure the execution of powers: fed. OGV, OGV S RF.

Military service;

Law enforcement service.

General purpose of the HS- management of public affairs,

associated with the division of state power into: legislative, executive, judicial.

Goals of the HS can be considered in the following aspects:

1. State-political: implementation of the state’s obligations to ensure a certain standard of living, satisfy the material and spiritual needs of people.

2. Economic: increasing the efficiency of state regulation of the economy; management of state property on behalf of the state; entrepreneurship support; ensuring financing of public service costs; reducing the cost of maintaining the state apparatus.

3. Social: execution and provision of powers of the state and its bodies; solving national management problems; practical implementation of state functions; creating conditions for communication between the state apparatus and the people.

4. Legal: ensuring compliance with country laws; creation of legal conditions for the normal functioning of the state apparatus.

5. Organizational: organizational and technical support for public authorities; professionalization of the state apparatus, organization of studies; improvement of norms, standards, rules for regulating the composition of the state apparatus, promotion; bringing the structure of the state apparatus in line with the tasks of the civil service.

The civil service performs the main tasks of public administration:

1. development of a strategy, doctrine, concept of social, economic and political development of the country;

2. selection of personnel capable of implementing this strategy;

3. creation of organizational structures of power;

4. making decisions on important operational issues in the life of the country;

5. implementation in order to implement the decisions made, forecasting, coordination, and collection of information.

Civil service system The Russian Federation includes the following types:

State civil service;

Military service;

Law enforcement service.

The state civil service is divided into the federal state civil service and the state civil service of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation.

Regulatory framework of the civil service:

Previously active: Concepts for reforming the civil service system of the Russian Federation (2001).

“Reform of the civil service of the Russian Federation (2003-2005)”

currently active:

58-FZ“On the RF GS system” dated May 27, 2003,

№ 273-FZ"On Anti-Corruption"

Decree of the President “On conducting certification of the State Duma of employees of the Russian Federation”,

Decree of the President “On the procedure for passing the GC qualification exam by employees of the Russian Federation and assessing their professional level.”

FP “Reform and development of the civil service system of the Russian Federation (2009-2013)”.

At the same time, trends in the development of civil service in the Russian Federation are contradictory. On the one hand, the current development of legislation indicates an expansion of the scope of public service and an increase in the number of civil servants. Thus, by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of September 3, 1997 No. 981 “On approval of lists of public positions in the federal public service,” a large number of positions in various government bodies are classified as public positions in the federal public service. On the other hand, the developed draft concept of administrative reform assumes a completely new look at the very concept of “civil servant”. According to the authors of the concept, a civil servant is a person who has the right to make generally binding decisions and is vested with authority. It is expected that there will be a significant reduction in the number of civil servants, which “will truly raise the prestige of this profession and support it purely financially.”

Principles:

GS principles: 1) priority of human and civil rights and freedoms; 2) the unity of the legal and organizational foundations of the federal HS and HS S; 3) equal access of citizens to GS; 4) professionalism and competence of the GS; 5) stability; 6) availability of information about the HS; 7) interaction with public associations and citizens; 8) protection of civil society from unlawful interference in their activities.

1. The supremacy of the Constitution and Federal Law over other regulations

2. priority of the rights of freedom of man and citizen

3. unity of the state power system, delimitation of jurisdiction between the Russian Federation and its constituent entities

4. separation of legislative, executive and judicial powers

5. equal access of citizens to civil service

6. unity of basic requirements

7. professionalism and competence

8. responsibility of civil servants for decisions prepared and made

9. stability of personnel: classification presented in the law of positions - (fifth group) senior government positions, (4 group) - main government positions, (3 group) - leading government positions, (2 group) - senior government positions, (1 group) - junior government debt

Legal status of state An employee is a set of rights, responsibilities, restrictions, prohibitions, requirements for official conduct, defined by 79 Federal Laws, the Criminal Code “On the approval of general principles of official conduct of civil servants”, the Code of Ethics and Official Conduct)

Civil servants provide maintaining the constitutional order, observing the constitution, conscientiously fulfilling their duties, ensuring respect for the rights and legal interests of citizens, observing the rules of internal labor regulations, keeping state and other secrets.

