Comparing Federal Systems

by Watts, Ronald L.

• ISBN13: 9781553391883
• ISBN10: 1553391888
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-03-01
• Publisher: McGill Queens Univ Pr

Summary

In this updated 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; as well as examining 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 pathology of federations.

Author Biography

Ronald Watts is Principal Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Political Studies, Queen's University.

Table of Contents

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