Asby 
and Follett extend the principle "up and down" so every group is an integral working part of the whole. It is Stafford Beer's Viable System Model writ large.
.
Federalism is a mode of government that combines a general government (the central or "federal" government) with regional governments (provincial, state, cantonal, territorial, or other sub-unit governments) in a single political system, dividing the powers between the two.
Some characterize the European Union as the pioneering example of federalism in a multi-state setting, in a concept termed the "federal union of states".
Usually, a federation is formed at two levels: the central government and the regions (states, provinces, territories), and little to nothing is said about second or third level administrative political entities. Brazil is an exception, because the 1988 Constitution included the municipalities as autonomous political entities making the federation tripartite, encompassing the Union, the States, and the municipalities. Each state is divided into municipalities (municípios) with their own legislative council (câmara de vereadores) and a mayor (prefeito), which are partly autonomous from both Federal and State Government. Each municipality has a "little constitution", called "organic law" (lei orgânica).
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalism
HEIGHT 400
Wikipedia