Understand Politics
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Belgium granted considerable powers of self-government to its Flemish and Walloon communities within the confines of a federation in order to prevent the break-up of the state along linguistic lines. For similar reasons a wide degree of autonomy has been granted to the Canadian province of Quebec.
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Federalism in America and Canada
Federalism in America is based upon the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution (1791) which stated that powers not expressly ceded to the federal (national) government and which the constitution did not expressly deny to the states were reserved to the states or to the people.
The constitution did not, however, provide for a once-and-for-all settlement of the balance to be struck between national and state government, which has subsequently undergone several changes. Terms that include ‘dual federalism’, ‘co-operative federalism’ and ‘creative federalism’ have been used to describe different approaches that have been adopted to the power relationship between federal and state governments in the delivery of public policy. Post-1981 Republican presidents were associated with what is termed ‘new federalism’, which seeks to restore to the states powers that it is alleged have been taken away from them by the federal government. Other terms (such as ‘horizontal federalism’, ‘marble-cake federalism’ and ‘picket-fence federalism’) have been used to describe the way in which policies and programmes administered by the states are planned and delivered.
Canada consists of a federation of provinces. There exist strong separatist forces in one of these, Quebec. This is underlaid by its French language and culture.
In an attempt to retain national unity, Canada’s federal system of government has provided Quebec with considerable powers of self-government, especially in connection with the official use of French. However, this situation has not been to the satisfaction of many Quebeckers who desire separation. This would enable Quebec to negotiate future relations with the remainder of Canada on its own terms. In 1995, a referendum was held on the issue of separation. Quebeckers rejected it by the narrowest of margins.
The existing level of self-government contributed to the rejection of separation: the continued unity of the nation may depend on the ability of the national government to redefine its relations with Quebec through the provision of a special status designed to provide an enhanced degree of autonomy within a federal structure of government.
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DISADVANTAGES
There are, however, problems associated with federal systems of government. We discuss the main ones now.
Fragmentation of government
Federalism results in government in one country being fragmented. Diverse standards of service provision operating in a single country are not necessarily desirable. Further, the autonomy granted to sub-national units of government may provide a minority with the means to frustrate the will of the majority. The progress of civil rights in America was impeded by the ability of southern state governments to resist or to slow down the implementation of such legislation. Some of these problems may, however, be mitigated. In America, for example, the existence of intergovernmental bureaucracies, composed of paid officials operating at all levels of government, has served to promote common approaches to problems pursued by all tiers of government.
The balance of power between state and national government
One particular difficulty with federalism concerns the distribution of power between the national and constituent governments. This division is provided for in the constitution and disputes between the two tiers of government are arbitrated by a constitutional court. However, a tendency for the power of national governments to be enhanced at the expense of states has been observed in many federal countries. In America, this alteration to the fundamental nature of federalism has partly arisen from the willingness of the Supreme Court to interpret the constitution in a manner which is favourable towards national governments playing an increased role in economic and social policies. A particular consequence has been increased reliance by the states on revenue provided by national government, one aspect of which in America is Federal Grants in Aid. This has made for a style of government in which collaboration between the two tiers (and especially by their public officials) has become essential.
Financial aid to state governments may erode the independence of the latter. This became a particular issue in Germany following reunification in 1990 since the states which comprised the former country of East Germany were heavily dependent on federal financial support. Such money may be given to states largely to use as they please (as occurs in Germany and was the case with the General Revenue Sharing policy in America that was introduced by President Nixon) or it may be attached to stringent conditions which states have to meet. The states’ freedom of action may also be circumscribed by action imposed by the national government which is designed to enforce conformity and set minimum standards of service provision. In America, pre-emption is an example of the latter. This imposes a legal requirement on states to meet certain minimum standards or to provide stipulated services.
Nonetheless, states continue to play an important role in the economic and social life of a federal country. In America, for example, the ability of the states to raise some of their own revenue and their role as implementers of public policy may enhance their image as dynamic institutions even if they are subject to the strong central control exerted by the federal government over many aspects of their operations.
Question
Examine the strengths and weaknesses of federal political structures.
