INDEX
  • 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
    • Subsection of Section A
    1.The theory of federation
    2.Constitutional reform
    3.The division (and the conflicts) of powers and competences
    4.The legislative branch
    5.The executive branch
    6.The judiciary branch
    7.Economic and fiscal federalism
    8.The Central Bank(s)
    9.Local government(s)
    10.Processes of federalization and decentralization
    Items of Subsection 1.The theory of federation
    Cyr Hugo
    Canadian Federalism and Treaty Powers »
    Peter Lang , Bruxelles, Bern, Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, New York, Oxford, Wien, , 2009
    With the increased mobility and interdependence brought on by globalisation, governments can no longer deal effectively with what were traditionally regarded as «domestic issues» unless they cooperate among themselves. International law may once have been a sort of inter-state law concerned mostly with relations between states, but it now looks increasingly inside state borders and has become, to a large degree, a trans-governmental law. While this creates significant challenges even for highly-unified «nation-states», the challenges are even greater for federations in which powers have been divided up between the central government and federated states. What roles should central governments and federated states play in creating and implementing this new form of governance? Using the Canadian federation as its starting point, this case study illustrates a range of factors to be considered in the appropriate distribution of treaty powers within a federation. Professor Cyr also shows how - because it has no specific provisions dealing with the distribution of treaty powers - the Canadian constitution has «organically» developed a tight-knit set of rules and principles responding to these distributional factors. This book is therefore both about the role of federated states in the current world order and an illustration of how organic constitutionalism works.
    Duso Giuseppe, Scalone Antonino (a cura di)
    Come pensare il federalismo? »
    Polimetrica , Monza (Milan) , 2010
    Details
    Hueglin Thomas O., Fenna Alan
    Comparative Federalism: A Systematic Inquiry »
    Broadview Press , Peterborough, ON , 2006
    Comparative Federalism: A Systematic Inquiry is a uniquely comprehensive, analytic, genuinely comparative, and detailed introduction to the study of federalism in theory and practice. Thomas Hueglin and Alan Fenna draw from their diverse research on federal systems to argue that federalism is increasingly important for democratic governance and conflict management in a globalizing world. They discuss the meaning of federal principles and institutional compromise in the organization of federal systems and then introduce four main model federal systems: America, Canada, Germany, and the European Union. But they don’t stop there—they also offer an exploration of federal systems that vary from the four main models, including Switzerland, Australia, Belgium, South Africa, and Spain. The book also compares federal systems through an examination of the differing European and North American traditions in the history of federal thought. Institutional features of federal systems are evaluated, as are the crucial role that constitutional amendment and judicial review play for the stability and evolutionary dynamic of federal systems. This book serves the dual role of helping the reader understand federalism and providing a comparative framework from which to assess the record of federal systems.
    Details
    Menon Anand, Schain Martin (eds.)
    Comparative federalism : the European Union and the United States in comparative perspective »
    Oxford University Press , Oxford , 2006
    The Convention on the Future of Europe served to galvanize debate about the nature and future developmental trajectory of the European Union. More specifically, it engendered discussion over the degree to which the process resembled that which had occurred in Philadelphia some two hundred years earlier, and, more broadly, over the extent to which the European Union does, or should, resemble the United States. Partly as a consequence of such debates, comparative federalism is now an important topic, with scholarly work comparing the US and EU proliferating rapidly. The present volume seeks to build on and contribute to this growing literature, by developing a systematic comparison of the institutions, policies and developmental patterns of the European Union and the United States.
    Details
    Burgess Michael
    Comparative federalism: theory and practice »
    Routledge , London; New York , 2006
    A new examination of contemporary federalism and federation, which delivers a detailed theoretical study underpinned by fresh case studies. It is grounded in a clear distinction between 'federations', particular kinds of states, and 'federalism', the thinking that drives and promotes them. It also details the origins, formation, evolution and operations of federal political interests, through an authoritative series of chapters that:
  • - analyze the conceptual bases of federalism and federation through the evolution of the intellectual debate on federalism; the American Federal experience; the origins of federal states; and the relationship between state-building and national integration
  • - explore comparative federalism and federation by looking at five main pathways into comparative analysis with empirical studies on the US, Canada, Australia, India, Malaysia, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the EU
  • - explore the pathology of federations, looking at failures and successes, the impact of globalization.
    • The final chapter also presents a definitive assessment of federal theory. This book will be of great interest to students and researchers of federalism, devolution, comparative politics and government.
    Details
    Watts Ronald L.
    Comparing federal systems »
    McGill-Queen's University Press , Montreal , 2008
    At present there are twenty-five functioning federations worldwide, which contain over forty percent of the world's population. A distinctive feature of federalism is that it has taken a variety of forms, including new variants and innovations. In Comparing Federal Systems Watts provides a clear analysis of the design and operation of a wide range of federations. Fully updated, this third edition encompasses reference to a wider range of federations and federal experiments. Included are mature federations such as Switzerland, Canada, Austria, Germany, and India; emergent federations such as Mexico, Malaysia, Pakistan, Spain, Brazil, Belgium, Russia, Argentina, Ethiopia, South Africa, Nigeria, and Venezuela; micro-federations such as Micronesia, Belau, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Comoros; federal-confederal hybrids such as the United Arab Emirates and the European Union; and post-conflict federal experiments such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sudan, Iraq, and Congo. Federations that have failed are also discussed. Watts looks at interactions between social diversity and political institutions, the distribution of powers and finances, processes contributing to flexibility or rigidity in adjustment, the extent of internal symmetry or asymmetry, the character of representation in federal institutions, the role of constitutions and courts, provisions for constitutional rights and succession, the degree of centralization and non-centralization, and the pathology of federations."
    Abstract
    Dessalegn Beza
    Ethiopia's Ethnic Federalism and the Rights of Regional Minorities »
    VDM Verlag Dr. Muller Aktiengesellschaft & Co. KG , Saarbrücken , 2011
    In countries like Ethiopia, where several ethnic groups reside, the adoption of ethnic federalism may be the only solution for the accommodation of diversity and thereby promoting unity. But, even after the country's decade past experiment with federal structure, ethnic conflicts have been a great challenge for the ethnic federalism which the country's political elites are determined to pursue. After the introduction of federalism in Ethiopia, EPRDF launched the idea of self-determination for the nationalities, to ethnically defined regional states. Even though, the whole purpose of forming regional states on the basis of ethno-linguistic criteria was to address the issues of ethnic problems of the country, whether this has been achieved or not is far from incontrovertible. This book tries to scrutinize these problems from the perspective of minority rights and more specifically by taking a case in point of one regional state of the country, which is Benishangul Gumuz. It gives an excellent account to those who are interested to know about the Ethiopian federal experiment and particularly to students, academicians and policy makers.
    Fessha Yonatan Tesfaye
    Ethnic Diversity and Federalism. Constitution Making in South Africa and Ethiopia »
    Ashgate , 2010
    How federalism can be used to provide recognition and accommodate ethnic groups is an important topic, not only in Africa, but in multi-ethnic communities around the world. Examining how institutions of multi-ethnic states have been designed to accommodate ethnic diversity while at the same time maintaining national unity, this book locates institutional responses to the challenges of ethnic diversity within the context of a federal arrangement. It examines how a federal arrangement has been used to reconcile the conflicting pressures of the demand for the recognition of distinctive identities, on the one hand, and the promotion of political and territorial integrity, on the other. Comparative case studies of South Africa and Ethiopia as the two federal systems provide a contrasting approach to issues of ethnic diversity. Suggesting new ways in which federalism might work, the author identifies key institutions lessons which will help to build an all-inclusive society.
    Erk Jan
    Explaining Federalism »
    Routledge , London/New York , 2010
    This book deals with the theoretical and empirical questions of federalism in the context of five case studies: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany and Switzerland. The central argument is that in the long run the political institutions of federalism adapt to achieve congruence with the underlying social structure. This change could be in the centralist direction reflecting ethno-linguistic homogeneity, or in decentralist terms corresponding to ethno-linguistic heterogeneity. In this context, the volume: •fills a gap in the comparative federalism literature by analyzing the patterns of change and continuity in five federal systems of the industrial west, this is done by an in-depth empirical examination of the case studies through a single framework of analysis •illustrates the shortcomings of new-institutionalist approaches in explaining change, highlighting the usefulness of society-based approaches in studying change and continuity in comparative politics.
    Burgess Michael, Gagnon Alain-G. (eds.)
    Federal Democracies »
    Routledge , London/New York , 2010
    Federal Democracies examines the evolution of the relationship between federalism and democracy. Taking the late 18th century US Federal Experience as its starting-point, the book uses the contributions of Calhoun, Bryce and Proudhon as 19th century conceptual prisms through which we can witness the challenges and changes made to the meaning of this relationship. The book then goes on to provide a series of case studies to examine contemporary examples of federalism and includes chapters on Canada, USA, Russia, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland and the emerging European Union. It features two further case studies on Minority Nations and a Federal Europe, and concludes with two chapters providing comparative empirical and theoretical perspectives, and comparative reflections on federalism and democracy.
    Feeley Malcolm M., Rubin Edward
    Federalism »
    University of Michigan Press , Ann Arbor , 2008
    Federalism refers to a system in which a centralized national government shares power with member states. Beyond this most basic definition, however, scholars debate the applications and implications of the term. Joining the concept of identity from political science with legal principle, Malcolm M. Feeley and Edward Rubin propose a theory of federalism and test the relevance of federalism for the United States today. Essentially, federalism represents a compromise among groups who refuse to yield autonomy yet acknowledge the benefits of forming a nation. As in the African and Asian nations forged from former colonies, federalism allows the member states — often dominated by ethnic minorities — to remain largely self-governing. In this way, a young nation can avoid secession and civil war while the people within its borders gradually abandon their local identities and come to view themselves as citizens of the nation. The United States, Feeley and Rubin remind us, faced a similar situation in the eighteenth century as thirteen regionally distinct, ethnically diverse, and highly independent British colonies came together to found a nation. Despite the Civil War and the upheaval of the Civil Rights Movement, the federalist strategy ultimately succeeded. For the United States in the early twenty-first century, thanks to the rise of a strong national identity and a ubiquitous bureaucracy, federalism has become obsolete. This bold argument is certain to provoke controversy.
    Amoretti Ugo M., Bermeo Nancy (eds.)
    Federalism and Territorial Cleavages »
    John Hopkins University Press , Baltimore , 2004
    One of the most vexing problems facing developing countries is how to integrate regions with different traditions and minority groups into a larger sovereignty. The failure to resolve this problem can lead to ongoing conflict, and such conflict has been seen to reemerge even in established states. Ugo M. Amoretti and Nancy Bermeo bring together a distinguished group of scholars to analyze the successes and failures of federalism in advanced industrial democracies, developing countries, and post-communist regimes. From these diverse examples the contributors and volume editors draw important lessons for all states that today face problems of government relating to territories and minorities. Advanced industrial democracies studied in this volume include Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, and Spain. Cases of developing and post-communist states include India, Russia, Turkey, Mexico, and Nigeria. Chapters on individual states are supplemented by others on particular issues related to institutional design, such as the effects of different electoral systems, secession movements, and the limitations of the United States as a model.
    Abstract
    Ryan Erin
    Federalism and the Tug of War Within »
    Oxford University Press , New York , 2012
    Federalism and the Tug of War Within explores how constitutional interpreters reconcile the competing values that underpin American federalism, with real consequences for governance that require local and national collaboration. Drawing examples from Hurricane Katrina, climate governance, health care reform, and other problems of local and national authority, author Erin Ryan demonstrates how the Supreme Court's federalism jurisprudence can inhibit effective inter-jurisdictional governance by failing to navigate the tensions within federalism itself. The Constitution's dual sovereignty directive fosters an ideal set of good governance values, including checks and balances, accountability, local autonomy, and local and national synergy, that are nevertheless in constant competition. This inherent "tug of war" is responsible for the epic instability in the Court's federalism jurisprudence, but it is poorly understood. With new conceptual vocabulary to wrestle with old dilemmas, Ryan traces the development of federalism's tug of war, and proposes innovations to manage judicial, legislative, and executive efforts with more focus. Her analysis clarifies how the tug of war is already mediated through balancing, compromise, and negotiation. She proposes a Balanced Federalism model that mediates tensions on three separate planes: fostering balance among competing federalism values, leveraging the functional capacities of the three branches in interpreting federalism, and maximizing the wisdom of both state and federal actors in so doing. The new framework better harmonizes values that-though in tension-have made the American system of government so effective and enduring.
    Bhattacharyya Harihar
    Federalism in Asia »
    Routledge , London, New York , 2010
    This book analyzes the successes and failures of various federal measures adopted in India, Pakistan and Malaysia for the political accommodation of diversity. Bhattacharyya then assesses their comparative significance for other countries in Asia. In particular, he examines growing tensions between nation and state-building in ethnically plural societies; modes of federation-building in Asia; persistent ethno-nationalist tensions in federations, and the relationship between federalism and democracy; and federalism and decentralization. Since ethno-nationalist conflict remains unresolved in most countries of Asia, this book should of interest to those seeking long-term solutions of problems of order and stability in ethnically diverse countries in Asia.
