Comparing Federal Systems

by Watts, Ronald L.; Queen's University (Kingston, Ont.) Institute of Intergovernmental rel

• ISBN13: 9780889118355
• ISBN10: 0889118353
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-09-01
• Publisher: Inst of Intergovermental

Summary

Countries studied include the United States, Switzerland, Australia, Austria, and Germany as examples of developed industrial societies; India and Malaysia as examples of multilingual and multicultural federations; Belgium and Spain as examples of emerging federal systems that illustrate bicommunal and asymmetrical approaches; and Czechoslovakia and Pakistan as examples of bicommunal federations that have failed. Watts compares the interaction of social diversity and political institutions, distribution of powers and finances, processes contributing to flexibility or rigidity in adjustment, extent of internal symmetry or asymmetry, degree of centralization and decentralization, character of representation in federal institutions, role of constitutions and courts, provisions for constitutional rights and secession, and pathology of federations. Comparing Federal Systems in the 1990s makes an important contribution to our understanding of federal systems in the modern world, and contributes to the continuing Canadian debate about future constitutional, political, and economic arrangements.

Author Biography

Ronald Watts is Principal Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Political Studies, Queen's University, and a Fellow of the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations, Queen's University. From 1991 to 1998 he was President of the International Association of Centres for Federal Studies.

Table of Contents

List of Tables	vii
Foreword to the First Edition	ix
Preface to the First Edition and Summary	xi
Preface to the Second Edition	xv
Acknowledgements	xvii
Introduction	1	(20)
The Relevance of Comparisons	1	(1)
A Brief History of Federalism	2	(2)
The Relevance of Federalism in the 1990s	4	(2)
Definition of Terms and Principles of Federalism	6	(8)
Federal Societies, Constitutions and Governments	14	(3)
Issues in the Design and Operation of Federations	17	(1)
Criteria for the Selection of Federations Considered in this Study	18	(3)
Overview of the Federations Compared in this Study	21	(14)
Established Federations in Developed Countries	21	(6)
United States of America (1789)	21	(1)
Switzerland (1848)	22	(1)
Canada (1867)	23	(1)
Australia (1901)	24	(1)
Austria (1920)	25	(1)
Germany (1949)	26	(1)
Selected Multilingual Federations in Developing Countries	27	(2)
India (1950)	27	(1)
Malaysia (1963)	28	(1)
Recently Emerged and Emerging Federations	29	(2)
Belgium (1993)	29	(1)
Spain (1978)	30	(1)
Bicommunal Federations That Have Separated	31	(4)
Czechoslovakia (1920-1992)	31	(1)
Pakistan (1947-1971)	32	(3)
The Distribution of Powers in Federations	35	(8)
The Issue of Balancing Unity and Diversity	35	(1)
Relationship between Distributions of Legislative and Executive Powers	36	(1)
Variations in the Form of the Distribution of Legislative Authority	37	(3)
Exclusive Legislative Powers	37	(1)
Concurrent Legislative Powers	38	(1)
Residual Powers	39	(1)
The Scope of Legislative Powers Allocated	40	(1)
Distribution of Administrative Responsibilities	41	(2)
The Distribution of Finances	43	(14)
Importance of the Allocation of Financial Resources	43	(1)
The Distribution of Revenue Powers	43	(1)
The Allocation of Expenditure Powers	44	(1)
The Issue of Vertical and Horizontal Imbalances	45	(2)
The Role of Financial Transfers	47	(1)
Conditional or Unconditional Transfers	48	(2)
Equalization Transfers	50	(3)
Processes and Institutions for Adjusting Financial Arrangements	53	(4)
Processes for Flexibility and Adjustment in Federations	57	(6)
Importance of Processes for Intergovernmental Collaboration	57	(1)
Forms and Extent of Intergovernmental Relations	57	(2)
Other Devices for Flexibility and Adjustment in the Distribution of Powers	59	(1)
Cooperative versus Competitive Federalism	60	(1)
Implications for the Democratic Character of Federations	61	(2)
Symmetry and Asymmetry in Federations	63	(6)
Political and Constitutional Asymmetry Distinguished	63	(1)
Examples of Political Asymmetry	63	(3)
Examples of Constitutional Asymmetry	66	(3)
Multilevel Federal Systems	69	(2)
The Impact of Membership in Supra-federation Federal Organizations	69	(1)
The Place of Local Governments	70	(1)
Degrees of Decentralization and Non-Centralization in Federations	71	(12)
Conceptual Issues in Measuring Decentralization and Relative Autonomy	71	(4)
Legislative Decentralization	72	(1)
Administrative Decentralization	73	(1)
Financial Decentralization	73	(1)
Decentralization to Non-governmental Agencies	74	(1)
Constitutional Limitations	75	(1)
The Character of Federal Decision Making	75	(1)
A Comparative Assessment in Relation to Canada	75	(5)
Minimum Federal Powers	80	(3)
The Representative Institutions of Federal Governments	83	(16)
The Importance of Shared Federal Institutions as a Focus for Unity	83	(1)
Institutions Based on the Separation of Powers or Parliamentary Principles	84	(1)
The Significance of These Forms for the Representativeness and Effectiveness of Federal Governments	85	(5)
The Impact of Electoral Systems and Political Parties	90	(2)
The Role of Federal Second Chambers	92	(7)
Bicameralism within Federations	92	(1)
Selection of Members	92	(3)
Basis of Regional Representation	95	(1)
Powers of Second Chambers Relative to the First Chamber	96	(3)
Constitutional Supremacy in Federations	99	(10)
The Constitution as Supreme Law	99	(1)
Processes for Constitutional Adjudication and Judicial Review	99	(1)
Supreme Courts and Constitutional Courts	100	(1)
Constitutional Amendment Procedures	101	(3)
The Role of Constitutional Bills of Rights	104	(3)
Provisions for Formal Secession	107	(2)
The Pathology of Federations	109	(8)
Significance of the Pathology of Federations	109	(1)
Sources of Stress	110	(3)
The Distribution and Character of Internal Social Divisions	110	(1)
The Role of the Institutions and Structures of Federations	110	(2)
Strategies Adopted to Combat Disintegration	112	(1)
Polarizing Political Processes	112	(1)
The Special Problem of Bicommunal Federations	113	(1)
Processes and Consequences of Disintegration	114	(3)
Conclusions	117	(8)
Canada in Comparative Perspective	117	(3)
Implications for the Future Development of the Canadian Federation	120	(5)
Appendix A The Distribution of Powers and Functions in Federations: A Comparative Overview	125	(6)
Notes	131	(4)
Selected Readings	135