World Federalism
World federalism proposes a democratic federal government above the nation-states, with authority over matters such as war, global commons and human rights, while nations keep control of their own affairs. Its aim is to replace international anarchy with law.
- War between states can only be ended by binding law above them.
- Global problems such as climate and pandemics require global institutions with real powers.
- Those institutions must be democratic, with citizens represented directly.
The idea goes back to Kant's Perpetual Peace (1795) and was taken up after the world wars by organisations such as the World Federalist Movement, founded in 1947, and by figures including Albert Einstein. The Ventotene Manifesto (1941) applied similar thinking to Europe and influenced European integration. Proposals for a United Nations parliamentary assembly continue the tradition.
Critics argue that a world government would be remote, unaccountable and impossible to escape if it became tyrannical. Nationalists see it as a threat to sovereignty and self-determination.
Countries and historical regimes whose 12-axis profile is closer to World Federalism than to any other ideology in the test.
Countries today
- Luxembourg90%
World Federalism is also the second-closest ideology for: New Zealand.
Method: each ideology is placed at a typical position on the 12 axes, scored from 0 to 100 toward the first pole. Ranks compare it with the other 45 ideologies; matches are 100 minus the average distance across all axes. The positions are our own calibration, not taken from any third-party source.