Comparing Federal Systems / Edition 3

by Ronald L. Watts, Ronald L Watts

Overview

In this updated and extensively revised third edition, Ronald Watts provides a clear analysis of the design and operation of a wide range of federations. There is much that can be learned from the experience of federal systems throughout the world. At present there are 25 functioning federations in the world (containing over 40 percent of the world's population). A distinctive feature of the popularity of federalism in the contemporary world is that its application has taken a variety of forms and has included some new variants and innovations.

This third edition has been fully updated and now encompasses reference to a much wider range of federations and federal experiments, including mature federations such as the United States of America, Switzerland, Canada, Austria, Germany and India; emergent federations such as Mexico, Malaysia, Pakistan, Spain, Brazil, Belgium, Russia, Argentina, Ethiopia, South Africa, Nigeria and Venezuela; micro-federations such as Micronesia, Belau, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Comoros; federal-confederal hybrids such as the United Arab Emirates and the European Union, and post-conflict federal experiments such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sudan, Iraq and Congo; it also examines federations that have failed. Watts compares the interaction of social diversity and political institutions, the distribution of powers and finances, the processes contributing to flexibility or rigidity in adjustment, the extent of internal symmetry or asymmetry, the character of representation in federal institutions, the role of constitutions and courts, the provisions for constitutional rights and secession, the degree of centralization and non-centralization, and the pathologyof federations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781553391883
Publisher:	McGill-Queens University Press
Publication date:	05/01/2008
Series:	Queen's Policy Studies Series , #50
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Ronald L. Watts is principal emeritus and professor emeritus, political studies, and fellow and former director of the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations at Queen's University, and fellow of the international Forum of Federations. From 1991 to 1998

