What do you mean by ‘holding together’ federations?
The exact balance of power between the central and the state government and within various state governments varies from one federation to another. This balance depends mainly on the historical context in which the federation was formed. There are two kinds of routes through which federations have been formed. The second route is where a large country decides to divide its power between the constituent states and the national government. India, Spain and Belgium are examples of this kind of ‘holding together’ federations. In this second category the central government tends to be more powerful vis-a-vis the states Very often different constituent units of the federation have unequal powers. Some units are granted special powers.