    Description
    Requejo Ferran, Caminal Badia Miquel (eds.)
    Federalism, Plurinationality and Democratic Constitutionalism. Theory and Cases »
    Routledge , London/New York , 2011
    This book provides a theoretical and comparative analysis of federalism and federations in plurinational democracies, examining how states with distinct peoples and communities coexist (or not). Through a theoretical approach to democracy and federalism, and interdisciplinary analysis of plurinationality in state organization, including case studies of the UK, Russia, Canada, Belgium, India, Spain, Switzerland and Bolivia, this text assesses the possibilities and limits of federalism as a way to recognize and accommodate multinationalism in plurinational democracies. It evaluates a range of strategies used by states to support national, ethnic, linguistic or religious collectives in present-day liberal democracies. Leading scholars in the field evaluate the institutional and practical repercussions regarding the issue of recognition and accommodation of national minorities in a globalised world, through different theoretical perspectives to build up a detailed picture of problems and solutions to multinationalism. Looking both within and beyond the state, this is an invaluable examination of dilemmas and institutional challenges faced by many modern democracies.
    Anderson Lawrence M.
    Federalism, Secession, and the American State. Divide, We Secede »
    Routledge , London/New York , 2012
    One important tradition in political science conceives of the Civil War in the United States serving as the functional equivalent of the English and French Revolutions, bringing with it the victory of liberal democratic industrialism over aristocratic agriculturalism. From this perspective, the Civil War is notable for its impact on the American state. Surprisingly however, little attention has been paid to the distinguishing features of this historic rupture in American politics. Through primary source research and the re-analysis of the rich historical literature about the antebellum era and the causes of the Civil War, Lawrence A. Anderson explores the relationship between federalism and the movement for secession in the United States during the pre-civil war era. Focusing primarily on South Carolina, Anderson carefully revisits theory on institutional analysis of political development to expose what caused secession in the United States.
    Rector Chad
    Federations: the political dynamics of cooperation »
    Cornell University Press , Ithaca NY , 2009
    Why would states ever give up their independence to join federations? While federation can provide more wealth or security than self-sufficiency, states can in principle get those benefits more easily by cooperating through international organizations such as alliances or customs unions. Chad Rector develops a new theory that states federate when their leaders expect benefits from closer military or economic cooperation but also expect that cooperation via an international organization would put some of the states in a vulnerable position, open to extortion from their erstwhile partners. The potentially vulnerable states hold out, refusing to join alliances or customs unions, and only agreeing to military and economic cooperation under a federal constitution. Rector examines several historical cases: the making of a federal Australia and the eventual exclusion of New Zealand from the union, the decisions made within Buenos Aires and Prussia to build Argentina and Germany largely through federal contracts rather than conquests, and the failures of postindependence unions in East Africa and the Caribbean.
    Anastakis Dimitry, Bryden P. E. (eds.)
    Framing Canadian Federalism »
    University of Toronto Press , Toronto , 2009
    Framing Canadian Federalism assembles an impressive range of scholars to consider many important issues that relate to federalism and the history of Canada's legal, political, and social evolution. Covering themes that include the Supreme Court of Canada, changing policies towards human rights, First Nations, as well as the legendary battles between Mitchell Hepburn and W.L. Mackenzie King, this collection illustrates the central role that federalism continues to play in the Canadian polity. Editors Dimitry Anastakis and P.E. Bryden and the volume's contributors, demonstrate the pervasive effects that federalism has on Canadian politics, economics, culture, and history, and provide a detailed framework in which to understand contemporary federalism. Written in honour of John T. Saywell's half-century of accomplished and influential scholarly work and teaching, Framing Canadian Federalism is a timely and fitting tribute to one of the discipline's foremost thinkers.
    Mastromarino Anna
    Il federalismo disaggregativo. Un percorso costituzionale negli stati multinazionali »
    Giuffré , Milan , 2010
    Croisat Maurice
    Le fédéralisme en Europe »
    Montchrestien , 2009
    Pasquino Gianfranco
    Lo stato federale : un manuale per capire: un saggio per riflettere »
    Il Saggiatore , Milan , 1996
    Burgess Michael, Pinder John
    Multinational federations »
    Routledge , London, New York , 2007
    This is the first comparative volume available on multinational federations, bringing together an international range of experts on federalism. Multinational federations are federal states intended to provide a framework that can accommodate, manage and resolve some of the most intractable political conflicts of our time that emerge from identity politics: those that stem from competing national visions, whether within or between established states. Featuring key experts in the field such as Michael Burgess, Alain Gagnon and Ronald Watts, this unique book draws on a wide geographical range of country studies including Belgium, Canada, India, Malaysia, Spain, Russia, Cyprus, India, Switzerland and the EU in order to illustrate the pivotal relationship between federalism and nationalism. In so doing, it addresses the practical relevance of federalism to the new political recognition of difference and diversity in the specific form of national minoritarianism. Multinational Federations will be of strong interest to students and researchers of federalism, democracy and nationalism.
    Erk Jan, Swenden Wilfried (eds.)
    New Directions in Federalism Studies »
    Routledge , London, New York , 2010
    Federalism has experienced a remarkable renaissance in recent decades – as an alternative way to accommodate ethnic differences; as a tool to combat remote, undemocratic and ineffective central governments; and lastly, as a means to promote economic performance in the developing world through decentralisation. This book seeks to bring different aspects and perspectives of federalism studies closer together, by providing an analytical framework which transcends the sub-fields and encourages contributors to look beyond the comfort zones of their own disciplinary approaches to the topic. The authors seek to achieve this aim by structuring the contributions around four dimensions federalism studies: • the development and design of federal institutions; • federalism and democratic participation, representation and accountability; • federalism and the accommodation of territorially-based ethnic, cultural and linguistic differences; • federalism and public policy. With a strong comparative framework, New Directions in Federalism Studies will be of interest to students and scholars of Federalism, Government, Regionalism, and Multi-level Governance. It will also offer insights of relevance to Comparative Politics, Public Policy, Public Administration, Nationalism, and West European Politics.
    Bifulco Raffaele (ed.)
    Ordinamenti federali comparati. Vol. I Gli Stati federali 'classici' »
    Giappichelli , Turin , 2010
    Purcell Jr. Edward A.
    Originalism, federalism, and the American constitutional enterprise: a historical inquiry »
    Yale University Press , New Haven , 2007
    In this lively historical examination of American federalism, a leading scholar in the field refutes the widely accepted notion that the founding fathers carefully crafted a constitutional balance of power between the states and the federal government. Edward Purcell bases his argument on close analysis of the Constitution's original structure and the ways that structure both induced and accommodated changes over the centuries. There was no clear agreement among the founding fathers regarding the 'true' nature of American federalism, Purcell contends, nor was there a consensus on 'correct' lines dividing state and national authority. Furthermore, even had there been some true 'original' understanding, the elastic and dynamic nature of the constitutional structure would have made it impossible for subsequent generations to maintain any original or permanent balance. The author traces the evolution of federalism through the centuries, focusing particularly on shifting interpretations founded on political interests. He concludes with insights into current issues of federal power and a discussion of the grounds on which legitimate decisions about federal and state power should rest.
    Vitale Ermanno (ed.)
    Quale federalismo? »
    Giappichelli , Turin , 2011
    Details
    Ziblatt Daniel
    Structuring the state: the formation of Italy and Germany and the puzzle of federalism »
    Princeton University Press , Princeton , 2006
    Germany's and Italy's belated national unifications continue to loom large in contemporary debates. Often regarded as Europe's paradigmatic instances of failed modernization, the two countries form the basis of many of our most prized theories of social science. Structuring the State undertakes one of the first systematic comparisons of the two cases, putting the origins of these nation-states and the nature of European political development in new light. Daniel Ziblatt begins his analysis with a striking puzzle: Upon national unification, why was Germany formed as a federal nation-state and Italy as a unitary nation-state? He traces the diplomatic maneuverings and high political drama of national unification in nineteenth-century Germany and Italy to refute the widely accepted notion that the two states' structure stemmed exclusively from Machiavellian farsightedness on the part of militarily powerful political leaders. Instead, he demonstrates that Germany's and Italy's "founding fathers" were constrained by two very different pre-unification patterns of institutional development. In Germany, a legacy of well-developed sub-national institutions provided the key building blocks of federalism. In Italy, these institutions' absence doomed federalism. This crucial difference in the organization of local power still shapes debates about federalism in Italy and Germany today. By exposing the source of this enduring contrast, Structuring the State offers a broader theory of federalism's origins that will interest scholars and students of comparative politics, state-building, international relations, and European political history.
    Abstract
    Malcolmson Patrick, Myers Richard
    The Canadian Regime: An Introduction to Parliamentary Government in Canada »
    University of Toronto Press , Toronto , 2012
    Lucid and comprehensive, The Canadian Regime provides a unique analysis of Canada's political regime by challenging readers to think of the political system as an organic entity where change in one area inevitably ripples through the rest of the system. The book's focus on the inner logic of parliamentary government explains the rationale for Canada's relatively complex political system. The new edition includes analysis of the 2011 federal election and the implications of a return to majority government rule. Discussions of the Constitution, Charter, Senate reform, and judicial appointments are all updated, and new material is provided on the prorogation controversy, voter turnout, equalization payments, and prime ministerial government. The Canadian Regime continues to provide the most accessible introduction to the institutions, processes, and principles of the Canadian political system.
    Aroney Nicholas
    The Constitution of a Federal Commonwealth »
    Cambridge University Press , Cambridge , 2009
    By analysing original sources and evaluating conceptual frameworks, Nicholas Aroney discusses the idea proclaimed in the Preamble to the Constitution that Australia is a federal commonwealth. Taking careful account of the influence which the American, Canadian and Swiss Constitutions had upon the framers of the Australian Constitution, the author shows how the framers wrestled with the problem of integrating federal ideas with inherited British traditions and their own experiences of parliamentary government. In so doing, the book explains how the Constitution came into being in the context of the groundswell of federal ideas then sweeping the English-speaking world. In advancing an original argument about the relationship between the formation of the Constitution, the representative institutions, configurations of power and amending formulas contained therein, fresh light is shed on the terms and structure of the Constitution and a range of problems associated with its interpretation and practical operation are addressed. • Deals separately with historical, political and legal issues, thus enabling historians, political scientists and lawyers to focus upon those aspects of the book that are of most relevance • Includes a thorough index and table of statutes and cases, enabling the book to be used as a reference work • Includes an extensive bibliography, enabling readers to use the book for further research
    Morgan Iwan W., Davies Philip J. (eds.)
    The Federal Nation: Perspectives on American Federalism »
    Palgrave Macmillan , Basingstoke , 2009
    Federalism is often described as the greatest of the American contributions to the art of government, but it has been an evolving and protean entity since its original establishment in the Constitution. Based on the contributions of international scholars, this volume explores three facets of modern federalism: the vertical tensions over the distribution of authority between national and sub-national governments; the tensions between the national government’s role as the instrument of policy uniformity throughout the nation and the inclination of the states to take different approaches to similar issues in light of their own political cultures; and the changing context of federalism in the more conservative political context of recent times. In addition, a number of the essays explore the Canadian model of federalism, which helps to place the U.S. model in comparative context.
    Appleby Gabrielle, Aroney Nicholas, John Thomas (eds.)
    The Future of Australian Federalism: Comparative and Interdisciplinary Perspectives »
    Cambridge University Press , New Tork , 2012
    At a time when the operation and reform of federal relations within Australia is squarely on the political agenda, this volume brings together eminent lawyers, economists and political scientists who explain, analyse and evaluate the theory and principles underpinning the Australian federal system. Topics covered include the High Court's approach to the interpretation of the Constitution and how this has influenced federal relations in practice; different forms of inter-governmental co-operative arrangements; fiscal relations between the Commonwealth and the States; and emergent ethno-cultural and socioeconomic diversity within the Australian Federation. Comparative perspectives from Germany, America, Canada, Switzerland, India and the European Union provide unique prisms through which to view the operation of the Australian system and to contemplate its reform.
    Deschouwer Kris
    The Politics of Belgium »
    Palgrave Macmillan , New York , 2009
    Belgium is only a small country but from a political science perspective a very important one. This major new text provides an expert but accessible introduction of politics in a society so divided that its polarized communities have come to contemplate divorce after decades of search for institutional responses to its internal conflicts.
    Kriesi Hanspeter, Trechsel Alexander H.
    The Politics of Switzerland. Continuity and Change in a Consensus-Democracy »
    Cambridge University Press , Cambridge , 2008
    Despite Switzerland's small size, its political system is one of the most complex and fascinating among contemporary democracies. The rich, complex mixture of centuries-old institutions and the refined political arrangements that exist today constitute a veritable laboratory for social scientists and their students. Often presented as the paradigmatic case of political integration, consensus democracy and multinational federalism, the Swiss model has become a benchmark case for analyses in comparative politics, political behaviour and other related fields. Written by two leading experts on Swiss politics, this book presents a definitive overview for scholars and students interested in Switzerland’s political system at the beginning of the twenty-first century. By focusing on its intricacies but also taking in larger issues of general interest, the broad scope of this study will appeal to all those interested in contemporary European politics and democratic systems.