Confederation
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Insight
A confederation entails independent states establishing a mechanism to secure commonly agreed goals but without ceding power to this central body.
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A confederation is a political structure in which a group of nations agree to co-operate to achieve common aims which are frequently of a defensive or economic nature. It bears some relationship to federalism, the key difference concerning the powers of the centralized mechanism that is created.
In a federal structure, a central (or national) government is created that has a wide degree of power which may (as has been the case in America) be expanded at the expense of the state governments. By contrast, the central body of a confederation has extremely limited powers with most tasks of government being performed by those states or countries which are part of it. These retain their sovereignty and their right to secede. A particular feature of a confederation is that the national government has no direct powers over citizens: functions such as taxation and law enforcement are exercised by the constituent governments.
The main difficulties associated with confederations include the absence of a strong central government able effectively to co-ordinate the actions of its members, which may especially be required in times of crisis. These structures are also often dominated by the larger of its members.
A confederal system of government was established by the American colonies engaged in the War of Independence against Britain. The Articles of Confederation which were drawn up by the Continental Congress in 1777 provided for a confederacy to be known as the United States of America. The 11 southern states of America which seceded in the Civil War were also subject to this form of government between 1861 and 1865.
The Commonwealth of Independent States (established in 1991 following the collapse of the Soviet Union) is a more recent creation. This is composed of 11 of the former Soviet Republics (Turkmenistan discontinuing its membership in 2005 when it became an associate member) which agreed to work together on the basis of sovereign equality. The CIS possesses few supranational powers but does have important co-ordinating functions in the areas of trade, finance, law making and security.
Further examples of confederations are also found in organizations which seek to promote social, political or economic matters that are in the mutual interests of those who are members. Membership of such organizatio
ns is typically voluntary and includes the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The European Union has some elements of a confederal political structure. Confederations may develop into federal structures of government (as happened in Switzerland, which became a federation in the fourteenth century despite retaining the title Confédération Helvétique).
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Governing a divided nation – consociationalism
Consociationalism (which is often referred to as power sharing) seeks to provide a stable system of government in a plural society which is characterized by the existence of fundamental divisions (which may be based upon religion, race, language, ideology or culture) and in which other key aspects of civic affairs (such as political parties, pressure groups and the educational system) are organized on the same basis. The groups into which society is divided compete for control of the same territory.
This model for governing divided societies was developed by a Dutch political scientist, Arend Lijphart, who wrote Democracy in Plural Societies (published in 1977). He put forward four key features of consociational democracy. The first feature was government by a grand coalition of the political leaders of all the significant sections into which society was divided. This entails co-operation by political elites in the formation of an executive branch of government. The second feature was the introduction of a veto which the various sections could use to defend their interests against majority decisions and a third was that political representation should be based on proportional principles. The final aspect of consociationalism was that each section of society should be granted a high degree of autonomy to regulate its own affairs.
Consociationalism, entailing the establishment of a coalition government composed of representatives of various ethnic groups to provide unified government for the territory which they share, is practised in Northern Ireland. The 1998 Northern Ireland Act provided for an assembly elected under proportional representationand an executive committee composed of ministers drawn from the major parties represented in the assembly. This arrangement was designed to bring together the leaders of Northern Ireland’s nationalist and unionist communities.
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Regionalism
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Insight
States with unitary political structures may decentralize some of the tasks of government onto regional machinery. Its control over the activities for which it becomes responsible is subject to considerable variation.
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States with unitary political structures are often accused of being centralized: power resides in the capital and citizens living in areas that are geographically distant from this area may feel neglected by a government which they regard as remote. Some unitary states, therefore, have utilized regional apparatus to offset the disadvantages which are sometimes perceived in a centralized state. This involves a state being divided into a number of smaller areas within which certain tasks of government can be discharged. The role and composition of regional machinery is variable and many different forms may be used even in one state. We consider the main varieties of regional machinery in the following sections.
