WEEK 9 - Federalism and Devolution Flashcards
What have states long been viewed/treated as?
- Natural units of political rule
- Discreet and Homogenous units at international level
- Billard Balls (Waltz, 1979)
What is causing states to diminish?
- Minority nationalism
- Globalisation and International Co-operation
What is Globalisation?
Growth in (speed of) transnational flows and transactions (e.g. people, goods, money, information and ideas)
Growing interdependence and connectedness
But how strong is the connection, how many connections are there?
What is Held’s definition of Globalisation?
‘A shared social space by economic and technological forces and that developments in one part of the world can have profound consequences for the life chances of individuals or communities on the other side of the globe’
What is Multilevel Governance?
Political authority making dispersed across different territorial levels.
Consequence of Globalisation
What are the differing levels of Multilevel Governance?
- Supranational- UN
- Regional (where groups of states cooperate with each other) – e.g. EU
- State – e.g. UK
- Sub-state – Devolved powers to Scotland, Wales
Local government/Cities – London. Leicester.
What has Multilevel Governance caused for cities?
Sub-state has interacted with globalisation.
So that major cities share more in common with other cities in other countries than other cities in their own country (e.g London has more in common with Los Angeles than Loughborough)
What is a unitary system?
- Sovereignty lies within political centre (i.e central state)
- Peripheral Govt. exists only by centre’s consent.
- Yet possibility of ‘Devolution’
- ‘Asymmetric’ devolution (Spain and UK)
- But the devolution is at pleasure of central state
Why does the Westminister Model work? (MAJORITARIAN SYSTEM)
Works because:
- Overarching identity tied to the state
- Shared assumptions
1) Expectations of regular alternation in Govt.
2) Incentive to act as loyal opposition
“The essence of the Westminster model is the concentration of political power in the hands of the majority.” (Lijphart, 1982)
What are the problems with Majoritarian Systems?
- Biggest weakness in states with divisions (National,Religious,Linguistic,Cultural)
- Where groups have weak ties to the state
- Minority groups within a state can be permanently excluded from Govt. (E.g: Sri Lanka and the Tamil pop.)
What are the alternatives to Majoritarian Systems?
- Secession/Independence
- Devolution/Cantonisation
- Federalisation
- Consociation
- Domination -> By Force
What is Secession/Independence?
- Allow regions or groups to form New States
e. g: N.Sudan and S.Sudan
What are the drawbacks to Secession?
-Continuing demands for secession:
N.Sudan and South disputing over middle of Sudan
- Can lead to violence:
India and Pakistan - This link between the nation and the state may cause ethnic cleansing
What is Devolution?
the transfer or delegation of power to a lower level, especially by central government to local or regional administration.
What are some drawbacks to Devolution?
- Devolution causes a slippery slope: Fuelling calls for independence
What are Federal Systems?
A system of government in which sovereignty is shared between central and peripheral levels
- Strict separation of authority
- Codified constitution
- Judicial review
- Usually bicameral legislature
What are some benefits of Federalism?
- Warding off of external threats
- Governing large territory
- Good at dealing with ethnic and cultural diversity (Balancing minority interests: Canada)
What are some drawbacks of Federalism?
- Polarisation
- Ineffective decision-making
What is Consociationalism?
Based on Ljiphart’s work
Characterised by 4 main principles:
- Grand coalition/power-sharing executive
- Segmental autonomy
- Proportionality
- Minority veto
Elite level process – separate communities but to allow negotiation via politics
Classic cases – Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland & Austria
What are some critiques to Consociationalism?
-No clear explanation as to how consociationalism lead to integration between sep communities
- Differing approaches to identity
Corporatist Approach: Identity fixed
Liberal Approach: Identity is malleable - Revised consociationalism lacks coherency: Changes too often (Academic Marketing)
- Lack of proven success? -
- Problems with deep divisions?
What was the problem in Bosnia? (CASE 1)
- Fragmentation of Yugoslavia
- Bosnian vote for Independence rejected by Serb population
- Occupation of the country by Serbian forces (e.g: Srebenica Massacre)
What was the solution in Bosnia? (CASE 1)
- Dayton accords (1995)
- Federalism: Two entities
- Consociationalism: Separation of Serbian community and Bosnian but still in the state
What was the Outcome in Bosnia? (CASE 1)
- Reliant on international community? Since the problem was technically solved via US support
- Serbian regions still tied to the state
- But, political deadlock and poor economic growth
What was the problem in Northern Ireland? (CASE 2)
- Movement for Irish Independence had led to partition of Ireland in 1921
- Violence between Republicans (Unification, Protestants) and Unionists (Remain part of the UK, Catholics)
- Majoritarian politics in N.Ireland marginalises Catholic Majority