Table of Contents

List of Tables     ix
List of Figures     x
Foreword to the First Edition     xi
Preface to the Third Edition and Summary     xiii
Acknowledgements     xvii
Introduction
The Relevance of Comparisons of Federal Systems     1
A Brief History of Federalism     2
The Contemporary Relevance of Federalism     4
Definition of Terms and of Principles of Federalism     8
Variations in Federations     18
Federal Societies, Constitutions and Governments     19
Issues in the Design and Operation of Federations     23
Federations Considered in This Study     24
Overview of Contemporary Federations
Mature Federations     29
United States of America (1789)     29
The Swiss Confederation (1848)     30
Canada (1867)     32
The Commonwealth of Australia (1901)     33
The Federal Republic of Austria (1920)     34
The Federal Republic of Germany (1949)     35
The Republic of India (1950)     36
Emergent Federations     38
The United Mexican States (1917)     38
The Federation of Malaysia (1963)     39
The Islamic Republic of Pakistan(1973)     40
The Kingdom of Spain (1978)     41
The Federative Republic of Brazil (1988)     42
The Kingdom of Belgium (1993)     43
The Russian Federation (1993)     45
The Argentine Republic (1994)     47
The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (1995)     48
The Republic of South Africa (1996)     49
The Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999)     50
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (1999)     51
Micro-Federations     52
The Federated States of Micronesia (1978)     52
The Republic of Belau (1981)     53
The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis (1985)     54
The Union of the Comoros (2001)     54
Confederal-Federal Hybrids     55
United Arab Emirates (1971)     55
The European Union (1993)     56
Post-Conflict Federal Experiments     58
The Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1995)     58
Republic of Sudan (2005)     59
Republic of Iraq (2005)     60
The Democratic Republic of Congo (2006)     61
The Formation of Federations
The Variety of Factors and Processes     63
The Balance of Pressures      63
Differing Processes in the Creation of Federations     65
Catalysts of Political Integration     66
Catalysts of Constituent Unit Autonomy     66
The Capacity for Federal Government     68
The Influence of Models     69
The Constituent Units
The Building Blocks of Federations     71
The Number of Constituent Units     71
The Size and Wealth of Constituent Units     72
Categories of Constituent Units     74
The Regional Distinctiveness of Constituent Units     76
Reforming Constituent Unit Boundaries     78
Federal Capitals     79
The Distribution of Authority in Federations
A Fundamental Feature of Federations     83
Relationship between Legislative and Executive Authority     86
Variations in the Form of the Distribution of Legislative Authority     87
Exclusive Legislative Authority     87
Concurrent Legislative Authority     87
Shared Authority     88
Residual Authority     89
Emergency or Override Powers     90
The Scope of Legislative Authority Allocated     90
Distribution of Administrative Responsibilities     92
Evolution of the Distribution of Powers      93
The Distribution of Finances
Importance of the Allocation of Financial Resources     95
The Distribution of Revenue Powers     95
Allocation of Tax Powers     96
Natural Resource Revenues     97
Other Revenue Raising Issues     99
The Allocation of Expenditure Powers     100
The Issue of Vertical and Horizontal Imbalances     103
The Role of Financial Transfers     104
Conditional or Unconditional Transfers     106
Equalization Transfers     108
Processes and Institutions for Adjusting Financial Arrangements     112
Intergovernmental Relations
Importance of Processes for Intergovernmental Collaboration     117
Forms and Extent of Intergovernmental Relations     118
Other Devices for Flexibility and Adjustment in the Distribution of Powers     120
Cooperative versus Competitive Federalism     122
Implications for the Democratic Character of Federations     123
Symmetry and Asymmetry in Federations
Political and Constitutional Asymmetry Distinguished     125
Political Asymmetry     125
Constitutional Asymmetry     127
Multilevel Federal Systems
Membership in Supra-Federal Organizations     131
The Place of Local Governments     132
The Representative Institutions of Federal Governments
The Importance of Shared Federal Institutions as a Focus for Unity     135
Institutions Based on the Separation of Powers or Parliamentary Principles     136
The Significance for the Representativeness and Effectiveness of Federal Governments     137
The Impact of Electoral Systems and Political Parties     144
The Role of Federal Second Chambers     147
Bicameralism within Federations     147
Selection of Members     147
Basis of Regional Representation     152
Powers of Second Chambers Relative to First Chambers     153
Role of Federal Second Chambers     153
Do Federal Second Chambers Constrain Democracy?     154
Constitutional Supremacy in Federations
The Constitution as Supreme Law     157
Processes for Constitutional Adjudication and Judicial Review     158
Supreme Courts and Constitutional Courts     159
Constitutional Amendment Procedures     161
The Role of Constitutional Bills of Rights     165
Provisions for Formal Secession     168
Degrees of Decentralization and Non-Centralization in Federations
Conceptual Issues in Measuring Decentralization and Relative Autonomy      171
Legislative Decentralization     172
Administrative Decentralization     173
Financial Decentralization     174
Unfunded Mandates     175
Decentralization to Non-governmental Agencies     175
Constitutional Limitations     175
The Character of Federal Decision Making     175
A Comparative Assessment     176
Minimum Federal Powers     177
The Pathology of Federations
Significance of the Pathology of Federations     179
Sources of Stress     180
The Distribution and Character of Internal Social Divisions     180
The Role of Institutions and Structures     181
Strategies Adopted to Combat Disintegration     182
Polarizing Political Processes     183
The Special Problem of Two-Unit Federations     184
Processes and Consequences of Disintegration     185
Post-Conflict Situations     187
Conclusions
Implications Drawn from This Comparative Study     189
Federalism and Liberal-Democratic Values     192
The Distribution of Powers and Functions in Selected Federations: A Comparative Overview     193
Selected Readings     199

Editorial Reviews

In this update of the first edition, , Watts (emeritus, political studies, Queen's U.) samples the 23 federal systems worldwide for their relevance to Canadian issues. Lacks an index. Canadian card order #: C99-931625-7. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

"He has produced a masterful synthesis, a kind of basic comparative handbook which reflects dedicated study of, long experience with, and penetrating insights into the formal and procedural manifestation of federalism n the world today." Daniel J. Elazar, Publius: The Journal of Federalism. "This is a work I recommend without reservation to al those who are interested in Canadian comparative federalism and who especially wish to relate to the Canadian experience to those of other federations." Réjean Pelletier, Politique et societés du Québec.

From the Publisher