Unit 4 Flashcards
Territorial organisation of political power
Define and illustrate the distinctive elements of the federal, regional, and unitary state.
Federal state is a union of states deciding to transfer their sovereignty to the centre establishing a federal government. Generally federal state is the result of coming-together of states, which means that prior sovereign entities decided to unite and give up their sovereignty and transfer it to the centre. Key elements are supremacy of the federal constitution over federated entities’ constitutions. Guarantees for self-rule, which means that there are legislative competences divided between the central and state’s governments and there is some power which controls that neither of the governments exceeded their given powers. And there are also guarantees for share-rule which contain the involvement of federated entities in constitution amending, ordinary law making and also participation in the executive. Examples of federal states are USA, Germany or Switzerland.
Regional state can be quite similar to federal state. Also in this type of state there are entities vested with legislative power. Generally these states came up by the process of holding-together, that is why one of the main reasons for a regional state is accommodating cultural diversities, the other reason is fostering economic development. Key elements are that the power proceeds from centre to periphery; some regional states are asymmetrical, meaning that not all regions have the same power or that not the whole territory of a state is regionalised; institutional architecture at regional level reiterates the form of government existing at national level; relations between the centre and the regions is governed through intergovernmental conferences. Typical examples of a regional state are Italy, Spain and the UK.
Unitary state is the most centralised type. All the political power is centralised and organised in the centre. There may be some power articulated to the peripheries, but it is not a recognition of political autonomy. Subnational entities must operate in a strict alignment with the policies of the central government.
What is a confederation? Illustrate its distinctive elements?
Confederation is a type of federalism. It is also called federalism under international law, because confederation is not governed by a constitution, but by a international treaty. It is a union of states which retain their sovereignty and collaborate only in specific, well defined policy fields. All member states retain the power to withdraw from the confederation at any time. Main decisions have to be taken unanimously and generally are made by the Council, which is the main decision-making body representing state governments. Council operates only occasionally, the main preparations and negotiations take place in the Secretariat. Decisions of the confederations are legally binding on member states but as international law, which means they are not directly binding on citizens, but have to be implemented by state legislatures. Confederation is not financially independent, but it is dependant on the financial resources provided by the member states.
What are the main manifestations of the principle of federal supremacy?
Federal constitution is the higher law of the land. That can be seen in homogeneity and supremacy clauses of constitutions.
Homogeneity clauses are that constitutions prescribes certain minimum standard for the individual state’s constitutions. For example US constitutions prescribes republican form of government to all States. German Basic Law also prescribes republican order in all Länder.
Supremacy clauses establish the supremacy of federal law over states’ law.
Federal government has the power to oversee and enforce the respect of federal law vis-a-vis the states. This can be seen on the incident called The Little Rock Nine from the 1957 in the USA.
Federation has the possibility to intervene in states’ territory in a state of emergency. External or internal.
How can federal constitutions secure self-rule and shared-rule?
Self-rule can be secured by including lists of enumerated legislative powers. For example US Constitution includes only lists of federal legislative powers, all residual powers belong to the States. On the other hand Canada’s Constitution includes both enumerated lists of the federal parliament and of parliament’s of provinces. In Germany legislative powers are qualified into exclusive (powers of the federal parliament), concurring (both federal and state legislatures can legislate) and residual (all other legislative fields belong to the Länder). Usually there is a federal court with the task of resolving conflicts between legislative powers and of controlling whether neither the federal nor state legislatures exceeded their powers.
Shared-rule is secured by involving federated entities in the constitution amending procedure. In Germany Bundesrat also has to approve the amendment with a 2/3 majority and cannot be overridden. In USA Senate needs to approve the amendment and furthermore also the state legislatures need to approve it. Federated entities are also involved in the federal law-making through the upper chambers of parliament. Federated entities also participate in the formation of the executive. In Switzerland members of government need to equally represent the territory. In USA the President is voted by the electors, which are elected in each State.
‘The US and German federal systems diverge in the structure of their Second Chambers (Senate and Bundesrat)’. Discuss.
