Comparative federalism

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Comparative federalism is a branch of comparative politics and comparative government, the main focus of which is the study of the nature, operation, possibilities and effects of federal governance forms across two or more cases. [1]

Contents

Comparative studies cover the most important aspects of federalism, i.e. theory, institutions, constitutions including constitutional laws, foundations, establishment and organization of federal systems, functions or a system of relations between administrative structures at various levels and financial issues, for example, the distribution of tax revenues and expenditures. One more aspect can be added to this — examples of the functioning of federal systems and problems that arise when implementing a federal organization. [2]

Currently, comparative federalism is the core of federalism research. It is applicable to any topic in the field, including second chambers, courts, intergovernmental councils, the trajectory of federations, practices of fiscal federalism, accommodation of potentially conflicting identity groups, and secessionism. [3]

Origin

The ubiquity of comparative federalism is directly related to the development of comparative studies and their prevalence in other fields of political science. The evolution of comparative politics is seen as punctuated by two revolutions: the behavioral revolution, during the immediate post-World War II years until the mid-1960s, and the second scientific revolution, which started around the end of the Cold War and is still ongoing. On both occasions, the impetus for change came from developments in the field of American politics and was justified in the name of science. [4]

The surge in the use of comparative methods in federalism research can be attributed to the above-mentioned events, since federalism first became a significant field of study in the mid-twentieth century. For many years federalism was considered an object that did not deserve the attention of political scientists, except as a system of relations between governments of various levels in special federal entities, primarily in the United States. [5] However, in the second half of the twentieth century, it became one of the key topics of world politics and, accordingly, political science, as the number of federal states increased, as well as the interaction of many states at the supranational level acquired the features of federalism. These phenomena coincided with the popularization of comparative politics, which led to the emergence and spread of the approach of comparative federalism in political science.[ citation needed ]

Сlassification

Comparative studies of federalism can be divided into three main groups:

Federalism in English-speaking countries, including colonial federalism, for example in the United Kingdom
Federalism in German-speaking countries, primarily in Germany and Switzerland
Federalist ideologies and projects put forward for the most part by philosophers — supporters of utopian federal systems.

Features

By taking into consideration the methods and experiences of many cases, comparative federalism aims to go beyond what can be learned from the study of a single federation:

By drawing comparisons between the operations of various federations, comparative federalism enables us to view federalism as a universal phenomenon. If federalism is a general category of government, then there are limits to what one case can tell us about it and to what one can learn about the applicability of federal-type arrangements to political challenges.

Comparative federalism sheds light on the characteristics of any given scenario, both typical and unusual, and offers suggestions for alternative approaches. "It is all too easy when immersed in the politics of one country to lapse into a parochialism that takes the status quo for granted". [6]

A thorough description of a specific case and its process tracing can serve as a solid foundation for a causal explanation, but comparative federalism provides an external confirmation, which is typically viewed as very desirable. More reliable conclusions are based on hypotheses that were examined over a number of other examples. [7]

Multi-level governance

Early in the 1990s, a new method of studying the European integration process called "multi-level governance" appeared. It aimed to broaden the scope of the analysis by including institutional layers above and beyond the intergovernmental or supranational viewpoints. This research brought in findings from comparative federalism and depicted the European Union as a unique (quasi-federal) system characterized by a distinctive interconnection among multiple levels of governance. [8] "EU is an outlier in comparative federalism: a federation-in-the-making with confederal characteristics". [9]

Research on multi-level governance has spurred innovation in comparative federalism. [10] While traditional comparative federalism, by stressing legal and administrative aspects, has limited itself to the study of federal countries, it is conceivable to extend the insight gained to multi-level regimes. The interconnection between these approaches promotes new discoveries in the field of each of them.

Impact of the theory

The comparative study of the federal system has benefited from various advances provided by the theory of multi-level governance:

Especially in European federal systems such as Germany and Switzerland, multi-level governance points to the increasingly significant interplays between different domestic and supranational governance levels. [11] At the same time, research on multi-level governance rekindled interest in subnational units, departments and urban areas.

