Federal Political

Systems
Nov. 10
 Overview
Definitions and examples of federal
political systems
History of federalism and waves of
federalism
Details of federal political systems
 Definitions
Unitary State: A state in which sovereignty is
concentrated at the level of a single centralized
government. Unitary states may be centralized,
decentralized or regionalized.

The classic example is France.

Unitary states may have relatively strong regional

governments, but that should not be confused
with federalism.
 Federal Political Systems
Federal political systems “refers to a broad
category of political systems in which, by
contrast to the single central source of
authority in unitary systems, there are two
(or more) levels of government thus
combining elements of shared-rule
through common institutions and regional
self-rule for the governments of the
constituent units” (Watts, 1999).
 Federal Political Systems
This term, federal political system,
“encompasses a whole spectrum of more
specific non-unitary forms” including
federations, and confederacies.

See Table 11.2, pages 276-277.

 Definitions
Federal State: A state where sovereignty is
shared across several levels of
government in which one level may not
intervene in defined areas of competence
of the other.
Key points:
neither level is subordinate to the other,
each has some genuine autonomy, neither
level can unilaterally abolish the other.
 Definitions
Confederation: “These occur where several pre-
existing polities join together to form a common
government for certain limited purposes (for
foreign affairs, defence or economic purposes),
but the common government is dependent upon
the constituent governments, being composed of
delegates from the constituent governments,
and therefore having only an indirect electoral
and fiscal base” (Watts, 1999).
 Spectrum of
unitary and federal states
 Federations
Six of the ten most populous countries are
federations.
Eight of the ten largest countries by area are
federations.
All democracies with populations much larger
than 100 million people are federations.
28 countries, home to 40% of the world’s
population, may be considered federations.
Source: Anderson, George. 2008. Federalism: An Introduction. Don Mills:
Oxford UP.
Existing [and tenuously Emerging]
Federations
Argentina Mexico
Australia Micronesia
Austria Nigeria
Belgium Pakistan
[Bosnia-Herzegovina] Palau
Brazil Russia
Canada St. Kitts and Nevis
Comoros South Africa
[Democratic Republic of Spain
Congo] [Sudan]
[Ethiopia] Switzerland
Germany United Arab Emirates
India USA
[Iraq] Venezuela
Malaysia

Source: (Anderson, 2008)

 Confederations: Examples
Historic Current
Switzerland (for most of Benelux
the period 1291-1847)
USA (1776-1789)
Caribbean
Community
(CARICOM)
Commonwealth of
Independent States
European Union
 Devolution
In 1999, the United Kingdom devolved
powers to the Scottish Parliament, and to
a lesser extent, to Wales and Northern
Ireland.
This has meant the UK has evolved
toward a federal political system (though it
should not be considered a federation).
 History of Federalism
Origins of federations

Federations have emerged through the

combination (or coming together) of
previously separate entities.
Federations have emerged through a
process of devolution of powers.
In some cases, both developments have
occurred.
 History of Federalism
Historical Precursors and Modern Federations
Influences USA 1780s
Native Confederacies of Switzerland 1848
North America Canada 1867
Swiss Confederation North German Federation
1291-1847 1867, expanded in 1871
United Provinces of the to include south German
Netherlands states.
Australia 1901
19th – early 20th century:
Argentina, Brazil, Mexico,
Venezuela
 Historic waves of federalism
First wave, from late 18th to early 20th century, with the creation of new
countries through the coming together of polities.
Second, emergence of post-colonial federations, with both successes
and failures.
Third, new federations emerging from collapse of Soviet Union and
Eastern bloc, with successes and failures. During the same time
period, some unitary states moved toward federalism.
Fourth, most tenuous has been the use of federalism in post-conflict
situations. Along with Iraq, the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Ethiopia and Sudan, federal proposals have been suggested for
Cyprus, Sri Lanka and Nepal.

