Ethnic federalism
Modern states are usually divided into unitary and complex states (federations). The first modern federation is usually considered the USA, which was created in 1776 as a union of 13 North American colonies that rebelled against British rule. The main reasons for this union were security and economic, and the solution of the nationality question was not yet a driving force. The situation was similar in Latin America. In Europe, Switzerland is considered the first modern federal state, created by the gradual transformation of a confederation with medieval roots. Having done so in the era of nation-state building, the preservation of a high degree of self-government in Switzerland’s cantons, with their various national and denominational majorities, has made it possible to preserve national peace. Cantonalisation therefore became an important means of managing ethnic tensions. In the 19th century, the granting of territorial autonomy to nationalities and the federalisation of different ethnic backgrounds was seen as a solution mainly by socialists. An important objective of the Bolsheviks, who were victorious after 1917, was also to solve the nationality problem. However, the right of self-determination of peoples that they advocated did not necessarily mean the disintegration of the former states. Rather, their leaders saw the future in federalisation and the guarantee of different levels of autonomy. This led to the creation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1922. The state, which was a multi-level federation, was originally made up of four member republics, but this number was eventually increased to 15. Their structure was similar, but their room for manoeuvre remained rather limited under the conditions of a one-party Communist dictatorship. Nevertheless, the post-1945 Yugoslav and the 1968 Czechoslovak communists also saw federalisation as a solution to the nationality problem. Post-colonial federal India also adapted national borders to dominant linguistic cultures over time. Belgium, which was created in 1830, functioned for a long time as a decentralised unitary state, but in the last third of the 20th century, it also achieved devolution, leading to territorial and linguistic federalisation. The latter process also took place in other southern and western European countries (Italy, Spain, Great Britain), but so far it has only led to regionalisation.