There are 5 main differences between the Senate and Bundesrat.
1) In Germany members in Bundesrat represent the Land government; members are usually Land Minister which the Land government appoints and recalls. In the USA Senators are elected directly by the citizens.
2) US Senators serve for a fixed term of 6 years with every 2 years 1/3 of the Senate being elected. Bundesrat on the other hand does not have any fixed term and its composition is in constant flux since members are drawn from the Land government, which elections are not synchronised; the Bundesrat is made up of fluctuating governmental coalitions of each Land.
3) Bundesrat represents Länder proportionally to their population, not each land has he same amount of votes, even though smaller Länder are overrepresented. In the US Senate each State is entitled to exactly 2 Senators notwithstanding the size of their population.
4) In Bundesrat votes are cast as a unit, because the members represent their Länder and not political parties. On the other hand Senators in the US cast vote independently, therefore they often vote according to the policy of their political party and not according to their State’s needs.
5) US Senate has the same legislative powers as the House Of Representatives, which means that any legislation has to be approved by both chambers. Bundesrat in Germany has a suspensive veto power which can be overridden by higher majorities in the Bundestag, however there are policy fields in which it is necessary even for the Bundesrat to approve a legislation.
Illustrate the execution of federal legislation in the US and German federal systems.
In the USA federal legislation is implemented through the federal agencies, which are part of the executive branch. States are protected from ‘commandeering’ (federal government compelling states to implement or enforce federal policies or programs). This approach reflects the dual federalism, where the federal government and states operate in clearly distinct spheres. However collaboration can be ensured via conditional spending programs (federation provides financial resources to states but require them to implement specific policies in exchange).
German federal system is based on cooperative federalism, therefore the federal government and states cooperate. Länder are executive machines for the implementation of federal legislation. However there are some federal agencies which implement the federal legislation directly, those are enumerated in the constitution. New federal agencies can be established, but only with the consent of Bundesrat.
Define dual and cooperative federalism and their linkage with distinct conceptions of the role of public power.
Dual federalism (also called layer cake federalism) promotes strict separation of legislative, executive and judicial competences between the federation and States. It therefore emphasises the constitutional guarantees for self-rule. Prerogatives are viewed as ‘water-tight’ compartments, there cannot be an overlap between competences. Judiciary plays a critical role with the task of resolving disputes over the scope of federal and state powers and ensuring each level of government adheres to its constitutionally prescribed limits. Dual federalism is typical for liberal-democratic constitutions, where individual liberty is most important and government’s task is to safeguard those liberties and provide a free and fair marketplace. By dividing power between federal and state levels concentration of powers is prevented limiting the risk of tyranny.
Cooperative federalism emphasises shared-rule and collaboration between federal governments and the states. Policy areas are often interconnected and there are no clear boundaries who has the power to legislate. In this system the institutions representing the federated entities (upper chamber of parliaments) plays the crucial role in making sure states have the possibility to participate in federal policy making. This model often aligns with social state constitutions, which prioritise social welfare and economic equality as core government responsibilities
Illustrate the asymmetrical elements inherent in the Italian and Spanish regional systems.
Asymmetry is a distinctive element of regional states, it means that not all regions possess the same degree of political autonomy.
Spanish regional system was asymmetrical from the very start, but the level of asymmetry diminished with passing of time. First of all regions have the right to autonomy, but do not have the obligation to exercise it. It is possible that not the whole territory of Spain would be regionalised, which did not happen, because all the regions claimed their right. The Spanish Constitution recognises the unique historical and cultural claims of certain regions, like Catalonia and the Basque Country, by designating them as “nationalities.” This distinction acknowledges their stronger aspirations for self-government and has led to greater autonomy for these regions compared to others. Constitution provides. different pathways for regions to attain their autonomy, which leads to variations of their scope of power. Spanish Constitutions lists only exclusive State competencies leaving the other policy fields to the regions, which have to choose from them and include them in their statutes of autonomy, That leads to significant variations in the legislative powers exercised by different regions.