    Details
    Bednar Jenna
    The Robust Federation »
    Cambridge University Press , New York , 2009
    The Robust Federation offers a comprehensive approach to the study of federalism. Jenna Bednar demonstrates how complementary institutions maintain and adjust the distribution of authority between national and state governments. These authority boundaries matter – for defense, economic growth, and adequate political representation – and must be defended from opportunistic transgression. From Montesquieu to Madison, the legacy of early institutional analysis focuses attention on the value of competition between institutions, such as the policy moderation produced through separated powers. Bednar offers a reciprocal theory: in an effective constitutional system, institutions complement one another; each makes the others more powerful. Diverse but complementary safeguards – including the courts, political parties, and the people – cover different transgressions, punish to different extents, and fail under different circumstances. The analysis moves beyond equilibrium conceptions and explains how the rules that allocate authority are not fixed but shift gradually. Bednar’s rich theoretical characterization of complementary institutions provides the first holistic account of federal robustness.
    Parent Joseph M.
    Uniting States. Voluntary Union in World Politics »
    Oxford University Press , New York , 2011
    What causes a state to unify voluntarily with another state? If realists are right, voluntary union should never happen. In their view, states value their sovereignty above all else and would never give it up without a fight. Yet the United States and Switzerland are glaring exceptions to this paradigm. If liberals and constructivists are right, voluntary unions should be much more common and actually increasing in frequency. After all, classic determinants of integration such as international trade and communication are stronger than they have ever been. Yet the number of states in the world continues to climb, and the most favorable arena for unification, the European Union, seems to be hitting a glass ceiling. In Uniting States, Joseph Parent argues that unions are the balancing coalitions of last resort. Elites can weld separate states into a lasting union only when facing particularly serious threats. Drawing on five major historical cases of union--the United States, Switzerland, Sweden--Norway, Gran Colombia, and the European Union--Uniting States sheds new light on political polarization, state dissolution, federalism, and the possibility of uniting without fighting.
    Items of Subsection 2.Constitutional reform
    Urofsky Melvin, Finkelman Paul
    A March of Liberty. A Constitutional History of the United States, Volume 1: From the Founding to 1900 »
    Oxford University Press , New York , 2011 (Third edition)
    A March of Liberty: A Constitutional History of the United States, Third Edition, is a clearly written, comprehensive overview of American constitutional development. Covering the country's history from the founding of the English colonies up through the latest decisions of the Supreme Court, this two-volume work presents the most complete discussion of American constitutional history currently available. Authors Melvin I. Urofsky and Paul Finkelman successfully blend cases and court doctrines into the larger fabric of American political, economic, and social history. They discuss in detail the great cases handed down by the Supreme Court, showing how these cases played out in society and how constitutional growth parallels changes in American culture. In addition, they examine lesser-known decisions that played important roles in affecting change, and also provide in-depth analyses of the intellects and personalities of the Supreme Court justices who made these influential decisions. Updated with the most recent scholarship, the third edition of A March of Liberty offers more cases on a broader range of issues including the environment, labor, civil rights, and Native American concerns. It now presents new selections on decisions, statutes, and constitutional developments from the first decade of the 21st century--like the USA PATRIOT Act, presidential signing statements, same-sex marriage, reproductive rights, campaign financing, and firearms regulation. The text reflects the current trends in American constitutional history by employing a holistic approach that integrates the decisions of the state and lower federal courts with the decisions of the Supreme Court. A March of Liberty, Third Edition, features useful supplemental materials including the text of the Constitution, a chronological list of Supreme Court justices, an appendix of the names and years for each Supreme Court justice, and suggested further readings. Gracefully written and clearly explained, this popular two-volume set is indispensable for courses in American constitutional history and law.
    Urofsky Melvin, Finkelman Paul
    A March of Liberty. A Constitutional History of the United States, Volume 2, From 1898 to the Present »
    Oxford University Press , New York , 2011 (Third edition)
    A March of Liberty: A Constitutional History of the United States is a clearly written, comprehensive overview of American constitutional development. Covering the country's history from the founding of the English colonies up through the latest decisions of the Supreme Court, this two-volume work presents the most complete discussion of American constitutional history currently available. Authors Melvin I. Urofsky and Paul Finkelman successfully blend cases and court doctrines into the larger fabric of American political, economic, and social history. They discuss in detail the great cases handed down by the Supreme Court, showing how these cases played out in society and how constitutional growth parallels changes in American culture. In addition, they examine lesser-known decisions that played important roles in affecting change, and also provide in-depth analyses of the intellects and personalities of the Supreme Court justices who made these influential decisions. Updated with the most recent scholarship, the third edition of A March of Liberty offers more cases on a broader range of issues including the environment, labor, civil rights, and Native American concerns. It now presents new selections on decisions, statutes, and constitutional developments from the first decade of the 21st century--like the USA PATRIOT Act, presidential signing statements, same-sex marriage, reproductive rights, campaign financing, and firearms regulation. The text reflects the current trends in American constitutional history by employing a holistic approach that integrates the decisions of the state and lower federal courts with the decisions of the Supreme Court. A March of Liberty, Third Edition, features useful supplemental materials including the text of the Constitution, a chronological list of Supreme Court justices, an appendix of the names and years for each Supreme Court justice, and suggested further readings. Gracefully written and clearly explained, this popular two-volume set is indispensable for courses in American constitutional history and law.
    Bon Cristina
    Alla ricerca di una più perfetta Unione. Convenzioni e Costituzioni negli Stati Uniti della prima metà dell'800 »
    FrancoAngeli , Milan , 2012
    James Patrick
    Constitutional Politics in Canada After the Charter: Liberalism, Communitarianism, and Systemism »
    University of British Columbia Press - UBC Press , Vancouver , 2010
    Since the Charter of Rights and Freedoms was introduced in 1982, Canada has experienced countless debates on constitutional politics and about the future of Canada. There has, however, been no systematic attempt to identify general theories about Canada’s constitutional evolution. Patrick James corrects this oversight by using systemism to identify and assess five theories within the liberal and communitarian paradigms and within the context of major issues such as the role of the courts and the status of Aboriginal peoples. By adding clarity to familiar debates, this succinct assessment of major writings on constitutional politics sharpens our vision of the past -- and the future -- of the Canadian federation.
    Kincaid John, Tarr George Alan (eds.)
    Constitutional origins, structure, and change in federal countries »
    McGill-Queen's University Press , Montreal , 2005
    Providing examples of diverse forms of federalism, including new and mature, developed and developing, parliamentary and presidential, and common-law and civil law, the comparative studies in this volume examines constitutions in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, and the United States. Each chapter describes the provisions of a constitution, explains the political, social, and historical factors that influenced its creation, and explores its practical application, how it has changed, and future challenges, offering valuable ideas and lessons for federal constitution-making and reform.
    Details
    Peterlini Oskar
    Evoluzione in senso federale e riforma costituzionale in Italia »
    Institut für Föderalismus , Innsbruck , 2008
    Beaufays Jean, Matagne Geoffroy (eds.)
    La Belgique en mutation »
    Bruylant , Bruxelles , 2009
    D'Ignazio Guerino (ed.)
    Multilevel constitutionalism tra integrazione europea e riforme degli ordinamenti decentrati »
    Giuffré , Milan , 2011
    Description

    Table of contents
    Nolte Detlef, Schilling-Vacaflor Almut (eds.)
    New Constitutionalism in Latin America. Promises and Practices »
    Ashgate , Aldershot , 2012
    Latin America has a long tradition of constitutional reform. Since the democratic transitions of the 1980s, most countries have amended their constitutions at least once, and some have even undergone constitutional reform several times. The global phenomenon of a new constitutionalism, with enhanced rights provisions, finds expression in the region, but the new constitutions, such as those of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela, also have some peculiar characteristics which are discussed in this important book. Authors from a number of different disciplines offer a general overview of constitutional reforms in Latin America since 1990. They explore the historical, philosophical and doctrinal differences between traditional and new constitutionalism in Latin America and examine sources of inspiration. The book also covers sociopolitical settings, which factors and actors are relevant for the reform process, and analyzes the constitutional practices after reform, including the question of whether the recent constitutional reforms created new post-liberal democracies with an enhanced human and social rights record, or whether they primarily serve the ambitions of new political leaders.
    Bilancia Paola, Pizzetti Federico G. (eds.)
    Testi e progetti del sistema costituzionale italiano ed europeo. Con schemi riassuntivi »
    Giappichelli , Turin , 2005
    Saunders Cheryl
    The Constitution of Australia. A Contextual Analysis »
    Hart Publishing , Oxford/Portland , 2010
    Consistently with the aims of the series, the book canvasses the Australian constitutional system in a way that explains its form and operation, provides a critical evaluation of it and conveys a sense of the contemporary national debate. The chapters deal with the foundations of Australian constitutionalism, its history from the time of European settlement, the nature of the Australian Constitutions, the framework for judicial review, the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government, federalism and multi-level government and rights protection. Running through all chapters is the story of the gradual evolution of Australian constitutionalism within the lean but almost unchanging framework of the formal, written, national Constitution. A second theme traces the way in which the present, distinctive, constitutional arrangements in Australia emerged from creative tension between the British and United States constitutional traditions on which the Australian Constitution originally drew and which continues to manifest itself in various ways. One of these, which is likely to be of particular interest, is Australian reliance on institutional arrangements for the purpose of the protection of rights. The book is written in a clear and accessible style for readers in both Australia and countries around the world. Each chapter is followed by additional references to enable particular issues to be pursued further by readers who seek to do so.
    Rosenfeld Michel, Sajó András (eds.)
    The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Constitutional Law »
    Oxford University Press , Oxford , 2012
    The first comprehensive reference in the field of comparative constitutional law, providing a road map to the current state of research for all those working in the discipline Presents a global, comparative perspective on the central concepts, institutions, and processes of constitutional law, invaluable for students and academics of constitutional law in any country Analyses the comparative jurisprudence on constitutional rights, offering a valuable inroad into understanding comparative human rights law Features contributions from leading political scientists, legal scholars, and judges to present a rounded perspective on the discipline and emerging trends The field of comparative constitutional law has grown immensely over the past couple of decades. Once a minor and obscure adjunct to the field of domestic constitutional law, comparative constitutional law has now moved front and centre. Driven by the global spread of democratic government and the expansion of international human rights law, the prominence and visibility of the field, among judges, politicians, and scholars has grown exponentially. Even in the United States, where domestic constitutional exclusivism has traditionally held a firm grip, use of comparative constitutional materials has become the subject of a lively and much publicized controversy among various justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. The trend towards harmonization and international borrowing has been controversial. Whereas it seems fair to assume that there ought to be great convergence among industrialized democracies over the uses and functions of commercial contracts, that seems far from the case in constitutional law. Can a parliamentary democracy be compared to a presidential one? A federal republic to a unitary one? Moreover, what about differences in ideology or national identity? Can constitutional rights deployed in a libertarian context be profitably compared to those at work in a social welfare context? Is it perilous to compare minority rights in a multi-ethnic state to those in its ethnically homogeneous counterparts? These controversies form the background to the field of comparative constitutional law, challenging not only legal scholars, but also those in other fields, such as philosophy and political theory. Providing the first single-volume, comprehensive reference resource, the Oxford Handbook of Comparative Constitutional Law will be an essential road map to the field for all those working within it, or encountering it for the first time. Leading experts in the field examine the history and methodology of the discipline, the central concepts of constitutional law, constitutional processes, and institutions - from legislative reform to judicial interpretation, rights, and emerging trends. Readership: Academics, and students of constitutional law and human rights in any jurisdiction; judges and international human rights lawyers; political scientists working on constitutional politics, or human rights.
    Nester William
    The Revolutionary Years, 1775-1789. The Art of American Power During the Early Republic »
    Potomac Books , Dulles, VA , 2011
    The Revolutionary Years, 1775–1789, reveals how the nation’s leaders asserted power during the fourteen crucial years from the Revolution’s first shots at Lexington in April 1775 to the adoption of the Constitution in 1789. The American Revolution unfolded in two phases, winning independence and then creating “a more perfect union” that guaranteed representation and natural rights for all citizens. To prevail in those struggles the Founders had to tap and eventually master two powerful historic forces—nationalism and liberalism. National leadership is about mastering the dynamic among a country’s interests, power, and policies. Although military battles were relatively infrequent during the leisurely pace of eighteenth-century warfare, political battles were incessant. Those who championed the United States of America triumphed during the sweltering, seemingly endless months at Philadelphia from May to September 1787, when the delegates hammered out the Constitution. With the Constitution’s ratification, the Revolution came to a symbolic and substantive end. Ever since, Americans have debated, and at times shed blood over, just what the Founders intended and how to realize those ideals. In this fascinating book, William Nester examines how the Founders’ experience in revolution and nation-building caused them to understand leadership as an art—one that ultimately became the distinctive art of American power.
