Within A Federacy
Administrative units that are not federated but enjoy a greater degree of autonomy or self-government than others within the same country can be considered constituent states of a larger sovereign state. This relationship is called a federacy. Autonomous republics like Karakalpakstan in Uzbekistan and Crimea in Ukraine are examples.
States existing in free association with another can be considered constituent states of a sovereign entity. For example, the Cook Islands, New Zealand and Niue constitute the three constituent entities of the Realm of New Zealand, united under a single head of state, which is the Queen of New Zealand.
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