ADVISORY
Regional machinery may be purely advisory. It can be utilized as a consultative mechanism to facilitate overall government planning of particular activities (such as the nation’s economic development) or it might be established by individual government departments to aid the flow of information between that department and citizens living in each region. This may enable central government to adjust the operations of a policy to suit the particular requirements of a region and its inhabitants, or it may be used to provide advice on government policies to people or public authorities residing there. This machinery is typically staffed by civil servants and possesses no power other than the ability to act as a vehicle which facilitates a two-way process of communication between government and the governed.
ADMINISTRATIVE AND GOVERNMENTAL
A region may alternatively provide the geographic unit around which services are administered. This embraces the decentralized regional apparatus used by national governmental organizations but also includes regional machinery that has been established to provide services. Regional machinery may be established to discharge individual services: in Ireland, for example, health services have been provided by area health boards since 1971. Alternatively several governmental functions can be co-ordinated at a regional level. This was the case in the UK until the devolution legislation affecting Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland was passed in 1998 (and in the case of Wales subsequently amended in 2006). Previously, the Scottish and Welsh Offices had been responsible for a range of services in these two countries which were performed by individual government departments in England. Those who administer services in this fashion may possess some discretion to tailor them to address specific regional needs or requirements.
Regional machinery may be given some degree of power. This will often be exercised by representatives who are elected at regional level and who then discharge a range of services over which they possess partial or total control. Italy, for example, is divided into 20 regions, each of which has a directly elected council that exercises control over a wide range of functions. A considerable proportion of the national budget is under the control of Italy’s regional councils. France has 26 regions (divided into departments) administered by a conseil regional whose members are elected for a term of six years. The regions have no legislative autonomy but manage sizeable budgets and possess discretionary powers to spend on education, public transport and urban housing.
In the UK, the Scottish parliament and the Welsh and Northern Ireland Assemblies have exercised control over a number of responsibilities allocated to them by the 1998 devolution legislation and subsequent measures. The government favoured extending this process by the establishment of regional authorities in England in control of substantial budgets to spend on services such as transport, planning and training. However, a negative result obtained in a referendum held in north-east England in 2004 (in which 75 per cent of those who voted rejected the establishment of a regional assembly for the north-east) resulted in the process of English regionalization being halted. In 1994 nine government offices for the regions were created, whose role entails co-ordinating the activities of a number of government departments operating at regional level.
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Devolution, federalism and home rule
Devolution involves the transfer of power from a superior to an inferior political authority. The dominance of the former is generally exhibited through its ability to reform or take away the power which it has given.
Federalism necessitates a division of power between central and sub-national governments. The existence of the latter and the general range of powers they possess is usually embodied in the provisions of a codified constitution.
Home rule requires the break-up of a nation into a number of sovereign states, each exercising total control over its internal and external affairs. This demand is usually based on the existence of a national identity.
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REGIONAL ADMINISTRATION IN SPAIN
Regional government may possess sufficient power to alter the nature of a unitary political structure into one that approximates a federal one. This degree of power may be important in enabling national government and strong regional affiliations to be reconciled. This is the case in Spain and may be illustrated by the example of the attempts made by the regional government of Cataluxa (Catalonia) to promote the use of its language (Catalan) in that area.
In 1979, 17 regions (or ‘autonomous communities’) were set up, each with an assembly (elected by the party list form of proportional representation) and a president (elected by the assembly). The 1978 Constitution made Castilian the pre-eminent language in Spain but at the same time also recognized others, leaving regional parliaments with the ability to determine the balance. In 1983, the regional parliament in Catalonia decreed the mandatory use of Catalan in
regional government. In 1998, a law was proposed to require that 50 per cent of new films shown in Catalonia should use this language and that private radio stations operating there should broadcast half their output in that language.
Question
Distinguish between federalism and regionalism.
Local government
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Insight
A wide range of public services are performed by local government, which are typically administered by locally elected representatives who are accountable to local people for the nature and quality of the services that are provided.
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Local government has responsibility for providing a range of services to people living in part of a country. Many of the functions traditionally associated with local government constitute services that are utilized by large numbers of citizens on a daily basis. These include the provision of housing, social services, environmental services, refuse disposal and planning. Education is frequently provided by local government, although in France this service has traditionally been subject to a considerable degree of central control. Changes proposed in the late 1990s, however, sought to devolve increased control over this service to local level.