    Items of Subsection 3.The division (and the conflicts) of powers and competences
    Gelderman Carol
    A Free Man of Color and His Hotel. Race, Reconstruction, and the Role of the Federal Government »
    Potomac Books , Dulles, VA , 2012
    A Free Man of Color and His Hotel weaves the story of a uniquely successful black businessman into the burgeoning post–Civil War political struggle that pitted the federal government against the states’ desire to remain autonomous. Born in Washington, D.C., James Wormley worked as a hacker in his father’s livery stable there and as a steward on Mississippi River steamboats before establishing his own catering and boardinghouse businesses. During a period of limited opportunity for African Americans, he built and operated D.C.’s luxurious Wormley Hotel at a time when most financial and governmental business was conducted in hotels. Not only did a number of notable diplomats and politicians live at the hotel, but because of its location in the city’s commercial and political center, Wormley also hosted Washington’s movers and shakers. Wormley’s rise, however, occurred as three landmark decisions by the Supreme Court effectively dismantled Reconstruction and led to the Plessy v. Ferguson decision that legalized segregation. This cautionary tale illustrates how key Supreme Court decisions hindered other African Americans’ potential successes after Reconstruction. By examining the issue of states’ rights in terms of one man’s against-the-odds success, Carol Gelderman shows how these same issues are still relevant in a postsegregation United States.
    Bilancia Paola, Pizzetti Federico G. (eds.)
    Aspetti e problemi del costituzionalismo multilivello »
    Giuffré , Milan , 2004
    Peach Ian (ed.)
    Constructing Tomorrow's Federalism: New Perspectives on Canadian Governance »
    University of Manitoba Press , Winnipeg , 2007
    Governance of the federation is more complex today than ever before: perennial issues of federalism remain unresolved, conflicts continue over the legitimacy of federal spending power, and the accommodation of Quebec nationalism and Aboriginal self-government within the federation is a persistent and precarious concern. From discussions on democracy and distinctiveness to explorations of self-governance and power imbalances, Constructing Tomorrow’s Federalism tests assertions from scholars and practitioners on the legitimacy and future of the state of the federation. In this broad collection of essays, fifteen scholars and political leaders identify options for the future governance of Canada and contribute to a renewed civic discourse on what it means to govern ourselves as a liberal democracy and a multinational federation.
    Blindenbacher Raoul, Ostien Abigail (eds.)
    Dialogues on legislative, executive and judicial governance in federal countries »
    McGill-Queen's University Press , Montreal , 2006
    These lively, timely, and accessible dialogues on federal systems provide a comparative snapshot of each topic and include comparative analyses, glossaries of country-specific terminology, and a timeline of major constitutional events. Countries considered include Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States. Whether you are a student or teacher of federalism, working in the field of federalism, or simply interested in the topic, these booklets will prove to be an insightful, brief exploration of the topic at hand in each of the featured countries.
    Wakjira Ketema
    Ethiopian Federalism, Federal Capital City and Urbanization »
    VDM Verlag Dr. Muller Aktiengesellschaft & Co. KG , Saarbrücken , 2011
    Apart from providing close examination to the role of intergovernmental interaction in a federal state, the book strived to uncover some response of Ethiopian federalism to the urbanization imperatives at the countries largest urban environment. In the light of broader notions of federalism and urbanization, it identified the main sources of inter-jurisdictional territorial dispute/competition, the main actors involved; mechanisms/institutions used to manage and thereby examined the effectiveness of the prevailing managing efforts. The much needed consideration of the link between territorial approach in the Ethiopian federal arrangement, its federal capital city and the processes of urbanization is the essential emphasis of the book. The book includes experiences of other federations in arranging their federal capital cities and suggests how Ethiopia might learn from the peculiarities that other federations depicted in reconciling of their federal capital city arrangement with the ongoing urbanization processes. Hence,the analysis is significant for professionals in the fields of comparative federal studies and urban management and administration.
    Vanoni Luca P.
    Federalismo, regionalismo, sussidiarietà »
    Giappichelli , Torino , 2009
    Contents
    Feiock Richard C., Scholz John T. (eds.)
    Self-Organizing Federalism »
    Cambridge University Press , New York , 2009
    This book investigates the self-organizing responses of governments and interests to the institutional collective action (ICA) dilemmas of particular concern to students of federalism, urban governance, and regional management of natural resources. ICA dilemmas arise in fragmented systems whenever decisions by one independent formal authority do not consider costs or benefits imposed on others. The ICA framework analyzes networks, joint projects, partnerships, and other mechanisms developed by affected parties to mitigate ICA decision externalities. These mechanisms play a widespread but little-understood role in federalist systems by reshaping incentives in order to encourage coordination/cooperation. The empirical studies of urban service delivery and regional integration of regional resource management address three questions: How does a given mechanism mitigate costs of uncoordinated decisions? What incentives do potential members have to create the mechanism? How do incentives induced by the mitigating mechanism affect its sustainability in a changing environment and its adaptability to other ICA dilemmas?
    Eisinger Douglas S.
    Smog Check: Science, Federalism, and the Politics of Clean Air »
    RFF Press - Resources for the Future , Washington, DC , 2010
    Cantillon Bea, Mussche Ninke, Popelier Patricia (eds.)
    Social Federalism: The Creation of a Layered Welfare State. The Belgian Case »
    Intersentia , Antwerp , 2011
    Belgium is a federation in turmoil. Politicians of the two language communities find it increasingly difficult to reach common ground on many issues. Social policy stands in the middle of these tensions. At present, social federalism in Belgium is still at an immature stage. However, as a result of constitutional reform in the course of the last decennia social policy has become embedded at the regional, the federal as well as at the European level. Moreover, the more prosperous region of Flanders has expressed the wish to develop its own social protection, and introduced among others a Flemish Care Insurance. These developments have resulted in the creation of a “layered welfare state”. The authors of this book critically assess the current stage of social federalism in Belgium and ask how against the background of the major challenge of an ageing population an effective social policy can be shaped. The book considers at which level the bulk of an effective social policy is best situated, what the role of the sub-national entities can be, and which limitations are imposed by the constitutional and European framework. The various forms of power allocation are considered for social federalism in Belgium.
    Raffass Tania
    The Soviet Union - Federation or Empire? »
    Routledge , New York , 2012
    The Soviet Union is often characterised as nominally a federation, but really an empire, liable to break up when individual federal units, which were allegedly really subordinate colonial units, sought independence. This book questions this interpretation, revisiting the theory of federation, and discussing actual examples of federations such as the United States, arguing that many federal unions, including the United States, are really centralised polities. It also discusses the nature of empires, nations and how they relate to nation states and empires, and the right of secession, highlighting the importance of the fact that this was written in to the Soviet constitution. It examines the attitude of successive Soviet leaders towards nationalities, and the changing attitudes of nationalists towards the Soviet Union. Overall, it demonstrates that the Soviet attitude to nationalities and federal units was complicated, wrestling, in a similar way to many other states, with difficult questions of how ethno-cultural justice can best be delivered in a political unit which is bigger than the national state.
    Items of Subsection 4.The legislative branch
    Luther Jorg, Passaglia Paolo, Tarchi Rolando (eds.)
    A World of Second Chambers. Handbook for Constitutional Studies on Bicameralism »
    Giuffré , Milan , 2007
    The handbook contains papers of constitutional lawyers and political scientists presented at an international conference held at the Centre for Studies on Federalism in April 2005. The papers reflect the academic customs and style of the different authors and countries. The reports have been inspired by the following "Working Model", but not adapted to Italian writing or editing rules. The research was occasioned by the project of an Italian "Federal Senate" adopted by the government majority under the last legislature but rejected by referendum in 2006. Massimo Carli offered a special contribution on the institutional representation of local bodies at the regionallevel in Italy, available at the Centre address (in Italian language). Most national reporters have also managed the translations. Others have been realised by Mariangela Ronzitti and Monica Ricco. The users of the handbook can obtain the original versions at the Centre address. Anna Mastromarino, Demis Bessi, Pamela Martino and Pier Luigi Petrillo prepared the Italian version of a specific database on various second chambers not represented by the national reports.
    Table of contents
    Bonfiglio Salvatore (ed.)
    Composizione e funzione delle seconde camere. Un'analisi comparativa »
    CEDAM , Padova , 2008
    Serie: Università Roma Tre - Dipartimento di Istituzioni politiche - Monografie
    Swenden Wilfried
    Federalism and Second Chambers: Regional Representation in Parliamentary Federations: the Australian Senate and German Bundesrat Compared »
    Peter Lang , Bruxelles, Bern, Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, New York, Oxford, Wien , 2004
    The theory of comparative federalism asserts that federations require a second chamber for the representation of regional interests in central law-making. Yet there has been little systematic analysis of the contribution of second chambers in parliamentary federations to this task. The main purpose of this book is to demonstrate to what extent the two strongest parliamentary second chambers, the Australian Senate and the German Bundesrat are linked to the federal structures in which they are embedded. The study analyzes the contribution of the members of these second chambers in advancing interests that are linked to the regional constituents whom they represent or to the collective fiscal or administrative interests of a regional government with whom they are associated. The analysis underscores the largely 'executive' character of intergovernmental relations in parliamentary federations, a feature that corresponds with the composition of the German Bundesrat, but not of the Australian Senate. In the concluding chapter some preliminary observations are made as to whether our findings also generate interesting insights for the larger group of parliamentary second chambers in federal or quasi-federal states, such as the Belgian, Spanish and Canadian Senates, the UK House of Lords and the Indian Raiya Sabha.
    Macchia Patrizia
    Il Bundesrat austriaco »
    Giappichelli , Turin , 2007
    Castelli Luca
    Il Senato delle autonomie. Ragioni, modelli, vicende »
    CEDAM , Padova , 2010
    Baldini Vincenzo (a cura di)
    La Camera degli interessi territoriali nello Stato composto »
    Satura Editrice , Napoli , 2007
    Details
    Hrbek Rudolf (ed.)
    Legislatures in Federal Systems and Multi-Level Governance »
    Nomos Verlag , Baden-Baden , 2010
    The chapters of this book analyse the role of parliamentary assemblies in various federal systems; they deal with national parliaments, Second Chambers, regional parliaments and the special role and functions of parliaments in Multi-Level Governance such as the EU.
    Description
    Martin Lanny W., Vanberg Georg
    Parliaments and Coalitions: The Role of Legislative Institutions in Multiparty Governance »
    Oxford University Press , 2011
    Coalition governments are the norm in most of the world’s parliamentary democracies. Because these governments are comprised of multiple political parties, they are subject to tensions that are largely absent under single-party government. The pressures of electoral competition and the necessity of delegating substantial authority to ministers affiliated with specific parties threaten the compromise agreements that are at the heart of coalition governance. The central argument of this book is that strong legislative institutions play a critical role in allowing parties to deal with these tensions and to enforce coalition bargains. Based on an analysis of roughly 1,300 government bills across five democracies (Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, and the Netherlands), the book paints a detailed picture of the treatment of government legislation in contemporary parliaments. Two central contributions emerge. First, the book forces a reconsideration of the common perception that legislatures are largely irrelevant institutions in European democracies. The data presented here make a compelling case that parliaments that feature strong committee systems play an influential role in shaping policy. Second, the book contributes to the field of coalition governance. While scholars have developed detailed accounts of the birth and death of coalitions, much less is known about the manner in which coalitions govern between these bookend events. This book contributes to a richer understanding of how multiparty governments make policy.
    Congleton Roger D.
    Perfecting Parliament: Constitutional Reform, Liberalism, and the Rise of Western Democracy »
    Cambridge University Press , Cambridge , 2011
    This book explains why contemporary liberal democracies are based on historical templates rather than revolutionary reforms; why the transition in Europe occurred during a relatively short period in the nineteenth century; why politically and economically powerful men and women voluntarily supported such reforms; how interests, ideas, and pre-existing institutions affected the reforms adopted; and why the countries that liberalized their political systems also produced the Industrial Revolution. The analysis is organized in three parts. The first part develops new rational choice models of (1) governance, (2) the balance of authority between parliaments and kings, (3) constitutional exchange, and (4) suffrage reform. The second part provides historical overviews and detailed constitutional histories of six important countries. The third part provides additional evidence in support of the theory, summarizes the results, contrasts the approach taken in this book with that of other scholars, and discusses methodological issues.
    Martino Pamela
    Seconde camere e rappresentanza politica »
    Giappichelli , Torino , 2009
    Squire Peverill
    The Evolution of American Legislatures. Colonies, Territories, and States, 1619-2009 »
    University of Michigan Press , Ann Arbor , 2012
    The institutional development of American legislatures, beginning with the first colonial assembly of 1619, has been marked by continuity as well as change. Peverill Squire draws upon a wealth of primary sources to document this institutional history. Beginning with the ways in which colonial assemblies followed the precedents of British institutions, Squire traces the fundamental ways they evolved to become distinct. He next charts the formation of the first state legislatures and the Constitutional Congress, describes the creation of territorial and new state legislatures, and examines the institutionalization of state legislatures in the nineteenth century and their professionalization since 1900. With his conclusion, Squire discusses the historical trajectory of American legislatures and suggests how they might further develop over the coming decades. While Squire's approach will appeal to historians, his focus on the evolution of rules, procedures, and standing committee systems, as well as member salaries, legislative sessions, staff, and facilities, will be valuable to political scientists and legislative scholars.