An additional important development is the increasing federalization of

the European Union, which is somewhere between a confederation
and a federation.
Details of Federal Political Systems
constituent units
Federations and diversity
Institutional features of federalism
 Constituent Units within
Federations
The terminology applied to constituent units varies;
states (Australia, Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Malaysia,
Mexico, Nigeria, USA)
provinces (Argentina, Canada, Pakistan, South Africa),
Länder (Germany and Austria),
cantons (Switzerland),
regions and communities (Belgium)
autonomous communities (Spain).
Russia has regions, republics, autonomous areas,
territories, and cities of federal significance.
Constituent Units within Federations
Existing federations have as few as 2 units or
more than 80.
Russia has 86 units.
USA has 50 states.
Nigeria has 36 states.
India has 28 states.
Belgium has 3 regions and 3 cultural communities.
St. Kitts and Nevis consists of 2 islands.
Bosnia-Herzegovina has 2 entities.
Comoros consists of 3 islands.
 Federations and Diversity
Some federations have a largely
homogenous culture and common
language. They may have regional
differences, but federalism is not
structured around major ethnic, linguistic
or religious cleavages.
Examples: Argentina, Austria, Australia,
Brazil, Germany, Mexico, USA
 Federations and Diversity
Some federations are comprised of highly distinct
cultural, religious, linguistic or national communities.
Some federations have a linguistic, ethnic or cultural
majority but with one large minority (Belgium, Canada) or
several smaller minorities (Spain, Russia).
Some federations have a wider range of languages,
religions, and nationalities (Ethiopia, India, Nigeria).
In some cases ethnic, linguistic and religious cleavages
cut across one another (Switzerland) which can help
reduce social polarization.
Federations that have Separated
Yugoslavia

Czechoslovakia (1920-1992):
split into Czech Republic and Slovakia
Pakistan (1947-1971):
split into Pakistan (which remains a
federation) and Bangladesh
 Belgium
Belgium was founded in 1830 as a unitary state, but a
series of constitutional changes from 1970 to 1990s
facilitated a process of devolution. Today Belgium is a
federation divided between two major language and
cultural groups.
“The Flemish speak Dutch in the province of Flanders
and they are the majority, making up somewhere
between 56 and 58 per cent of the country's population.
The Walloons speak French and live in the south next to
France [in Wallonia].
To complicate matters, Brussels, the capital, is largely
French-speaking but it lies in Flanders.”
http://www.cbc.ca/news/reportsfromabroad/murray/20071106.html
Institutional Features of Federalism
A formal division of powers between levels of
government.
A written constitution that may not be unilaterally
amended. Instead it requires consent of a
significant proportion of constituent units to be
amended.
Intra-state federalism: a federal legislative body
(bicameralism)
Inter-state federalism: mechanisms of
intergovernmental cooperation or coordination
An umpire (usually the courts) to rule on
disputes between governments
 Division of Powers
The division of powers can be fairly
distinct (USA) or involve many shared
powers (Germany).
Federations can be centralized or
decentralized.
 They may certainly evolve over time, the USA
and Australia were intended to be
decentralized federations, but became more
centralized. The opposite occurred in Canada.
 Intra-State Federalism
Bicameralism: Most federations have two
legislative bodies within the central
government.

Usually the upper house in a federation is

designed to accommodate the constituent
units.
 Intra-State Federalism
Upper houses in federations:
In some cases, all constituent units
receive equal representation. Argentina,
Australia, Brazil, Nigeria, Mexico, Russia,
South Africa, USA
In other cases, the number of
representatives per constituent unit varies.
Austria, Belgium, Canada, Ethiopia,
Germany, India
 Intra-State Federalism
Upper houses in federations:
In some cases, representatives are directly elected by
the public from constituent units, including the American
(since 1913) and Australian Senates.
A variety of other options exist, however.
Representatives in the upper house may be delegated or
selected by state or provincial legislatures (Germany,
Austria, India, 38% of the Malaysian Senate). They may
even be appointed by the federal government (Canada,
63% of Malaysian Senate). Belgium and Spain also have
Senators selected through a combination of methods.
 Federalism
Federalism is used to govern large territories.
Federalism is used to accommodate
regionalized differences. This accommodation
may be successful or riddled with tensions.
Where it exists and functions, federalism tends
to become a crucial defining aspect of the
political system. It shapes political debate and it
adds another degree of complexity to
governance.