The concept of multi-level governance allowed comparative federalism academics to think about federal systems as being influenced and formed by different interactional patterns, and not only as centralized polities characterized by a certain distribution of authority and resources. This actor-centered interpretation of federalism helped to improve comparative studies of federalism, which now includes a wide range of federal and non-federal systems. [13]

Due to the critical role that decentralization plays in fostering global economic development and good governance, comparative studies of economic performance, the political economics of federalism, and fiscal federalism have received significant attention in comparative federalism. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federalism</span> Political concept

Federalism is a mode of government that combines a general government with regional governments in a single political system, dividing the powers between the two. Johannes Althusius is considered the father of modern federalism along with Montesquieu. He notably exposed the bases of this political philosophy in Politica Methodice Digesta, Atque Exemplis Sacris et Profanis Illustrata (1603). Montesquieu sees in the Spirit of Laws, examples of federalist republics in corporate societies, the polis bringing together villages, and the cities themselves forming confederations. Federalism in the modern era was first adopted in the unions of states during the Old Swiss Confederacy.

Sui generis is a Latin phrase that means 'of its/their own kind' or 'in a class by itself', therefore 'unique'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federalisation of the European Union</span> Proposals to federalise the European Union

There is ongoing discussion about the extent to which the European Union (EU) has already turned from a confederation into a federation over the course of decades, and more importantly, to what degree it should continue to evolve into a federalist direction. As of January 2024, the EU has no formal plans to become a federation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federation</span> Political union of partially self-governing territories under a national government

A federation is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governing status of the component states, as well as the division of power between them and the central government, is constitutionally entrenched and may not be altered by a unilateral decision, neither by the component states nor the federal political body.

A confederation is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issues, such as defence, foreign relations, internal trade or currency, with the central government being required to provide support for all its members. Confederalism represents a main form of intergovernmentalism, defined as any form of interaction around states that takes place on the basis of sovereign independence or government.

Neofunctionalism is a theory of regional integration which downplays globalisation and reintroduces territory into its governance. Neofunctionalism is often regarded as the first European integration theory developed by Ernst B. Haas in 1958 as part of his Ph.D. research on the European Coal and Steel Community. Neofunctionalism seeks to explain the European integration process and why states accept to become a part of supranational organization. Jean Monnet's approach to European integration, which aimed at integrating individual sectors in hopes of achieving spillover effects to further the process of integration, is said to have followed the neofunctional school's tack.

A supranational union is a type of international organization that is empowered to directly exercise some of the powers and functions otherwise reserved to states. A supranational organization involves a greater transfer of or limitation of state sovereignty than other kinds of international organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federalism in Australia</span> Overview of federalism in Australia

Federalism was adopted, as a constitutional principle, in Australia on 1 January 1901 – the date upon which the six self-governing Australian Colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia federated, formally constituting the Commonwealth of Australia. It remains a federation of those six original States under the Constitution of Australia.

Multi-level governance is a term used to describe the way power is spread vertically between levels of government and horizontally across multiple quasi-government and non-governmental organizations and actors. This situation develops because countries have multiple levels of government including local, regional, state, national or federal, and many other organisations with interests in policy decisions and outcomes. International governance operates based on multi-level governance principles. Multi-level governance can be distinguished from multi-level government which is when different levels of government share or transfer responsibility amongst each other. Whereas multi-level governance analyses the relationship of different state levels and interaction with different types of actors.'

Dual federalism, also known as layer-cake federalism or divided sovereignty, is a political arrangement in which power is divided between the federal and state governments in clearly defined terms, with state governments exercising those powers accorded to them without interference from the federal government. Dual federalism is defined in contrast to cooperative federalism, in which federal and state governments collaborate on policy.

A federacy is a form of government where one or several substate units enjoy considerably more independence than the majority of the substate units. To some extent, such an arrangement can be considered to be similar to asymmetric federalism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel J. Elazar</span> American political scientist (1934–1999)

Daniel Judah Elazar was a political scientist known for his seminal studies of political culture of the US states. He was professor of political science at Bar-Ilan University in Israel and Temple University in Pennsylvania, and director of the Center for the Study of Federalism at Temple University and the founder and president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.