    Courchene Thomas J., Allan John R., Leuprecht Christian, Verrelli Nadia (eds.)
    The Federal Idea: Essays in Honour of Ronald L. Watts »
    McGill-Queen's University Press , Montreal , 2011
    The Federal Idea is a collection of more than thirty papers by Canadian and international scholars on a wide range of issues relating to the theory and practice of federalism. The first section, Celebrating Ron Watts, assesses Ronald Watts' academic contributions to the study of federalism (including comparative federalism) as well as his important role as an advisor to federations across the globe. The second section, The Federal Idea: Concepts, explores different perspectives on federalism, both constitutional and citizen-related, and assesses the successes and failures of the federal idea. The final section, The Federal Idea: Practice, addresses a range of policies and practices in individual federations. In addition to case studies, the contributors deal with such issues as fiscal federalism, intergovernmental relations, federalism in the European Union, Scottish devolution, and the differing approaches to upper chambers.
    Items of Subsection 5.The executive branch
    Wheare Kenneth C.
    Del governo federale »
    Il Mulino , Bologna , 1997
    Marion Nancy E.
    Federal Government and Criminal Justice »
    Palgrave Macmillan , 2011
    This book provides a description of the responses taken by the federal government to issues revolving around criminal justice. In other words, it looks at what federal actors did to address different crime problems. It includes a description of action taken by the president, Congress, courts, bureaucracies, and interest groups to solve crime. Each chapter focuses on a different problem, such as guns, and shows what the different presidents said about guns, what policies were proposed and/or passed by Congress, any cases heard by the Supreme Court on the issue, how interest groups got involved, and different bureaucracies (such as the FBI).
    Weibust Inger
    Green Leviathan »
    Ashgate , Aldershot , 2009
    The US, Switzerland and Canada are wealthy democracies that should be conducive to effective decentralized or cooperative environmental policy-making. However, a closer examination of their environmental policy over many decades finds no evidence that these approaches have worked. So does it matter which level of government makes policy? Can cooperation between sub-national governments protect the environment? Building on comparative case studies on air and water pollution and making use of extensive historical material, Inger Weibust questions how governance structure affects environmental policy performance in the US, Switzerland, Canada and the European Union. The research breaks new ground by studying formal and informal environmental cooperation. It analyzes whether federal systems with more centralized policy-making produce stricter environmental policies and debates whether devolution and the establishment of subsidiaries will lead to less environmental protection. An essential insight into the complexities of policy-making and governance structures, this book is an important contribution to the growing debates surrounding comparative federalism and multi-level governance.
    Merlini Stefano, Tarli Barbieri Giovanni (eds.)
    Il governo parlamentare in Italia »
    Giappichelli , Turin , 2011
    Bolleyer Nicole
    Intergovernmental Cooperation. Rational Choices in Federal Systems and Beyond »
    Oxford University Press , Oxford , 2009
    Over the past decades, governments have increasingly been confronted with problems that transcend their boundaries. A multitude of policy fields are affected, including environment, trade and security. Responding to the challenges triggered by Europeanization and globalization, governments increasingly interact across different spheres of authority. Both theoretically and empirically, the puzzle of institutional choice reflected by the variety of arrangements in which intergovernmental cooperation takes place inside individual countries and across their borders remains surprisingly under-explored. In an attempt to solve this puzzle, the book tackles the following questions: Why are the intergovernmental arrangements governments set up to deal with boundary-crossing problems so different? To what extent do these institutional differences affect the effectiveness of intergovernmental cooperation? To address this gap theoretically and empirically, this book adopts a deductive, rationalist approach to institution-building. It argues that internal politics, the type of executive-legislative relations within the interacting governments, explains the nature of institutions set up to channel intergovernmental processes: while power-sharing governments engage in institution-building, power-concentrating governments avoid it. It also shows that these institutional choices matter for the output of intergovernmental cooperation. The approach is applied to the United States, Canada, Switzerland, and finally the European Union. Disaggregating individual government units, the theoretical approach reveals how intragovernmental micro-incentives drive macro-dynamics and thereby addresses the neglect of horizontal dynamics in multilevel systems. The willingness and capacity of lower-level governments to solve collective problems on their own and to oppose central encroachment are crucial to understand the power distribution in different systems and their long-term evolutions.
    Buchanan Bruce
    Presidential Power and Accountability. Toward a Presidential Accountability System »
    Routledge , London/New York , 2012
    Many analysts now believe that the growth of presidential war power relative to Congress is irreversible. This book was written to contest that view. Its purpose is to identify what would be required to restore presidential war power to constitutional specifications while leaving the president powerful enough to do what is truly necessary in the face of any emergency. Buchanan focuses mainly on diagnosing the origins of the problem and devising practical ways to work toward restoration of the constitutional balance of power between Congress and the president. The work begins by showing the lack of clear, widely shared standards whose enforcement is needed to sustain the balance of power and draws on the thinking of the founders and political theorists to crystallize such standards. Next it details how, in the absence of standards, agents such as Congress and the Supreme Court with formal influence on presidents and informal agents such as media and public opinion have unwittingly enabled unnecessary power expansion, such as the presidential 'wars of choice'. Of course change of this magnitude cannot be expected to happen quickly. Remedies necessarily involve a reform architecture intended to unfold gradually, with the first step being simply to start a focused conversation (another purpose of this book). Buchanan moves toward specific remedies by identifying the structure and strategy for a new think tank designed to nudge the political system toward the kind of change the book recommends. Lastly, the book shows how a fictional policy trial could take a practical step toward in rebalancing the war power. This is a crucial examination of presidential power and the U.S. separation of powers system, with a focused effort on making a course correction toward the kind of power sharing envisioned in the Constitution.
    DiGiacomo Gordon, Flumian Maryantonett (eds.)
    The Case for Centralized Federalism »
    University of Ottawa Press , Ottawa , 2010
    Ellis Richard J.
    The Development of the American Presidency »
    Routledge , London/New York , 2012
    Our understanding of the politics of the presidency is greatly enhanced by viewing it through a developmental lens, analyzing how historical turns have shaped the modern institution. The Development of the American Presidency pays great attention to that historical weight but is organized topically and conceptually with the constitutional origins and political development of the presidency its central focus. Through comprehensive and in-depth coverage, this text looks at how the presidency has evolved in relation to the public, to Congress, to the Executive branch, and to the law, showing at every step how different aspects of the presidency have followed distinct trajectories of change. All the while, Ellis illustrates the institutional relationships and tensions through stories about particular individuals and specific political conflicts. Ellis's own classroom pedagogy of promoting active learning and critical thinking is well reflected in these pages. Each chapter begins with a narrative account of some illustrative puzzle that brings to life a central concept. A wealth of photos, figures, and tables allow for the visual presentations of concepts. A companion website not only acts as a further resources base—directing students to primary documents, newspapers, and data sources—but also presents interactive timelines, practice quizzes, and key terms to help students master the book's lessons.
    Watson Robert P. Covarrubias Jack, Lansford Tom, Brattebo Douglas M. (eds.)
    The Obama Presidency. A Preliminary Assessment »
    State University of New York Press - SUNY Press , Albany , 2012
    Barack Obama’s presidency is a pivotal one in American history, coming at a time of dramatic political change in the United States and amidst an astonishing array of domestic and foreign policy challenges. Not surprisingly, then, the Obama administration has been the focus of intense scrutiny by scholars, the press, and the public, and rarely has the tone of political discourse been more polarized and emotionally charged. In this book a distinguished group of scholars offers an objective and timely examination of the Obama administration; Obama’s character, leadership style, and rhetoric; and his domestic, foreign, and national security policies. Engaging, lively, and highly readable, each essay offers important insight into this historic president and presidency.
    Zavodnyik Peter
    The Rise of the Federal Colossus: The Growth of Federal Power from Lincoln to F.D.R »
    Praeger Publishing , 2011
    This challenging book explores the debates over the scope of the enumerated powers of Congress and the Fourteenth Amendment that accompanied the expansion of federal authority during the period between the beginning of the Civil War and the inauguration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Federal officials contemplated providing jobs to the unemployed as early as the 1870s, while the origins of federal regulation of interstate railroads go back to the Civil War. How and when did the federal government expand the scope of the powers granted to it by the Constitution and evolve into an entity that plays such an enormous role in the lives of ordinary Americans? "The Rise of the Federal Colossus: The Growth of Federal Power from Lincoln to F.D.R." offers readers a front-row seat for the critical phases of a debate that is at the very center of American history, exploring such controversial issues as what powers are bestowed on the federal government, what its role should be, and how the Constitution should be interpreted. The book argues that the critical period in the growth of federal power was not the New Deal and the three decades that followed, but the preceding 72 years when important precedents establishing the national government's authority to aid citizens in distress, regulate labor, and take steps to foster economic growth were established. The author explores newspaper and magazine articles, as well as congressional debates and court opinions, to determine how Americans perceived the growing authority of their national government and examine arguments over whether novel federal activities had any constitutional basis. Responses of government to the enormous changes that took place during this period are also surveyed.
    Items of Subsection 6.The judiciary branch
    Baier Gerald
    Courts and Federalism »
    University of British Columbia Press - UBC Press , Vancouver , 2006
    Courts and Federalism examines recent developments in the judicial review of federalism in the United States, Australia, and Canada. Through detailed surveys of these three countries, Gerald Baier clearly demonstrates that understanding judicial doctrine is key to understanding judicial power in a federation. Baier offers overwhelming evidence of doctrine’s formative role in division-of-power disputes and its positive contribution to the operation of a federal system. Courts and Federalism urges political scientists to take courts and judicial reasoning more seriously in their accounts of federal government. Courts and Federalism will appeal to readers interested in the comparative study of law and government as well as the interaction of law and federalism in contemporary society.
    Randazzo Kirk A.
    Defenders of Liberty or Champions of Security? Federal Courts, the Hierarchy of Justice, and U.S. Foreign Policy »
    State University of New York Press - SUNY Press , Albany , 2011
    Examines the critical role assumed by the U.S. judiciary in balancing concerns about national security with the protection of liberty after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the subsequent responses by the U.S. federal government have raised fundamental questions about civil liberties in both domestic and international laws. As a result, the U.S. judiciary, out of its responsibility for interpreting the Constitution, has assumed a crucial role in defining boundaries of domestic and foreign policy, and in balancing concerns about security with the protection of liberty. Utilizing a sophisticated blend of quantitative and qualitative analysis, Kirk A. Randazzo examines two main questions: To what extent do federal judges defend liberty or champion security when adjudicating disputes? And to what extent does the hierarchal structure of the federal judiciary influence decisions by lower court judges? There are, he argues, disturbing indications that the federal judiciary as a whole are not defenders of liberty. Furthermore, lower court judges strategically anticipate the decisions of higher courts and constrain their behavior to avoid reversal.
    Hume Robert J.
    How Courts Impact Federal Administrative Behavior »
    Routledge , New York , 2009
    What impact do federal courts have on the administrative agencies of the federal government? How do agencies react to the decisions of federal courts? This book answers these questions by examining the responses of federal agencies to the U.S. Courts of Appeals, revealing what happens inside agencies after courts rule against them. Robert J. Hume draws upon dozens of interviews with current and former administrators, taking readers behind the scenes of these organizations to reveal their internal procedures, their attitudes about courts, and their surprising capacity to be influenced by a judge’s choice of words. This fascinating study will be of interest to students and scholars of politics as well as those seeking great understanding of the intricacies of the US political system.
    Gori-Montanelli Riccardo
    Il federalismo e la Corte Suprema degli Stati Uniti »
    European Press Academic Publishing , Firenze , 2006
    Details
    Table of contents
    Tsen Lee Evan
    Judicial Restraint in America. How the Ageless Wisdom of the Federal Courts was Invented »
    Oxford University Press , New York , 2010
    Many legal scholars believe that judges should not be "activists." But exactly what does it mean for judges to practice "restraint," and how did that set of practices evolve in America? In Judicial Restraint in America: How the Ageless Wisdom of the Federal Courts was Invented, Evan Tsen Lee traces the cultural, social, and intellectual forces that shaped the contours of judicial restraint from the time of John Marshall, through the "vested property rights" courts of the early 20th Century, through the Warren Court, and up to the present. The Supreme Court and the many lower federal courts have long used mystifying technical doctrines known as "standing" and "abstention" out of a professed fidelity to judicial restraint. Yet this book aims to demonstrate that the concept of judicial restraint cannot be meaningfully viewed outside of the varying contexts of American history. The notion of judicial restraint only makes sense in light of the waxing and waning American commitments to property rights and Protestant idealism, to scientific pragmatism, to racial equality, and even to environmental protection and the need to stem climate change. This book focuses on the personalities and lives of powerhouse Supreme Court justices - John Marshall, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Louis Brandeis, Felix Frankfurter, William Brennan, and now Antonin Scalia. Largely written in narrative form, it will appeal to those interested in how politics, society, and the power of ideas have shaped American public law.
    Frank Walter M.
