Identities, Trust, and Cohesion in Federal Systems


Book Description

To what extent do federal systems promote multiple identities and attachments? How do their identities affect the trust that is assigned to various orders of government and contribute to cohesion in federalist systems? Do cohesive federations depend on public trust and strong attachment to the national or central government? Are attachments and identification with the various orders of government in conflict or are they compatible? Identities, Trust, and Cohesion in Federal Systems offers eight comparative essays that provide key insights into identity debates in federalist countries. The findings are drawn from extensive analyses of public opinion data in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States. The editors seek to improve our understanding of how identity, trust, and cohesion correlate with centralized, decentralized, and asymmetrical models of federalism in order to gain insight into the diverse governance challenges that various nations encounter. Making effective use of empirical data to draw evidence-based conclusions about federalist governance, Identities, Trust, and Cohesion in Federal Systems breaks new ground in public policy studies.




Cooperative Federalism in South Asia and Europe


Book Description

This book explores the challenges, opportunities, and trends impacting the working of federations in South Asia and Europe. It deliberates on the changing socio-economic realities, challenges facing the existing structures of governance, degrees of consociationalism, and the growing aspirations of people in South Asia and Europe. Through case studies from Greece, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, France, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Maldives, Bhutan, and India, the volume focuses on critical issues relating to cooperative federalism – its complexities, institutional dilemmas, and trends in South Asia and Europe. It discusses a variety of themes relevant to Cooperative Federalism including federal-state relations; cooperative governance; constitution; multiculturalism, fiscal relations, democratization, devolution of powers, consociationalism, and global citizenship in South Asia and Europe. The book further emphasizes the need to strike a balance between the federal government and the constituent units in these two regions. Topical and lucid, this book will be of interest to teachers, scholars, and researchers of political science, comparative government and politics, federalism, South Asian politics, European politics, governance studies, and political studies.




Accommodating Diversity in Multilevel Constitutional Orders


Book Description

This book offers insights into the legal mechanisms that are adopted in multilevel constitutional orders to accommodate the tension between contrasting interests of diversity and unity and the converging or diverging effects they may have on the functioning of a multilevel constitutional order. It does so by targeting mainly the European experience but also drawing insights from other jurisdictions. The volume draws on a well-rounded theoretical framework that allows a comprehensive discussion of the dialectics in multi-level systems.) It focuses on two of the most relevant areas of constitutional law, namely the setup of supranational institutions and the protection of fundamental human rights. Finally, the work presents a fresh legal take on the unity-diversity dichotomy. This collection is ideal for academics working in the fields of constitutional law, international law, federal theory, institutional design, management and accommodation of diversity, and protection of fundamental rights. Political scientists will also find the discussions very relevant as a foundation for further research in their field. Policymakers involved in constitutional engineering will be interested, as mechanisms of accommodation, convergence, and divergence are increasingly looked at as devices for managing multilevel polities.




Teaching Federalism


Book Description

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License. It is free to read, download and share on Elgaronline.com. Teaching Federalism presents innovative ideas for teaching a wide variety of key concepts of federalism and federal-country cases. Each chapter introduces a topic, explains its place in federalism research, and provides learning objectives, pedagogical tools, and questions for class discussions, student essays, and examinations. Evaluation and reading suggestions are included as well.




Cooperation and Conflict between State and Local Government


Book Description

This book introduces students to the complex landscape of state-local intergovernmental relations today. Each chapter illustrates conflict and cooperation for policy problems including the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, environmental regulation, marijuana regulation, and government management capacity. The contributors, leading experts in the field, help students enhance their understanding of the importance of state-local relations in the U.S. federal system, argue for better analysis of the consequences of state-local relations for the quality of policy outcomes, and introduce them to public service career opportunities in state and local government.




Rethinking Decentralization


Book Description

Federal countries face innumerable challenges including public health crises, economic uncertainty, and widespread public distrust in governing institutions. They are also home to 40 per cent of the world’s population. Rethinking Decentralization explores the question of what makes a successful federal government by examining the unique role of public attitudes in maintaining the fragile institutions of federalism. Conventional wisdom is that successful federal governance is predicated on the degree to which authority is devolved to lower levels of government and the extent to which citizens display a “federal spirit” – a term often referenced but rarely defined. Jacob Deem puts these claims to the test, examining public attitudes in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Deem demonstrates how the role of citizen attachment to particular manifestations of decentralization, subsidiarity, and federalism is unique to each country and a reflection of its history, institutions, and culture. Essential reading for policymakers, academics, and everyday citizens, Rethinking Decentralization re-centres the public to offer a nuanced way of thinking about federal governance.




Allegiance and Identity in a Globalised World


Book Description

Interrogating the concepts of allegiance and identity in a globalised world involves renewing our understanding of membership and participation within and beyond the nation-state. Allegiance can be used to define a singular national identity and common connection to a nation-state. In a global context, however, we need more dynamic conceptions to understand the importance of maintaining diversity and building allegiance with others outside borders. Understanding how allegiance and identity are being reconfigured today provides valuable insights into important contemporary debates around citizenship. This book reveals how public and international law understand allegiance and identity. Each involves viewing the nation-state as fundamental to concepts of allegiance and identity, but they also see the world slightly differently. With contributions from philosophers, political scientists and social psychologists, the result is a thorough appraisal of allegiance and identity in a range of socio-legal contexts.




Diverse Nations, Diverse Responses


Book Description

An overview of the historical, demographic, and political forces that shape social cohesion.







Academic Transformation


Book Description

The large scale publicly funded system of postsecondary education in Ontario developed in the 1960s has been largely successful in fulfilling important societal needs in the areas of education, human resource development, and research. Existing approaches, however, are unlikely to be sufficient to address the challenges of the coming decade. Academic Transformation: The Forces Reshaping Higher Education in Ontario examines the developments that are re-shaping the province's post-secondary system, including higher enrollment, further development of a knowledge-based economy, increased demands for research focused on competitiveness and productivity, and Ontario's transition to a multicultural, internationally connected, urban, and aged society. Universities and colleges are also adjusting to internal changes in the composition of the student body and staff, faculty work profiles, and funding arrangements. The authors consider possible changes in the system's structure, policy, and governance that may be helpful in dealing with the anticipated changes in societal needs, and expectations related to post-secondary education.