Bullettin n. 1/2011
June 2011
CONTENTS
  • Section A) The theory and practise of the federal states and multi-level systems of government
  • Section B) Global governance and international organizations
  • Section C) Regional integration processes
  • Section D) Federalism as a political idea
    • Barani Luca
    Fiscal Federalism and Capital Cities: A Comparative Analysis of Berlin and Brussels
    in Europe en formation (L') , n. 359, spring, 2011 ,  2011 ,  21-45
    A general comparative perspective is adopted in order to defi ne the features of fi scal federalism in Belgium and Germany and the positioning of their capital cities within the political economy of these federal systems. Whereas the Belgian political system is defi ned by competitive federalism, the German one is marked by cooperative tendencies. The major argument of the article is that centripetal (Germany) and centrifugal (Belgium) forces are determinant factors of the nature and relative position of each capital city within the federation. The article argues that a capital city within a system is better off than one within a competitive federalism one with respect to financial autonomy, but the contrary is true as far as it concerns accountability and transparency. In the comparison, specifi c attention is dedicated to the role of de facto capital of Europe acquired by Brussels, which implies an added layer of functions performed by the Belgian federal capital in respect of Berlin.
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