eli5: Since the U.S is described as ”a union between 50 free states” and gets more compared with the structure of the EU than, say, the counties of England; how come Texas or Oklahoma doesn’t compete independently in the olympics, or have independent representation in the UN? A union isn’t a nation
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The US actually has five Olympic teams: the United States, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Some other countries also have separate teams for some of their overseas territories. Ultimately it’s all the result of decisions and negotiations by the IOC and the various national Olympic committees. They could do it differently if they wanted.
> and gets more compared with the structure of the EU than, say, the counties of England
It’s really not similar to the structure of the EU though. There are many areas of society in which the EU has very little say and the member states can do basically whatever they want (such as criminal justice, social policy, defence, and national elections). The member states’ governments also have a huge amount of control over the EU. Imagine if the US Senate was made up of state governors, and the US Cabinet was appointed by the state governors, and the state governors could amend the US Constitution whenever they wanted by unanimous agreement. That’s very roughly how the EU works. Member states can also leave the EU whenever they feel like it.
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