A civil servant has a number of restrictions : does not have the right to engage in other paid activities, except for teaching, scientific and creative, to be a deputy of the legislative body, local government bodies, to engage in entrepreneurial activities, to receive fees for publications and performances as a civil servant, to receive from physics and legal entities, gifts, payment for entertainment, monetary remuneration, to participate on a paid basis in the management of a commercial organization, to fill the positions of civil servants in case of election to public office, elected positions of local self-government, elected positions in the trade union, ban on business activities,

The right to enter the civil service is at least 18 years of age, speaks the state language, and has a higher professional education.

Municipal public authority and local self-government.

Legal foundations and guarantees of local self-government. There are different types of public authority. State The power will extend to the entire territory of the state and even beyond it, the state power of the subjects of the Russian Federation will extend to its territory. Local government – the power of the collective population within a certain territory and within the powers established by the constitution and law, the public non-judicial power of the people, municipalities, the power of the territorial public collective. It is used to resolve issues of local importance and is carried out by citizens through the use of direct democracy or through elected bodies. All these institutions of direct and representative democracy in municipalities are called local self-government. Local government in Russia

- this is a form of exercise by the people of their power, ensuring, within the limits established by federal laws and the constitution, and in certain cases - by the basic laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, independently and under their own responsibility, the population resolves issues of local importance. Legal basis

. The structure and activities of local self-government in Russia are regulated by many legal acts: Acts of international law.

as well as international treaties ratified by the state. The most important - European Charter of Local Government 1985: recognition of local self-government as one of the most important foundations of a democratic society.

Constitution of the Russian Federation (Art. 12, Chapter 8, Art. 130-133).

Federal Law No. 131 dated 06.10.2003 “On the general principles of organizing local self-government in the Russian Federation”

Federal Law No. 25 dated 03/02/2007 “On municipal service in the Russian Federation”

decrees of the President of the Russian Federation; resolutions of the Government of the Russian Federation“Oh fed. register of the Ministry of Defense in the Russian Federation";

municipal charters;

laws of the subjects of the Federation(No. 113-oz “On certain issues of municipal services in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Yugra”);

other legal acts of a specific municipality.

Guarantees of local government. There are legal, political and economic guarantees.

Legal guarantees established by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Constitutions of the constituent entities, the Federal Law on the General Principles of the Organization of Local Self-Government and other legislative acts. According to the Constitution, local self-government is guaranteed the right to judicial protection, to compensation for additional expenses arising as a result of decisions taken by state bodies. authorities.

Political guarantees ensuring the unity of power of the people. The stronger the position of municipalities, the more successfully the country will develop.

Economical guarantees are conditioned by the existence of municipalities of their own, their budget, their enterprises and institutions, deductions to them from federal taxes and taxes of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and the provision of subventions from the Federation and constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

There are several types of subjects of the Federation in Russia. Article 1 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation determines that the Russian Federation includes republics, territories, regions, cities of federal significance, autonomous regions, and autonomous districts. All subjects have equal rights.

Our Constitution allows for the admission of a new subject to the Russian Federation. This is done in the manner established by federal constitutional law.

Article 5 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation defines the fundamental principles of Russian federalism:

State integrity. Despite the fact that the republics in Part 2 of Art. 5 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation are called “states”; they, like other subjects, do not have complete independence. The territory of the federation consists of the territory of its subjects, which do not have the right of free exit from the Russian Federation.

Unity of the system of state power. Subjects of the federation independently establish their own system of government bodies. Their power, like the federal one, is divided into legislative, executive and judicial. But decisions of state authorities of constituent entities should not contradict federal decisions. Therefore, on issues of jurisdiction of the Russian Federation and joint jurisdiction of the federation and its constituent entities, executive authorities form a unified system of executive authority in the Russian Federation. If acts of constituent entities of the federation conflict with federal acts, the President of the Russian Federation may suspend the action of the subject’s act until this issue is resolved by the appropriate court.

