Federalism, Plurinationality and Democratic Constitutionalism


Book Description

This book provides a theoretical and comparative analysis of federalism and federations in plurinational democracies, examining how states with distinct peoples and communities coexist (or not). Through a theoretical approach to democracy and federalism, and interdisciplinary analysis of plurinationality in state organization, including case studies of the UK, Russia, Canada, Belgium, India, Spain, Switzerland and Bolivia, this text assesses the possibilities and limits of federalism as a way to recognize and accommodate multinationalism in plurinational democracies. It evaluates a range of strategies used by states to support national, ethnic, linguistic or religious collectives in present-day liberal democracies. Leading scholars in the field evaluate the institutional and practical repercussions regarding the issue of recognition and accommodation of national minorities in a globalised world, through different theoretical perspectives to build up a detailed picture of problems and solutions to multinationalism. Looking both within and beyond the state, this is an invaluable examination of dilemmas and institutional challenges faced by many modern democracies. Federalism, Plurinationality and Democratic Constitutionalism will be of interest to students, researchers and scholars of democracy, nationalism, federalism and constitutionalism.




Theories of Federalism


Book Description

This project pulls together classic and modern readings and essays that explore theories of federalism. Spanning the Seventeenth through Twenty-first-centuries of European, U.S. and Canadian thinkers, this attempts to be a comprehensive reader for students in political theory. The emphasis throughout is on the normative argument, the advantages or disadvantages of federal and confederal arrangements compared to unitary states, and on the relative merits of various proposals to improve particular federations or confederations. These also draw on the full range of political science subfields: from political sociology, political economy and constitutional studies to comparative politics and international relations. There are also readings, both contemporary and historical, that attempt to clarify conceptual issues.




Federalism as Decision-Making


Book Description

Accounting for participation, separation of powers and democratic accountability, federalism gains momentum in times when traditional democratic legitimacy of institutional decision-making is challenged. Its ability to include multiple interests makes federalism a means to ensure good governance. Based on a multidisciplinary analysis, the book tackles the question of whether federalism as a pragmatic governance tool provides answers to current challenges and what those answers are. Thirty-three leading experts critically examine to what extent federalism serves this purpose in compound states, looking at different countries and policies. The volume revolves around five sub-themes: ‘federalism, democracy and governance’, ‘participation mechanisms and procedures’, ‘policy areas compared’, ‘institutional innovation and participatory democracy’ and ‘federalism: from theory to governance’.




Federalism and Rights


Book Description

The authors of this engaging book discuss whether federalism promotes or undermines rights. With emerging democracies in Europe and elsewhere currently attempting to design constitutions that combine effective government, recognition of ethnic diversity within their populations, and protection of individual rights, the importance of these questions cannot be overstated. The authors examine both the theoretical perspectives on the relationship between federalism and rights, and the historical and contemporary relationship between federalism and rights in the United States. The contributors to this volume analyze the U.S. federal system as a potential model for contemporary constitution-makers as well as explore how its system can serve as a cautionary example. Sponsored by the Center for the Study of Federalism. Contributors include: Dorthy Toth Beasley; Irwin Cotler; Talbolt Dslemberte; Daniel J. Elazar; A.E. Dick Howard; Gary J. Jacobsohn; Koen Lenaerts; Jean Yarborough; Michael P. Zuckert.




Federal Democracies


Book Description

Federal Democracies examines the evolution of the relationship between federalism and democracy. Taking the late 18th century US Federal Experience as its starting-point, the book uses the contributions of Calhoun, Bryce and Proudhon as 19th century conceptual prisms through which we can witness the challenges and changes made to the meaning of this relationship. The book then goes on to provide a series of case studies to examine contemporary examples of federalism and includes chapters on Canada, USA, Russia, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland and the emerging European Union. It features two further case studies on Minority Nations and a Federal Europe, and concludes with two chapters providing comparative empirical and theoretical perspectives, and comparative reflections on federalism and democracy. Bringing together international experts in the field this book will be vital reading for students and scholars of federalism, comparative politics and government.