    Making Sense of the Constitution: A Primer on the Supreme Court and Its Struggle to Apply Our Fundamental Law »
    Southern Illinois University Press , Carbondale, IL , 2012
    In Making Sense of the Constitution: A Primer on the Supreme Court and Its Struggle to Apply Our Fundamental Law, Walter Frank tackles in a comprehensive but lively manner subjects rarely treated in one volume. Aiming at both the general reader and students of political science, law, or history, Frank begins with a brief discussion of the nature of constitutional law and why the Court divides so closely on many issues. He then proceeds to an analysis of the Constitution and subsequent amendments, placing them in their historical context. Next, Frank shifts to the Supreme Court and its decisions, examining, among other things, doctrinal developments, the Court’s decision making processes, how justices interact with each other, and the debate over how the Constitution should be interpreted. The work concludes with a close analysis of Court decisions in six major areas of continuing controversy, including abortion, affirmative action, and campaign finance.
    Pasquero Alberto
    Mutuo riconoscimento delle decisioni penali: prove di federalismo. Modello europeo e statunitense a confronto »
    Giuffré , Milan , 2007
    The volume aims above all to describe the evolution of cooperation in criminal matters in the European Union, simultaneously highlighting its fundamental juridical aspects. The description of the juridical framework of the so-called “third pillar”, which is the context in which cooperation in criminal matters is taking place today, allows the reader to subsequently proceed into the analysis of the principle of mutual recognition of criminal law decisions, and in particular the framework-decision on the European arrest warrant. After an analysis of the simplified extradition system (“rendition”) implemented by the USA, the impacts of the principle of mutual recognition on the institution of extradition are examined, via an in-depth comparison of European and US models. Finally, an attempt to find development perspectives for judicial cooperation in criminal matters within the European Union is presented, highlighting the weaknesses of the present system and suggesting ideas for its possible reform.
    Baker Dennis
    Not Quite Supreme. The Courts and Coordinate Constitutional Interpretation »
    McGill-Queen's University Press , Montreal , 2010
    Fracanzani Marcello M., Palermo Francesco (eds.)
    Potere esecutivo e giurisdizionale nell'Europa »
    Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane , Naples , 2011
    Urofsky Melvin
    Supreme Decisions, Volume 1. Great Constitutional Cases and Their Impact, Volume One: To 1896 »
    Westview Press , Boulder , 2012
    Supreme Decisions: Great Constitutional Cases and Their Impact, Volumes 1 and 2, covers twenty-four Supreme Court cases (twelve per volume) that have shaped American constitutional law. Interpretive chapters shed light on the nuances of each case, the individuals involved, and the social, political, and cultural context at that particular moment in history. Discussing cases from nearly every decade in a two-hundred-year span, Melvin I. Urofsky expounds on the political climate of the United States from the country’s infancy through the new millennium. Featuring Marbury v. Madison, Dred Scott v. Sandford, Miranda v. Arizona, Brown v. Board of Education, and many more, this text covers foundational rulings and more recent decisions. Written with students in mind, Melvin I. Urofsky’s voice offers compelling and fascinating accounts of American legal milestones.
    Urofsky Melvin
    Supreme Decisions, Volume 2. Great Constitutional Cases and Their Impact, Volume Two: Since 1896 »
    Westview Press , Boulder , 2012
    Supreme Decisions: Great Constitutional Cases and Their Impact, Volumes 1 and 2, covers twenty-four Supreme Court cases (twelve per volume) that have shaped American constitutional law. Interpretive chapters shed light on the nuances of each case, the individuals involved, and the social, political, and cultural context at that particular moment in history. Discussing cases from nearly every decade in a two-hundred-year span, Melvin I. Urofsky expounds on the political climate of the United States from the country’s infancy through the new millennium. Featuring Marbury v. Madison, Dred Scott v. Sandford, Miranda v. Arizona, Brown v. Board of Education, and many more, this text covers foundational rulings and more recent decisions. Written with students in mind, Melvin I. Urofsky’s voice offers compelling and fascinating accounts of American legal milestones.
    Perry Barbara A.
    «The Supremes» »
    Peter Lang , New York, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Frankfurt am Main, Oxford, Wien, , 2009
    This second edition of «The Supremes» introduces readers to the Supreme Court's newest members, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, with vivid biographical sketches and riveting accounts of how they successfully navigated the politics inherent in judicial appointments. Compelling portraits of all nine justices are completely updated, with clear explanations of their votes and opinions in landmark cases involving free speech, religion, capital punishment, gun control, affirmative action, privacy, abortion, and terrorism. Never has the Supreme Court's story been so lively or so relevant!
    Items of Subsection 7.Economic and fiscal federalism
    Courchene Thomas J., Allan John R. (eds.)
    Canada: The State of the Federation 2009. Carbon Pricing and Environmental Federalism »
    McGill-Queen's University Press , Montreal , 2010
    The IIGR recently launched Carbon Pricing and Environmental Federalism in April 2010. Climate change that is attributable to global warming has emerged as one of the most significant public-policy issues for governments in the twenty-first century. Respecting neither intranational nor international boundaries, the emissions giving rise to the problem are especially difficult to combat in a multi-level state such as Canada, where environmental responsibility is shared by the federal and provincial governments. Initially prepared for an Institute of Intergovernmental Relations conference jointly sponsored by the Queen's Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy and by Sustainable Prosperity, the papers presented here are by an outstanding group of those actively involved in conducting research and developing policy in this contested area. The issues are analyzed from legal, economic and political perspectives, with particular attention paid to their intergovernmental and international aspects.
    Dafflon Bernard, Madiès Thierry
    Decentramento. Alcuni principi tratti dalla teoria del federalismo finanziario »
    Rubbettino , Soveria Mannelli , 2012
    Rangarajan C., Srivastava D. K.
    Federal and Fiscal Transfer in India »
    Oxford University Press , New York , 2011
    These essays comprehensively cover key aspects of fiscal federalism in India both in theoretical and empirical terms. An analysis of experiences and challenges of fiscal federalism as it evolved over the last sixty years since the First Finance Commission-reveals the emerging patterns in transfer of resources from the centre to the states. Management of Central and state finances relating to sustainability of debt and fiscal deficit is also an important aspect of the present discussion. Attention is drawn to the re-emergence of high levels of fiscal imbalance and the implementation of fiscal decentralization in India, particularly in the light of the recommendations by the Thirteenth Finance Commission. Comparison with two developed federal systems in the world, the Canadian and the Australian systems, is an important feature of this study.
    Nuti Sabina, Vainieri Milena (eds.)
    Federalismo fiscale e riqualificazione del servizio sanitario nazionale. Un binomio possibile »
    Il Mulino , Bologna , 2011
    Details
    Palermo Francesco, Nicolini Matteo (eds.)
    Federalismo fiscale in Europa. Esperienze straniere e spunti per il caso italiano »
    Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane , Napoli , 2012
    Details
    Majocchi Alberto, Velo Dario (eds.)
    Federalismo fiscale: una nuova sfida per l'Europa »
    CEDAM , Padova , 1999
    Fasten Erik R.
    Financial Markets and Public Finance: Sovereign Risks, Credit Markets and Fiscal Federalism »
    Nomos Verlag , Baden Baden , 2012
    The considerable sovereign indebtedness of developed economies and the accumulated risks in the financial sector trigger increasing financial and economic instability worldwide. The book examines the core interactions between financial markets and public finance: How do markets value fiscal sustainability and contingent liabilities of governments? Which institutions might contain public indebtedness? Which institutions contribute to the sound functioning of financial markets and how do they work? Which channels of transmission of fiscal policy on economic activity are relevant? How to contain sovereign debt crises?
    Boadway Robin, Shah Anwar
    Fiscal Federalism »
    Cambridge University Press , Cambridge , 2009
    This comprehensive account of the principles and practices of fiscal federalism is based on the currently accepted theoretical framework and best practices. The traditional topics of assignment of responsibilities, intergovernmental fiscal arrangements, fiscal competition, and grants are covered in a unified framework with reference to actual practices followed in federations around the world. Special issues such as local government and the implications of natural resource issues are considered along with emerging issues such as governance, corruption, and the effect of globalization and the information revolution on the nation-state. The treatment is nontechnical and suitable for a wide variety of audiences, including scholars, instructors, students, policy advisers, and practitioners.
    Bosch Núria, Durán José M. (eds.)
    Fiscal Federalism and Political Decentralization »
    Edward Elgar , Cheltenham , 2008
    This highly original book analyzes political decentralization and fiscal federalism in Canada and Germany, both traditional federal countries, and in Spain, a unitarian country engaged in the last two decades in a process of decentralization. The three key issues required for a well designed financing system are analyzed in depth herein, namely: tax assignment, equalization grants (i.e. redistribution of money from the wealthy regions or the national government to poorer regions) and the role of regional government in the administration of taxes. Fiscal Federalism and Political Decentralization will be of particular interest to academics and researchers of economics, public economics, public finance and public choice. It will also appeal to politicians and policy makers as well as organizations and agencies related to the economy and fiscal federalism.
    Vaneecloo Clément, Badriotti Augusta, Fornasini Margherita
    Fiscal Federalism in the European Union and Its Countries: A Confrontation between Theories and Facts »
    Peter Lang , Bruxelles, Bern, Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, New York, Oxford, Wien , 2006
    The book tackles a key issue for the European Union: Fiscal Federalism. It evaluates the applicability of this theoretical perspective for the EU. Conversely, it pinpoints ways in which the diversity of existing fiscal settings and organisations, both at national and European levels, can throw light on the theory. The study analyses two of the most important European policies: Cohesion Policy and the Stability and Growth Pact. It compares the episode of German Unification to the 2004 European Enlargement. It pioneers a cross-country analysis of the various national fiscal settings. Finally, it highlights the close links between the dynamics of decision-making related to the main budgetary choices and the integration process. The questions raised are crucial in the current context of economic and institutional uncertainty: How should we apprehend the Cohesion Policy, the main expression of European solidarity? How can the coordination of national fiscal policies be improved? How are European countries and their regions organised in fiscal and budgetary terms? What lessons can the EU draw from its own fiscal past and from that of its Member States? Over and above the originality of the answers provided by the authors, the book suggests that it would be difficult to take the integration process further without first clarifying what Europe can, should or wants to do.
    Details
    Abstract
    Table of contents
    Bird Richard M., Ebel Robert D. (eds.)
    Fiscal Fragmentation in Decentralized Countries »
    Edward Elgar , Cheltenham , 2007
    Most countries, developed and developing, are fiscally decentralized with regional and local governments of varying importance. In many of these countries, some of these sub-national governments differ substantially from others in terms of wealth, ethnic, religious, or linguistic composition. This book considers how fiscal arrangements may strengthen or weaken national solidarity and the effectiveness with which public services are provided. In particular, the nation’s ability to cope with changes created by decentralization is explored. Through a series of case studies, the countries of Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, China, Germany, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Russia, Spain and Switzerland are examined with an eye to how their public finances are structured and how these arrangements act to promote equilibrium or turmoil in the nation state. This is the first detailed consideration of the link between asymmetry and intergovernmental finance, as well as the first detailed study of how asymmetrical fiscal arrangements work in practice in a variety of different countries. Policy analysts concerned with intergovernmental finance and/or political legitimacy issues will find this synthesis of interest, as will readers concerned with the public policy of the many fiscally fragmented countries profiled here.
    Martinez-Vazquez Jorge, Sanz-Sanz José Félix (eds.)
    Fiscal Reform in Spain »
    Edward Elgar , Cheltenham , 2007
    This book provides an insightful and in-depth analysis of the fiscal reform process experienced in Spain over the last 30 years. The authors initially focus on the political economy of tax reform in Spain, and the fact that political and economic bodies were able to form alliances at key junctures during the process in order to push reforms forward. A comprehensive analysis of the main instruments of the Spanish tax system, including the introduction of VAT upon Spain’s accession to the European Common Market, is presented. The rapid fiscal decentralisation process that led Spain from being one of the most centralised countries in the world to being one of the least centralised is also discussed, as is the modernisation of the Spanish tax administration system. Written by a select group of scholars with deep knowledge of the Spanish fiscal system, this book will be of great interest to students, tax policymakers and researchers all over the world and especially in Latin America.
    Fiorentino Luigi (ed.)
    Gli acquisti delle amministrazioni pubbliche nella Repubblica federale »
    Il Mulino , Bologna , 2011
    Tommasetti Aurelio, Ranucci Stefano
    Gli effetti del federalismo municipale sul bilancio dell'ente locale »
    FrancoAngeli , Milano , 2012
    Details
    Brosio Giorgio, Maggi Maurizio, Piperno Stefano
    Governare fuori dal centro »
    Fondazione Adriano Olivetti , Rome , 2001
    Full text
    Brosio Giorgio, Piperno Stefano
    Governo e finanza locale. Un'introduzione alla teoria e alle istituzioni del federalismo fiscale »
    Giappichelli , Turin , 2009
    Ahmad Ehtisham, Brosio Giorgio (eds.)
    Handbook of fiscal federalism »
    Edward Elgar , Cheltenham; Northampton (MA) , 2006
    Details
    Caporossi Paola, Gitti Gregorio (eds.)