Distinction of subjects of jurisdiction and powers between government bodies of the Russian Federation and government bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The division of powers occurs as follows. The Constitution of the Russian Federation contains two lists. The first establishes subjects of exclusive jurisdiction of Russia (Article 71). These are powers that should only be decided at the federal level. The second list includes subjects of joint jurisdiction of the authorities of the Russian Federation and the authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation (Art. 72). This is the terms of reference on which decisions are made jointly by the Federation and its constituent entities. The Constitution does not contain a third list, since there is no need for it: all issues that are not included in the first two mentioned lists are independently resolved by the authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation (Article 73).

Proclamation of equality of subjects of the Russian Federation. All subjects of the Russian Federation have equal rights among themselves, it does not matter whether the subject is a republic or a city of federal significance. All subjects have equal rights during elections to the State Duma; representatives from each subject are members of the Federation Council. They are provided with equal grounds for concluding agreements on the delimitation of subjects of jurisdiction, etc. Naturally, different subjects of the Russian Federation have different economic, social and political characteristics. At the same time, the republics are placed in a privileged position compared to other subjects of the Russian Federation, but more on this below.

Equality and self-determination of peoples in the Russian Federation. This principle guarantees all peoples living in Russia, regardless of their size, the same rights, including the right to elect their own national statehood within the Russian Federation.

Fundamentals of the constitutional status of the Russian Federation and the constituent entities of the Russian Federation

Constitutional status of Russia- these are the main features of the Russian federal statehood.

The fundamentals of the constitutional status of the Russian Federation are determined by the following state-legal features:

1. Russian Federation - sovereign state; sovereignty extends to the entire territory of Russia; this means that sovereignty belongs only to Russia as a whole, but not to its subjects individually;

2. The Russian Federation has territory, which includes the territories of the constituent entities, internal waters and territorial sea, the airspace above them (Article 67 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation);

3. Single citizenship of the Russian Federation, in accordance with Art. 6 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, citizenship of the Russian Federation is uniform and equal, regardless of the grounds for acquisition; every citizen of Russia has all rights and freedoms on its territory and bears equal responsibilities;

4. N existence of supreme bodies of state power; in accordance with Art. 11 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, state power in the Russian Federation is exercised by the President of the Russian Federation, the Federal Assembly (Federation Council and State Duma), the Government of the Russian Federation, and the courts of the Russian Federation;

5. E single Armed Forces;issues of defense and security are exclusively under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation; subjects do not have their own army;

6. E uniform Constitution and legal system; the Constitution of the Russian Federation has the highest legal force and is applied throughout the territory of the Russian Federation; the legal system of the Russian Federation consists of a hierarchy of normative acts: the Constitution of the Russian Federation, federal constitutional laws, federal laws, laws of constituent entities of the Russian Federation;

7. E single economic space; in the Russian Federation, goods, services and financial assets move freely throughout its territory; the establishment of customs borders, duties, fees and any other obstacles to the free movement of goods, services and financial resources is not allowed;

8. Installed on the territory of the Russian Federation unified monetary system: The monetary unit in the Russian Federation is the ruble;

9. P right to participate in international associations; Art. 79: The Constitution of the Russian Federation regulates that the Russian Federation can participate in interstate associations and transfer to them part of its powers in accordance with international treaties, if this does not entail restrictions on the rights and freedoms of man and citizen and does not contradict the fundamentals of the constitutional system of the Russian Federation;

10. G official language of the Russian Federation throughout its territory the Russian language is used (Article 68 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation); republics have the right to establish their own state languages, which are used along with the Russian language in government bodies, self-government bodies, and government institutions of the republics;

11. G State symbols of the Russian Federation; Russia has its own flag, anthem, coat of arms and capital.

The concept of federalism means a state principle based on the recognition of the federal structure of the country as the most preferable, as well as the desire to unite several states into one, or to transform an existing unitary state into a federal one (it was the latter that caused the fighting in the south-east of Ukraine). So let's consider concept of federation.