Italian regional system is asymmetrical because not all regions have the same degree of political and legislative autonomy. This asymmetry is primarily due to the existence of 5 “special regions” alongside 15 “ordinary regions”. Special regions are Sicily, Sardinia, Valle D’Aosta, Trentino-Alto Adige, and Friuli-Venezia Giulia and their special status stems from unique geographical and historical conditions, including the presence of linguistic minorities in the three northern regions and the distinct cultures of the two islands. Special regions have broader financial autonomy than ordinary regions.
Compare statutory autonomy in the Italian and Spanish regional systems.
In Italy regional charters are approved by regional law. Regions can also define themselves their regional form of government.
In Spain regions can draft their Statutes of Autonomy, but they have to be approved by an absolute majority in both houses of the Spanish parliament.
How are intergovernmental relationships coordinated within regional systems?
Intergovernmental relationships within regional systems are coordinated through intergovernmental conferences, which are collegiate bodies in which the governments of the regions and the central government are represented. There is no specific ad hoc body representing regions. State-Regions Conference (Conferenza Stato-Regioni) is the most significant of these bodies in Italy.
How is legislative power distributed in regional states?
Regional state is an intermediate position between federal and unitary state. It is often characterised by asymmetry between individual regions, reflecting also the legislative competences of regions. Legislative power to regions is devolved from centre to periphery. These powers are stated either in national constitutions (Italy and Spain) or in legislative acts (UK).
In Spain each Autonomous Community has a Statute of Autonomy approved by central Parliament. This statute define specific institutions of the Autonomous Community, its territorial boundaries and the scope of legislative competences. Section 149 of Spanish Constitution lists all the exclusive competences of the state, outside these competences is Region can choose in which policy fields wants to legislate and these has to state in its Statute. The fields the Region does not choose fall under the state’s competence.
UK devolution is based on 3 specific devolutionary legislative Acts. The central Parliament in Westminster retains ultimate authority over the scope of powers granted to devolved legislatures. The Scottish Parliament has the most extensive legislative authority, including the capacity to enact primary legislation, equivalent in standing to laws passed by Westminster. The Welsh Assembly initially had more limited legislative power, primarily focused on secondary legislation. However, after a referendum in 2011, it gained full legislative powers. Also Northern Ireland has regional parliament, which was suspended in 1972 and again resurrected in 1998.
In Italy 5 “special” Regions, due to their unique historical, geographical, and cultural circumstances, enjoy a higher degree of autonomy compared to the 15 “ordinary” Regions. These special regions are governed by special Charters (Statuto speciale), approved by constitutional laws, which grant them specific powers and derogations from the general framework applicable to ordinary regions. The 2001 constitutional reform introduced 3 tiered system of allocating legislative competences. Constitution enumerates exclusive powers of the state. Constitution further enumerates the concurrent competences of both state and the regions. In these areas, the state defines the fundamental principles through framework legislation, while regions have the power to legislate on the details of implementation. And then all residual powers not explicitly mentioned in the constitution are assigned to the regions. However despite the 2001 reforms, the practical implementation of this new distribution of powers has faced challenges, since the state was often reluctant to give up its legislative control and continued legislating in fields falling under region’s competences.
What is ‘devolution’? What are its main feature?
Devolution is the transfer of legislative power from a central government to subnational entities within a unitary state, this specific term is usually mentioned with the reference to UK.
Devolution is implemented by ordinary legislation, which in theory means it can be modified or revoked by parliament in an ordinary legislative procedure. In the UK devolution was enacted through 3 Acts.
Distribution of powers is asymmetrical, meaning each regions gets different legislative rights stemming from a pragmatic considerations of needs of each region.
The central government often retains the power to judicially review the legislation enacted by devolved parliaments or assemblies.
What are the main characteristics of decentralisation in unitary states?
In unitary state we observe the highest centralisation of political power. There is a possibility for some articulations of state power to periphery that does not mean a recognition of political autonomy. Units have to always operate in a strict alignment with the central government, they cannot elaborate their own policy strategies.