Political Liberalism and Plurinational Democracies


Book Description

The current context of developed societies is characterised by a number of phenomena, the most significant of which are processes of economic globalisation, information technologies, increasing multiculturalism and the emergence of cases of national pluralism which require full political accommodation both within democracies and in the international sphere. The book examines the current state of affairs concerning the political recognition and constitutional accommodation of national pluralism in liberal democracies in the global era of the 21st century. The aim of this volume is to reveal the normative, analytical and institutional shortcomings of liberal democracies in multinational contexts and to offer alternatives that theoretically refine and practically improve the recognition and political accommodation of national pluralism within the democratic polity. Through a series of analyses linked to the development of political liberalism in contemporary states the contributors analyse the direct impact on the way that democracies have treated, and continue to treat, national pluralism in modern-day societies. Bringing together leading scholars in the field to explore the different debates and approaches to this important issue, this volume will interest researchers and students of nationalism, federalism and multiculturalism, as well as political actors and policy makers with a particular interest in the management of diversity in present-day liberal democracies.




Redefining Federalism


Book Description

If federalism is about protecting the states, why not listen to them? In the last decade, the Supreme Court has reworked significant areas of constitutional law with the professed purpose of protecting the dignity and authority of the states, while frequently disregarding the states'' views as to what federalism is all about. The Court, according to the states, is protecting federalism too much and too little. Too much, in striking down federal law where even the states recognize that a federal role is necessary to address a national problem. Too little, in inappropriately limiting state experimentation. By listening more carefully to the States, the Supreme Court could transform its federalism jurisprudence from a source of criticism and polarization to a doctrine that should win broad support from across the political spectrum. In this important book, six distinguished authors redefine federalism and reaffirm Justice Louis Brandeis's vision of states and localities as the laboratories of democracy.




Federalism


Book Description




Federalism: A Very Short Introduction


Book Description

Early Americans were suspicious of centralized authority and executive power. Casting away the yoke of England and its king, the founding fathers shared in this distrust as they set out to pen the Constitution. Weighing a need for consolidated leadership with a demand for states' rights, they established a large federal republic with limited dominion over the states, leaving most of the governing responsibility with the former colonies. With this dual system of federalism, the national government held the powers of war, taxation, and commerce, and the ability to pass the laws necessary to uphold these functions. Although the federal role has grown substantially since then, states and local governments continue to perform most of the duties in civil and criminal law, business and professional licensing, the management of infrastructure and public services: roads, schools, libraries, sanitation, land use and development, and etc. Despite the critical roles of state and local governments, there is little awareness-or understanding-of the nature and operations of the federal system. This Very Short Introduction provides a concise overview of federalism, from its origins and evolution to the key events and constitutional decisions that have defined its framework. Although the primary focus is on the United States, other federal systems, including Brazil, Canada, India, Germany, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, and the EU, are addressed.




Freedom and Federalism


Book Description

Despite the centralizing tendencies of the American national government in the twentieth century, there have been surprisingly few books defending the federal system. Felix Morley's Freedom and Federalism, which examines the root causes of the problem, was thus a pioneering achievement when it first appeared in 1959. No less relevant today, the book provides a perceptive diagnosis of the collapse of States' rights in modern America; and it seeks the restoration of a constitutional balance between central and state authorities. Is federalism worth saving? "Its outstanding virtue," which is "the distinctively American contribution to political art," argues Morley, "is its facility in combining two naturally antagonistic conditions--the social condition of order, and the more personal condition of freedom." In the end, he concludes, the American government will fail unless these two conditions are reconciled. Felix Morley (1894-1982), Pulitzer-Prize-winning author, journalist, and educator, was a Rhodes Scholar, editor of the Washington Post and Human Events, and President of Haverford College.