    Il federalismo che già c'è. Come vengono spesi i soldi dei cittadini nei Comuni italiani »
    Il Mulino , Bologna , 2011
    Details
    Murer Renato
    Il federalismo fiscale »
    CEDAM , Padova , 2011
    Details
    Consigli Tommaso
    Il federalismo fiscale e la finanza degli enti pubblici locali »
    Edimond , Città di Castello (Perugia) , 2011
    Details
    Antonini Luca (a cura di)
    L'imposizione ambientale nel quadro del nuovo federalismo fiscale »
    Jovene , Napoli , 2010
    Wallace Sally (ed.)
    State and Local Fiscal Policy: Thinking Outside the Box? »
    Edward Elgar , Cheltenham; Northampton (MA) , 2010
    The last few decades have presented a new set of challenges and opportunities for public finances. Demographic trends have put substantial pressure on non-discretionary public expenditures such as health care, while legal challenges have put pressure on education financing. The author illustrates how these national trends have also impacted state and local finances - some directly, others indirectly. The economic downturn further constrains state and local governments' options for dealing with national trends. Constituents' sentiment toward the size of government further exacerbates fiscal choices for state and local governments. In this broad and illuminating volume, experts on public finance discuss innovations in state and local tax policy implemented or considered over the course of the last three decades. The authors provide original work that analyzes whether state and local governments have 'gone outside the box' to deal with the strains of current public finances or have gotten along by adhering to the status quo. Well-known scholars in the area of state and local public finance consider actual practices and analyze potential policy changes for the future. Public policy and public finance scholars and students as well as policy makers will find much of interest in this impressive and original collection.
    Oates Wallace E.
    The economics of fiscal federalism and local finance »
    Edward Elgar , Cheltenham; Northampton (MA) , 1998
    Items of Subsection 8.The Central Bank(s)
    Apel Emmanuel
    Central Banking Systems Compared: The ECB, the Pre-Euro Bundesbank and the Federal Reserve System »
    Routledge , London-New York , 2007
    This new study provides a comprehensive survey of the recently established European financial system in comparison to previous European systems and the US Federal Reserve. This well-written contribution to financial economics should be of interest to academics as well as professionals concerned with financial systems around the world.
    Carlberg Michael
    Dynamic Policy Interactions in a Monetary Union »
    Springer , 2011
    This book studies the dynamics of monetary and fiscal interactions in the Euro Area. The policy makers are the European Central Bank and national governments. The primary target of the ECB is low inflation. And the primary target of a national government is low unemployment. However, there is a short-run trade-off between low inflation and low unemployment. Here the main focus is on sequential policy decisions. Another focus is on simultaneous and independent policy decisions. And a third focus is on policy cooperation. There are demand shocks, supply shocks, and mixed shocks. There are country-specific shocks and common shocks. The key question is: Given a shock, what are the dynamic characteristics of the resulting process?
    Fagan Gabriel, Morgan Julian (eds.)
    Econometric Models of the Euro-Area Central Banks »
    Edward Elgar , Cheltenham , 2005
    This book provides a description of the main macroeconomic models used by the European Central Bank and the euro area national central banks (Eurosystem). These models are used to help prepare economic projections and scenario analysis for individual countries and the euro area as a whole. The volume takes stock of the current macroeconometric modelling infrastructure available within the Eurosystem, highlighting not only the structures and main features of the models used but also their purposes and underlying model-building philosophies. A ‘bird’s eye view’ of the key details of the design, structure and characteristics of the models is provided, along with information on the responses of these models to a series of standard economic and policy shocks. This is the first time that a comprehensive description and systematic comparison of the main macroeconomic models has been published. This book will be of great interest to Central Bank and government economists, as well as academics, economists and students with an interest in central banking, econometric modelling, forecasting and macroeconomic policy.
    Various
    Eight European Central Banks (RLE Banking & Finance). Organization and Activities »
    Routledge , London , 2012
    Uniquely written from inside the banking world this book gives a comprehensive account of the organization and activities of the major central European banks during the 1980s. Each of the individually authored chapters has been written to a common pattern in order to facilitate reference and comparison. Each also contains an annex with a specimen return of the bank in question and brief explanatory notes on the various items.
    Axilrod Stephen H.
    Inside the Fed »
    MIT Press , Cambridge, MA , 2009
    Axilrod's discussion focuses on how the personalities of the various chairmen affected their capacity for leadership. He describes, for example, Arthur Burns's response to political pressure from the Nixon White House and Paul Volcker's radical shift to an anti-inflationary policy at the end of the 1970s—a transition in which Axilrod himself played a crucial role. As for the Greenspan years, Axilrod points to the unintended effects of the Fed's newfound "garrulousness" (the plethora of announcements and hints about policy intentions)—one of which was the Fed's loss of credibility in the aftermath of the chairman's 1996 comment about "irrational exuberance." And Axilrod incisively outlines the problems—including the subprime mess—inherited from Greenspan by the current chairman, Ben Bernanke. Great leadership in monetary policy, Axilrod says, is determined not by pure economic sophistication but by the ability to push through political and social barriers to achieve a paradigm shift in policy—and by the courage and bureaucratic moxie to pull it off.
    Zilioli Chiara, Selmayr Martin
    La Banca centrale europea »
    Giuffré , Milan , 2007
    presentazione di Tommaso Padoa Schioppa
    Abstract
    Giannini Curzio
    The Age Of Central Banks »
    Edward Elgar , Northampton, MA , 2011
    Moore Carl H.
    The Federal Reserve System. A History of the First 75 Years »
    McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers , Jefferson (North Carolina) , 2011
    For more than 100 years since its inception, the United States struggled through a variety of financial problems, crises, and would-be solutions to the problems of currency, credit and financial stability. On December 23, 1913, Woodrow Wilson signed into law the Federal Reserve Act, creating an institution patterned after the central banks of Europe yet still uniquely American. This is a complete revelation of the workings of the system--the early history, organization, leadership, evolution and development, and major figures. Appendices include the original Federal Act (not readily available elsewhere) and numerous reference tables covering 1914-1989.
    Thomas Lloyd B.
    The Financial Crisis and Federal Reserve Policy »
    Palgrave Macmillan , New York , 2011
    Written for the motivated non-specialist, this work provides the most clear and thorough coverage available of the causes and consequences of the Great Financial Crisis and the role of the Federal Reserve in preventing it from escalating into a massive depression a la the 1930s. The Great Recession that followed the popping of the dual credit and housing bubbles deprived more than 8 million Americans of their jobs and triggered a per capita loss of income of more $6,000 in 2008 and 2009 alone. This work provides a clear and comprehensive explanation of the myriad forces that combined to create the bubbles that were the source of the economic contraction. It retraces the chain reaction that took place as these bubbles deflated. The channels through which the crisis spilled over to produce the Great Recession are carefully laid out. The book is unique in thoroughly contrasting the Federal Reserve's brilliant implementation of policies that saved us from disaster in the recent crisis with its inept behavior that strongly contributed to the Great Depression of the 1930s.
    Wyplosz Charles (ed.)
    The New International Monetary System »
    Routledge , London, New York , 2010
    The New International Monetary System brings together twelve original contributions by leading scholars and practitioners to a conference convened in May 2008 on the occasion of the retirement of Alexander Swoboda. The contributions are arranged in three main parts. Part I deals with the international financial architecture, Part II examines the ever-controversial role of exchange rate regimes and Part III takes stock of the conduct of monetary policy and the challenges posed by the inflation-targeting strategy. The chapters provide considered assessments of virtually all the hotly debated issues that concern monetary policies seen from an international perspective. Edited by and with an introduction from Charles Wyplosz, the collection includes contributions from some of the key international figures in the field of monetary policy, central banking and exchange rate regimes to discuss contemporary international monetary issues. Contributors include Michael Bordo, Barry Eichengreen, Ronald McKinnon and Charles Goodhart. The volume also contains tributes from Paul Volcker and Jean-Pierre Roth
    Items of Subsection 9.Local government(s)
    Denters Bas, Rose Lawrence E. (eds.)
    Comparing Local Governance: Trends and Developments »
    Palgrave Macmillan , Basingstoke , 2005
    This book provides a broad-ranging assessment of continuities and change in the condition of local governance in the western industrialized world; leading experts from a wide range of countries demonstrate the whole spectrum of types and models of local government systems and networks. A central focus is on the impact of public management reforms, new forms of community governance and changes in central-local relations.
    Burgess Michael, Tarr G. Alan (eds.)
    Constitutional Dynamics in Federal Systems: Sub-National Perspectives »
    McGill-Queen's University Press , Montreal , 2012
    Providing a comprehensive view of the constitutional architecture of federations, contributors address change and development in federal states from the standpoint of constitutional revision and reform. Oftentimes change comes from the constituent units that together form a federation. With this in mind, political scientists and legal scholars from across Europe and North America address three important questions. First, what is the scope of national space - the range of discretion and autonomy in constitutional design and development - that is available to the sub-national units in federal system? Second, to what extent have the sub-national units occupied the constitutional space available to them? Third, what have been the effects of constitutional initiatives by sub-national units within their constitutional space on national constitutional development (vertical federalism), on constitutional development in other sub-national units (horizontal federalism), and on political development within their own borders? A comparative, interdisciplinary approach to constitutionalism in federal systems, this volume will be of particular interest to scholars studying federalism, comparative politics, public law, and political development.
    Mullen Rani D.
    Decentralization, Local Governance, and Social Wellbeing in India. Do Local Governments Matter? »
    Routledge , London/New York , 2011
    Over the past three decades, decentralization has been seen as the means for allowing local governments to become more accountable, and for encouraging the deepening of democracy and the building of village communities. By drawing on original village-level case studies of six villages in three different Indian states, this book presents a systematic analysis of the impact of decentralization on the delivery of social services at the local level within India. Supplementing national and state-level data and analyzing the different historical legacies in each state, the book argues that decentralization is not simply a function of the structure of the decentralization program or of the relationship between higher-tiered and local government. Rather, the possibility of decentralization affecting social outcomes depends on several interacting factors, including the distribution of power among local elites, the dynamics of political competition, and the level of civil society mobilization. By examining constitutionally-mandated political decentralization across India, this book identifies the circumstances under which local government structures can lead to improved social services and societal wellbeing, as well as presenting a substantial contribution to studies on South Asian Politics and Local Government.
    Corntassel Jeff , Witmer II Richard C.
    Forced federalism: contemporary challenges to indigenous nationhood »
    University of Oklahoma Press , Norman , 2008
    Over the past twenty years, American Indian policy has shifted from self-determination to “forced federalism,” as indigenous nations in the United States have encountered new threats from state and local governments over such issues as taxation, gaming, and homeland security. During the forced federalism era (1988–present), public perceptions of indigenous peoples as “rich Indians” have been just as damaging to Native nations as anti-sovereignty legislation. This book examines how state governments have manipulated “rich Indian” images when setting policies targeting indigenous peoples and discusses how indigenous nations have responded politically to these contemporary threats to their nationhood. Drawing on original survey data collected from Native governments from 1994 to 2000 and on interviews with Chief Chad Smith of the Cherokee Nation as well as other indigenous leaders, Jeff Corntassel and Richard C. Witmer II examine the power dynamics of the indigenous- state compacting system, and show how electoral activism among indigenous peoples has increased their political power while also giving rise to “rich Indian racism” among non-Indians—especially in the wake of the Indian Gaming and Regulatory Act. The authors warn that current widespread Native participation in non-Native politics is undermining both the political and the cultural foundations of indigenous nationhood, especially as the American culture of money gains influence in Native politics. They also offer specific strategies for regenerating indigenous communities in order to meet future challenges to their nationhood.
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    Zimmerman Joseph F.
    Horizontal Federalism. Interstate Relations »
    State University of New York Press - SUNY Press , Albany , 2011
    Provides detailed information and an analysis of interstate relations, and advances recommendations to improve the economic and political union. Cooperative interstate relations are essential for the maintenance of the economic union and the political union established by a confederacy or a federacy. This suggests that interstate relations would be featured prominently in the literature of the U.S. federal system, yet relatively few scholars have studied horizontal state relations. This volume provides detailed information and an analysis of interstate relations, and advances recommendations to improve the economic and political union. The ultimate goal is to stimulate scholarly research on important yet neglected interstate issues.
    Lasagni Chiara
    Il concetto di realtà locale nel mondo greco. Uno studio introduttivo nel confronto tra poleis e stati federali »
    Aracne , Roma , 2011
    Taverni Barbara
    L'Italia divisa. Gli Enti locali tra proporzionale e maggioritario (1946-1956) »
    Rubbettino , Soveria Mannelli , 2012
    Details
    Spalla Flavio, Dossena Antonio
    La Provincia in Italia. Il percorso di un'identità »
    Aracne , Roma , 2009
    Kincaid John, Steytler Nico (eds.)
