While each federal republic manages this division of powers differently, common matters relating to security and defense, and monetary policy are usually handled at the federal level, while matters such as infrastructure maintenance and education policy are usually handled at the regional or local level. In a federal republic, a division of powers exists between the federal government and the government of the individual subdivisions. At its core, the literal meaning of the word republic when used to reference a form of government means: 'a country that is governed by elected representatives and by an elected leader (such as a president) rather than by a monarch'. A federal republic is a federation of states with a republican form of government.