Federation (or federal state) is a type of government in which its constituent parts are state entities. Of course, these entities do not have state sovereignty (as in the case of confederation), but have the broadest possible powers in their internal policies. They are also called subjects of the federation.

Russia, USA, Canada, Australia, Germany, Austria, Mexico, Brazil and even small Belgium and Switzerland are all federal states.

Signs of a federation.

1. Availability of constituent parts - republics, states, emirates, cantons, lands, etc.
2. Relations between the federation and its subjects are regulated by the federal constitution.
3. Foreign policy activities are carried out by federal authorities on behalf of all subjects.
4. The bicameral structure of the federal parliament - one is an organ of the federal government, the other represents the interests of the constituent entities of the federation (this is a mandatory feature of a federal state).
5. Subjects of the federation can issue their own constitution, decrees and other legal acts, which will be legal on their territory along with the federal constitution and federal laws.
6. Subjects of the federation may have their own flag, coat of arms, anthem and all other signs of the state, except for state sovereignty.
7. Subjects of the federation cannot be an independent subject of international relations.

Types of federations.

According to the constitutional and legal status of the subjects, the following are distinguished:

• symmetrical federations - with the same legal status of subjects (USA, Germany, Austria);
• asymmetric federations - in Russia, for example, autonomous republics and districts, regions, territories and cities of federal significance have different constitutional and legal status.

By formation features:

• territorial (geographically, for example, USA, Germany);
• national (by ethnicity, for example, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia);
• combined (contain features of the first two - Russian Federation).

By type of education:

• constitutional - on the basis of a previously existing unitary state (sometimes empire) - Russia, Germany, Brazil;
• contractual - by concluding an agreement between independent states (USA, Switzerland, with certain reservations - USSR).

By degree of centralization:

• centralized (Russia, Germany);
• decentralized (Switzerland, which continues to call itself a confederation, but in fact has long been a decentralized federation).

Another type is a “soft federation,” that is, a federation whose subjects have the free right to secede (secession). The actually existing soft (or loose) federations are Bosnia and Herzegovina, and also unofficially the European Union. Some researchers believe that another candidate for “soft federations” is the union of Russia and Belarus. In addition, the renewed Soviet Union (Union of Sovereign States - on the basis of an all-Union referendum on the preservation of the USSR on March 17, 1991) was supposed to become such a federation, but the August putsch ruined everything.

A form of government, such as democracy, to which the Russian Federation strives so much, is impossible without respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms, without freedom of speech and many other principles of the rule of law.

First you need to understand what federalism is and what its basic and budgetary principles are. Federalism is a unified system within one state, divided into areas that partially retain their independence in economic, political, social, cultural and other spheres of society. In other words, each subject of the state has the right to amend local legislation, as well as to distribute budget funds.

The development of federalism in Russia has been long and with the introduction of the Constitution, adopted in 1993, Russia received the status of a federation. Article 5, Part 3 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation spells out the basic principles of federalism. So, the basic principles of federalism are that:

• Firstly, each subject of the federation (territory, autonomous district, region, autonomous region) has its own legislation and charter. Republics have a Constitution and local legislation.
• Secondly, there is a division of jurisdiction between the bodies of the territorial units of the federation and government bodies.
• Thirdly, despite the size of the territory, all subjects of the Russian Federation have equal, identical rights and a common economic, political, social status.
• Fourthly, the Constitution enshrines the principle of federalism, which states that all peoples who live on equal terms and have the right to self-determination (that is, the right to designate their political status within the state, the cultural, social course of development of society, change the territorial form, etc. ).
• Fifthly, despite the delimitation of areas of jurisdiction between government bodies and bodies of constituent entities, there is a single, integral system of government on the territory of the state.