Paradiplomacy is the involvement of non-central governments in international relations. The phenomenon includes a variety of practices, from town twinning to transnational networking, decentralized cooperation, and advocacy in international summits. Following the movement of globalisation, non-central governments have been playing increasingly influential roles on the global scene, connecting across national borders and developing their own foreign policies. Regions, states, provinces and cities seek their way to promote cooperation, cultural exchanges, trade and partnership, in a large diversity of ways and objectives depending on their decentralization, cultural, and socio-economical contexts. This trend raises new questions concerning public international law and opened a debate on the global governance regime, and the evolution of the nation-led system that has provided the grounds for the international political order in the last centuries.

The Forum of Federations is an international organization based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It develops and shares comparative expertise on the practice of federal and decentralized governance through a global network. The Forum and its partners comprise a global network on federalism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Sinardet</span>

Dave Sinardet is a Belgian political scientist, author and columnist.

Gary Marks is an American-based academic and an expert on multilevel governance and the European Union. He is a Burton Craige Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is also a recurring Research Fellow at the Robert Schuman Centre, EUI, Florence. Marks developed the concept of "multilevel governance.”

Liesbet Hooghe is a Belgian political scientist, currently serving as the W. R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is also a research fellow at the European University Institute, Florence. In a list of 400 top political scientists at Ph.D. granting institutions in the US, published in Political Science & Politics, she was ranked as the fifth most-cited woman scholar in political science.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to politics and political science:

Staatenverbund is a neologism for a system of multi-level governance in which states work more closely together than in a confederation but, unlike a federal state, retain their own sovereignty. The concept is used in Germany to describe the European Union but has no direct equivalent in other languages. In German jurisprudence, a Staatenverbund is a supranational institution that may exercise sovereign acts but may not independently fix areas where it may exercise this power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Kincaid (political scientist)</span> American political scientist

John Kincaid is an American political scientist and scholar of American federalism, intergovernmental relations, and state and local government. He is the Robert B. & Helen S. Meyner Professor of Government and Public Service and Director of the Meyner Center for the Study of State and Local Government at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. He also is President of CSF Associates: Publius, the sponsor of the Center for the Study of Federalism. He previously taught at North Texas State University, Arizona State University, St. Peter’s College/University, and Seton Hall University. He served as executive director of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations and as vice president of the Pentagon Papers Fund for the Defense of Human and Civil Liberties.

References

  1. ↑ Elazar, Daniel J. (1987). Exploring Federalism. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press.
  2. ↑ Elazar, Daniel J. (1995). Comparative Federalism. Political Studies. No. 5.
  3. ↑ Fenna, Alan. (2023). Comparative federalism: what is a federation and how do we study more than one?. 10.4337/9781800885325.00010.
  4. ↑ Munck, Gerardo. (2006). The past and present of comparative politics. Working Paper of the Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies.
  5. ↑ Elazar, Daniel J. (1995). Comparative Federalism. Political Studies. No. 5.
  6. ↑ Weissert, Carol S. (2011). Beyond marble cakes and picket fences: what U.S. federalism scholars can learn from comparative work. Journal of Politics 73 (4), 965–79.
  7. ↑ Fenna, Alan. (2023). Comparative federalism: what is a federation and how do we study more than one?. 10.4337/9781800885325.00010.
  8. ↑ Scharpf, Fritz W. (1988). The joint decision trap. Lessons from German federalism and European integration. Public Administration, 66, 239–78.
  9. ↑ Hueglin, Thomas O. & Fenna, Alan. (2006). Comparative federalism: a systematic enquiry. Peterborough, Ont: Broadview Press, http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/fy0608/2006365495.html
  10. ↑ Bache, I. (2012). Handbook on Multi‐level Governance – Edited by Henrik Enderlein, Sonja Wälti and Michael Zürn. Political Studies Review, 10, 134-135.
  11. ↑ Braun, D. (2003). Dezentralischer und unitarischer Föderalismus. Die Schweiz und Deutschland im Vergleich. Swiss Political Science Review, 9 (1), pp. 57–89
  12. ↑ Swenden, Wilfried. (2006). Federalism and Regionalism in Western Europe. A Comparative and Thematic Analysis. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
  13. ↑ Braun, Dietmar (ed.). (2000). Federalism and Public Policy. Aldershot: Ashgate.
  14. ↑ Beramendi, Pablo. (2007). Federalism. in C. Boix and S.C. Stokes (eds). Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 752–82.
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