lecture 10 federalism and confederations and unitary states

what levels of gov are we interested in?

National and regional

federal state def

1) legal sov is shared between the federal gov and the constituents states/regions

2) powers of constituent units are entriched in the constiution

3) states/regions are represented in an upper chamber of the assembly

are large of small countries usually federal?

large

symmetrical federalism

states have fairly similar powers to federal gov

asymmetric federalism

states have unequal powers

dual federalism

very clear division of competency of federal gov and state

cooperative federalism

 the layers are intermingled and it is difficult always to see who has ultimate responsibility.

Strengths of federalism:

• Practical arrangement for large or divided countries;

• Provides stronger checks and balances;

• Allows for the recognition of diversity;

• Reduces overload at the centre;

• Encourages competition between states/provincies and allows citizens to move between them;

• Offers opportunities for policy experiments;

• Allows small units to cooperate in achieving the economic and military advantages of size;

• Brings government closer to the people;

Weakness of federalism:

• May be less effective in responding to national security threats;

• Decision-making is slower and more complicated;

• Can entrench internal divisions;

• The centre finds it more difficult to launch national initiatives;

• How citizens are treated depends on where they live;

• Complicates accountability;

• May permit majorities within a province to exploit a minority;

• Basing representation in the upper chamber on states violates the principle of one person, one vote;

Subsidiarity:

the principle that decisions should be taken at the lowest feasible level.

Quasi-federation:

a system of administration that is formally unitary but has some of the features of a federation.

Appellate

the power of a court to review decisions reached by lower courts

Cassation:

the power of the highest court in a state to review decisions by lower courts

confederal state

loose knit cooperation between sovereign states (EU). COUNTRIES GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF SOV TO THE CENTER

Unitary state

legal sovereignty rests exclusively with the central gov

distribution in unitary states

deconcentration, decentralization, devolution

deconcentration in unitary states

central gov functions are executed by bureaucrats or staff in the field

decentralization in unitary states

central gov delegates power to loval/ regional gov

devolution

central gov grants decision makers ultimately to regional or local gov.. looking like quasi federalism

Federal systems are found in large countries, unitary systems in small countries

false Belgium is also a federation and china is unitary. There are exceptions to the rule

Which of the following best describes a system of central authority that derives its authority from sovereign states?

Confederation

1. Imagine a country where the constitution stipulates that a) the school curriculum is a competence of the national government except in one single national sub-unit with a different culture and language, and b) that healthcare policy is an exclusive competence of all national sub-units. How would you describe this country’s system?

dual federalism

Which of the following terms best describes the principle that decisions should be taken at the lowest level?   

Subsidiary: the idea that decisions should be taken at the lowest feasible level, no task should be performed by a larger and more complex organization if it can be executed as well by a smaller simpler body;

1. Imagine a country with a weak bicameral legislature. Which of the following powers should certainly NOT belong to the upper house?

this arises when the lower chamber dominates the upper, providing the primary focus for government accountability.

Consumer politics refers to the increasing passivity of voters and their susceptibility to political marketing

false: consumer politics refers to buying or boycotting goods for political reasons

1. You are studying the relationship between economic development and democracy. Having observed that, in general, democratic countries tend to be rich while non-democratic countries tend to be poor, you hypothesize that economic development leads to democracy. Which logic underlies this hypothesis?

theory of modernization and the distribution of resources