Of course, the principles of federalism, enshrined in Article 5 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, are necessary for the creation of a democratic state. But if we analyze modern Russian reality with its multinational people and vast territory, the principles of federalism open up a colossal number of problems that require immediate solutions (these include equal subsidies to the constituent entities of the Russian Federation to support the economy, and infringement of the rights of citizens based on nationality, etc.).

The Constitution of the Russian Federation also spells out the basic principles of budgetary federalism (Article 73). The principles of fiscal federalism mean that each territorial unit of the federation has independence in budgetary activities. But the budgetary activities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation should not diverge in the principles of pursuing unified state goals, objectives and courses for the development of the economy of the federation as a whole, the implementation of which should come from the federal budget.

The main principle of fiscal federalism in the Russian Federation is that there is a single tax and budget system throughout the state. The unity or integrity of the budget system lies in the fact that, firstly, there is a single monetary system in the federation, and, secondly, the same sanctions are applied for violations of legislation relating to the budget of the Russian Federation. The second principle of budgetary federalism is the independence of the budgets of the subjects, in other words, territorial units have the right, within the limits of their competence, to implement budgetary tax collections, as well as to develop plans for expenditures and receipts of finance. The third principle is equality of budgetary rights.

Federalism (from Lat. (eegae - union, association) is a concept usually attributed to a number of political and legal ones. And this is true if we keep in mind only the principle of the territorial organization of the state. However, from the first steps of the historical life of this concept, associated with the creation of the federal state of the United States (1787), it, at least implicitly, carried a political and managerial meaning. A. Tocqueville, who studied American democracy, noted: “The Americans faced the first difficulty, it was about the division of power in such a way that different. the states composing the Union should continue to govern their affairs independently in all respects to their internal welfare, and that the whole nation represented by the Union should exist as one body and have the power necessary to provide for all the wants common to it." Therefore, for the founders of federalism, the latter meant, firstly, a clear division of power and management powers between the Union (state), representing the entire nation, and the states - individual parts of the Union; the powers of the former are necessary to ensure general for the entire nation's needs and existence of the Union(states) like one whole and the powers of the states - for independent business management, regarding provision their internal well-being; secondly, establishing relations between the states and the Union on the principle of part and whole; the independent management of their affairs by the states is carried out within the framework of an integral, unified state; thirdly, the organization of such a form of territorial division of power, in which democratic management of general state affairs and the life of the states is carried out, and state administration is combined with self-government.

Subsequently, the American model of federalism was transformed in relation to the characteristics of specific states. In particular, in some countries federalism characterizes the territorial form of organization of the state system, in others, as in Russia, it characterizes the national-territorial one. The American model excludes the principle of recession (exit) of a state from the union, while in Russia there is no such prohibition. The main features of the American model were preserved and became the classical principles of federalism.

Currently, there are many federal states in the world - both large and relatively small. Among them are countries with a high level of capitalist development, and newly industrialized countries, and developing states.

The Russian Federation is the largest in terms of the number of subjects it unites. In states comparable to Russia in terms of such parameters as area of ​​residence or population, there are almost 2 times or even 2-3 times less than the constituent entities of the Federation. So, in the USA there are 50 states, in India - 32 (25 states and 7 union territories), in Canada - 12 (10 provinces and 2 territories). Argentina has 22 provinces and 1 national territory, Australia has 6 states and 2 territories, and Germany has 16 states. Nigeria has 36 federal subjects, Mexico - 31, Brazil - 26, Venezuela - 22. There are other federal states with fewer states, states, provinces or territories (Austria, Australia, Malaysia and etc.).

Modern federalism is a national-territorial form of division of power and objects of management between a central (national) entity and regional entities, ensuring their independent management of regional affairs within the framework of a single state union, endowed with powers to protect and realize the interests of the entire community. The federal system is represented by several state entities united into a single political union to achieve common goals. Subjects are formed according to territorial or national-territorial characteristics.

Being a historically necessary form of government, federalism is at the same time the principle of functioning of a specific system of government in a multi-component society, in which the subjects of federal relations act as independent poles of divided power and at the same time as parts of the whole, as the main components of a unified management system. The specificity of federalism as a form of organization of state power and the principle of management lies in a way division of labor (power and management functions) between state entities at various levels of the management system, in the territorial delimitation of the objects of their activities and in the combination of centralization and decentralization of power. Federalism means strengthening democracy in government; the decision-making process is distributed among several levels of the system, rather than concentrated in one place, as is the case in a centralized state. The participation of citizens in the management of public affairs is becoming more accessible and effective.

Decentralization of power and management in the federation is carried out horizontally and vertically. Horizontal division consists in the reproduction within the territories of federal subjects of three types of state power and governing bodies: legislative, executive and judicial. Vertical division is expressed in the formation of two or three levels of power and management: federal (highest), regional (subjects of the Federation) and local self-government. This is, for example, the vertical structure of power and management in Russia. And, say, federalism in Australia is characterized primarily by two levels of government.

Federalism as a principle of public administration includes a mandatory combination of the functioning of relatively independent (autonomous) territorial centers (subjects of the Federation) with the existence and implementation of a unified system of power and management, with the highest federal center. The territorial distribution of powers is relative, because the center and the subjects of the federation act side by side on the same territory, govern the same population, having at least one sphere of public life in relation to which each of them can make final decisions. For the center, this is the sphere of interests of the entire society; for a subject of the federation, it is the sphere of interests of a separate regional community. For example, on the territory of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation there are simultaneously bodies of federal power and administration: the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of Russia, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB, the tax inspectorate, the prosecutor's office, etc. - and the regional (republican) government. Both operate in the same territory and govern the same community of people. However, their areas of activity and functions are different. They are outlined by the Constitution of the Russian Federation and were specified in the Agreement between the Federal Center and the subject of the Federation. The leadership of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation can make final decisions within the boundaries of its jurisdiction and powers provided for by the Basic Law of the state and the specified Treaty.

Violation of the established balance of powers of regional subjects and the Federal center: a shift in emphasis to regional decentralization of power and management or, conversely, to the concentration of power and management functions in the Federal center - undermines federalism. The objective measure of the combination of centralization and decentralization of power and management is determined by the set of conditions under which the unity of the management system and the integrity of the state are actually possible. Subjectively, the measure of combination is established by the legislator and governing bodies in accordance with their understanding of the real structure of society, the level and nature of socio-economic differences between territorial and ethnonational communities, as well as the specific situation in the country emerging at a particular historical stage of development. Hence the possibility of an ambiguous choice of options for building a federal system with corresponding consequences for management.

Federalism as a principle of intrastate relations and a territorial-vertical form of distribution of power and management functions is not an algorithm that can be reproduced in the state system without any contradictions and conflicts. Contradictions arise between the center and regional subjects: between the unity of the state union, the need to implement federal power, on the one hand, and the relative independence of the subjects of the Federation, the implementation of power at the level of regions and local communities, on the other; between the objectively necessary tendency to centralize power and control and the need for their decentralization. They are natural, since there are real significant differences in state, regional and local interests, and in crisis situations - even the opposition of general, territorial and private interests. In transitional periods, as, for example, at the present stage in Russia, on top of constant, natural contradictions are superimposed opposites that separate the authorities and individual segments of the population, the center and some regional communities on issues related to the attitude towards old and new state structures and socio-political institutions. The basis for resolving intra-federal contradictions is state regional policy, which ensures the independence of regional centers of power and subjects of governance and at the same time dominance within the constitutional framework of the Federal Center. The principles of subsidiarity (agreement), participation (participation), arbitration (recourse in case of conflict to an arbitrator-mediator) constitute organically interrelated elements of political state management of federal relations. The methodological criterion for resolving contradictions is the requirement to achieve combinations opposites, balance of interests of the Federal center and a specific regional entity.