    Local Government and Metropolitan Regions in Federal Countries »
    McGill-Queen's University Press , Montreal , 2009
    While local government is found in all federal countries, its place and role in the governance of these countries varies considerably. In some countries, local government is considered an essential part of the federal nature of the state and recognized in the constitution as such, whereas in others it is simply a creature of the sub-national states/provinces. When referring to local government it is more correct to refer to local governments (plural), as these institutions come in all shapes and sizes, performing widely divergent functions. They range from metropolitan municipalities of mega-cities to counties, small town councils, and villages. Their focus is either multi-purpose in the case of municipalities or single purpose in the case of special districts and school districts. What unites these institutions of state is that there is no level of government below them. That is also their strength and the source of their democratic claim - they are the government closest to the people. Political science experts from across the globe examine local governments by drawing on case studies of Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Switzerland, Spain, South Africa, and United States. Contributors include Raoul Blindenbacher (Forum of Federations), Martin Burgi (Ruhr-University Bochum), Luis Cesar (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro), Jaap de Visser (University of Western Cape), Habu Galadima (University of Jos), Sol Garson (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) Boris Graizbord (National College of Mexico), Rakesh Hooja (HCM Rajasthan State Institute of Public Administration, India), Andreas Kiefer (European Affairs Office of the Land Salzburg), Andreas Ladner (Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration), George Mathew (Institute of Social Sciences, India), Thomas Minger (Conference of Cantonal Governments, Switzerland), Mike Pagano (University of Illinois at Chicago), Chandra Pasma (Forum of Federations), Graham Sansom (University of Technology Sydney), Franz Schausberger (Salzburg University), Nico Steytler (University of Western Cape), Francisco Velasco Caballero (Universidad Autonoma de Madrid), and Robert Young (University of Western Ontario).
    Agranoff Robert
    Local Governments and Their Intergovernmental Networks in Federalizing Spain »
    McGill-Queen's University Press , Montreal , 2010
    Spain has been changing its institutional framework in important ways over the past thirty years. The country has gone from a dictatorship to a democracy, from a unitary state to a decentralized one, from authoritarian politics to a self-conscious, civil society with a developed welfare state within a European context. Federal development in post-Franco Spain reaches far beyond familiar Basque/Catalan nationalistic struggles and includes the creation of an increasing number of intergovernmental networks by local governments, particularly municipalities, as they engage regional, central, and other local entities to operate programs and services in basic and emergent policy areas. By examining the intergovernmental networks in an increasingly federalized Spain, Robert Agranoff shows that local governments, although they occupy a strong position in legal and constitutional terms, are in practice subordinate to both central and regional governments and therefore lack adequate power and resources to deal with both the responsibilities assigned to them and those they'd like to assume. As a result, local governments are forced into a series of intergovernmental arrangements and transactions with governmental and nongovernmental organizations. The Spanish situation provides important insights into intergovernmental relations in all decentralized countries, particularly in revealing how autonomy can create a host of complex intergovernmental linkages, partnerships, and transactions that require complex networks at the elected official and administrative level.
    Antonini Luca
    L’attuazione regionale del «terzo decentramento»: analisi comparata dell’esperienza lombarda »
    Giuffré , Milan , 2001
    Abstract
    Padovani Emanuele, Young David W.
    Managing Local Governments. Designing Management Control Systems that Deliver Value »
    Routledge , London/New York , 2011
    Local Government is an area where management skills are tested to the extreme. With political considerations evident both locally and nationally, managing resources can be complex and subject to change. This book introduces new concepts and new ways of doing business that can greatly enhance the value of the services a local government provides to its citizens, without putting a greater financial burden on taxpayers. Padovani and Young present out-of-the-box thinking based on solid research and experience to discuss topics such as: •Incorporating outcome indicators into strategic planning and budgeting •Building a LG’s budget with ‘cost drivers’ •Expanding the concept of ‘enterprise funds’ •Assessing and better managing the risk associated with outsourcing •Using the concept of ‘shadow pricing’ to compare public with private sector costs for services This book is a must-read for students of public administration and management, senior and middle managers in local governments around the world, and citizens who are concerned with more effective management of their local government’s programs and services.
    Bilancia Paola (ed.)
    Modelli innovativi di governance territoriale. Profili teorici e applicativi »
    Giuffré , Milan , 2011
    Gardner James A., Rossi Jim (eds.)
    New Frontiers of State Constitutional Law. Dual Enforcement of Norms »
    Oxford University Press , New York , 2010
    New Frontiers of State Constitutional Law: Dual Enforcement of Norms, edited by James A. Gardner and Jim Rossi, projects a new vision for state constitutional law through a collection of essays that reflect a shift in legal thinking about the relationship between national and subnational systems of constitutional law. This work charts a new course that gives voice to a recent, rising chorus of dissent among scholars and judges, namely that national and subnational systems of constitutional law cannot be adequately understood in isolation from one another. To the contrary, they are linked in a web of jurisprudential, social, and pragmatic connections structured by the American system of federalism. Here, multiple layers of constitutional law function together in a complex, interdependent process in which constitutional norms are developed, articulated, and enforced. The essays illuminate the role that state constitutions must play in any theory of federalism, and exemplify a fresh approach to state constitutionalism by discussing a range of issues, including recent debates regarding state constitutional protections for same-sex marriage. The entire work embraces the struggle between state and national power for dominance in American law and places both on equal ground. It contends that constitutional meaning in a federal system is never static and that it evolves over time. In addition to covering methods of judicial review, it discusses the handling of constitutional claims by courts at the state and national level and closely examines the way that courts and constitutions protect individual rights in a federal system.
    Lazar Harvey, Leuprecht Christian (eds.)
    Spheres of Governance »
    McGill-Queen's University Press , Kingston - Queen's Policy Studies , 2007
    Local governments are becoming increasingly important around the world and functions are being shifted across levels of government. This timely comparative analysis breaks new ground in the study of multilevel governance, intergovernmental relations, and municipal government. Spheres of Governance systematically compares the challenges faced by municipalities in Australia, France, Germany, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States, with emphasis on the relationship between the municipal and federal levels. Each chapter analyzes a municipality in relation to its responsibilities, functions, and organization; constitutional and fiscal position; relations with the central government; provincial and state governments mediation of these relationships; and public policy development, especially with regard to emergency planning and immigration and settlement. The chapters also highlight the tensions and pressures for change in the systems.
    Abstract
    Heinelt Hubert, Bertrana Xavier (eds.)
    The Second Tier of Local Government in Europe. Provinces, Counties, Départements and Landkreise in Comparison »
    Routledge , London/New York , 2011
    This book takes a comparative approach to local government across 14 European countries, looking at processes of decentralisation, regionalisation and reforms of local government. Examining second levels of government, such as UK Counties, French Départements, Italian and Spanish Provinces, and German Landkreise, this book reveals both the specific characteristics of particular countries, and also similarities across Europe. As the first book focussing on the second level of local governments, this monograph combines comparative analysis of institutional trends and reforms of local government with examination of country-specific features to provide an original and insightful evaluation of European governance. Organised along common thematic lines, leading experts in their field outline the historical development of local government, and analyse recent or current reform debates. The book argues democratic quality and effectiveness of this territorial level of government is in the focus of on-going debates about the rescaling of statehood and a shift from ‘government to governance’. The Second Tier of Local Government in Europe will be of interest to students and scholars studying local government, public administration and multi-level governance.
    Dollery Brian E., Robotti Lorenzo (eds.)
    The Theory And Practice Of Local Government Reform »
    Edward Elgar , Cheltenham , 2008
    The Theory and Practice of Local Government Reform explores the entire spectrum of local government reform and focuses specifically on the question of structural reform in local government. It presents new theoretical models in an area largely lacking in analytical foundations and assesses the validity of these models against recent structural developments. Changes to local government are some of the most heartfelt and hotly contested political issues in advanced democracies today. The authors draw on recent policy developments in seven countries, as well as academic literature, to present new thinking on optimal municipal governance in the face of future policy challenges. This timely book will be invaluable for both undergraduate and graduate local government students in political science, public administration and public policy courses. Practitioners and policymakers in local government will also find this book an enlightening read.
    Description
    Items of Subsection 10.Processes of federalization and decentralization
    Palermo Francesco, Hrbek Rudolf, Zwilling Carolin, Alber Elisabeth (eds.)
    Auf dem Weg zu asymmetrischem Föderalismus? »
    Nomos Verlag , Baden Baden , 2007
    Falleti Tulia G.
    Decentralization and Subnational Politics in Latin America »
    Cambridge University Press , Cambridge , 2010
    Is it always true that decentralization reforms put more power in the hands of governors and mayors? In postdevelopmental Latin America, the surprising answer to this question is no. In fact, a variety of outcomes are possible, depending largely on who initiates the reforms, how they are initiated, and in what order they are introduced. Tulia G. Falleti draws on extensive fieldwork, in-depth interviews, archival records, and quantitative data to explain the trajectories of decentralization processes and their markedly different outcomes in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. In her analysis, she develops a sequential theory and method that are successful in explaining this counterintuitive result. Her research contributes to the literature on path dependence and institutional evolution and will be of interest to scholars of decentralization, federalism, subnational politics, intergovernmental relations, and Latin American politics.
    Trench Alan (ed.)
    Devolution and power in the United Kingdom »
    Manchester University Press , Manchester University Press , 2007
    Presentation and Contents
    Palmer Rosanne
    Devolution, Asymmetry and Europe: Multi-Level Governance in the United Kingdom »
    Peter Lang , Bruxelles, Bern, Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, New York, Oxford, Wien, , 2008
    The process of devolution in the United Kingdom (UK) established new institutions at the sub-state level with a range of legislative and executive competencies. Yet many of these devolved powers also have a European Union (EU) dimension, whilst EU policy remains a formally reserved power of the UK central government. This book explores how this multi-level relationship has been managed in practice, examining the participation of the devolved Scottish and Welsh institutions in the domestic process of formulating the UK's EU policy positions during their first four-year term. It also places their experiences in a broader comparative framework by drawing upon the experiences of multi-level governance in practice in other Member States of the EU.
    Brosio Giorgio
    Equilibri instabili: politica ed economia nell'evoluzione dei sistemi federali »
    Boringhieri , Torino , 1994
    Mastromarino Anna , Castellà Andreu Josè Maria (eds.)
    Esperienze di regionalismo differenziato. Il caso italiano e quello spagnolo a confronto »
    Giuffré , Milan , 2009
    The Centre for Studies on Federalism, in conjunction with Piedmont Region and the Grupo de Estudios sobre la forma de Estado, with a view to participating in the debate on the issues of decentralisation and regional autonomy, has devoted particular attention to the comparison between the Italian and the Spanish cases, the latter considered by many as the closest experience to the dynamics in progress in our Country.The volume encompasses the papers presented at the Conference on Differentiated Regionalism. Comparison between the Italian and the Spanish experiences, organised in Moncalieri (Italy) on November 23-24, 2007.
    Swenden Wilfried
    Federalism and Regionalism in Western Europe: A Comparative and Thematic Analysis »
    Palgrave Macmillan , Basingstoke , 2006
    Federalism and Regionalism in Western Europe seeks to clarify the relevance, problems and consequences of operating federal systems of government in Western Europe. It discusses the institutional features of federalism and regionalism and brings in recent insights from the viewpoint of neo-institutional scholarship. Rather than providing a case-by-case approach, the book offers a thematic analysis of federalism and regionalism. In addition to debating definitions and institutional features of federalism and regionalism, the book also analyzes and explains varieties in the allocation of resources, in the political decision-making process and in the policy content and problem-solving capacity of West-European federal and regional states.
    Details
    Requejo Ferran, Nagel Klaus-Jürgen (eds.)
    Federalism beyond Federations. Asymmetry and Processes of Resymmetrisation in Europe »
    Ashgate , Aldershot , 2010
    Since the end of the Second World War, a set of democratic European countries have established a decentralized system of government based on federal or regional patterns. Some of these systems initially displayed an asymmetrical trend, however, some democracies have implemented a subsequent process of re-symmetrization that changes the structure and the legitimization of the previous political agreements. Charting the evolution of decentralization processes and asymmetries implemented in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, leading international scholars illustrate which countries have evolved more symmetrically, why this is so and what the role of political actors in these processes have been. In doing so, each case study: – Examines the causes of the legal and constitutional asymmetries and the main political cleavages. – Analyses the main institutions, actors and factors that influence the political dynamics of the territorial debate. – Questions whether there is such a process of re-symmetrization – Presents the main actors in favour of the process of re-symmetrization and of maintaining the constitutional and legal asymmetries Written accessibly and contributing to key debates on federalism and asymmetry, Federalism beyond Federations appeals to academics, politicians, decision-makers and all those interested in the political problems facing modern democracies.
    Antonini Luca
    Il regionalismo differenziato: la politica delle differenze, la welfare society e le prospettive del regionalismo italiano anche nel confronto con la riforma del regime speciale per il Trentino - Alto Adige »
    Giuffré , Milan , 2000
    Di Giovine Alfonso, Mastromarino Anna (eds.)
    Il regionalismo italiano in cerca di riforme »
    Giuffré , Milan , 2008
    This volume collects the reports carried out on the occasion of the "Italian Regionalism in search of reforms", which was held in Moncalieri on 9 and 10 March 2007, at the Center on Federalism studies.
    Durviaux Ann Lawrence, Matagne Geoffroy, Radoux Emmanuel, Verjans Pierre (dir./eds.)
    Le code de la démocratie locale et de la décentralisation. Enjeux et bilans politiques »
    Larcier , Paris-Bruxelles , 2012
    Fougerouse Jean (dir.)
    L’Etat régional, une nouvelle forme d’Etat ? »
    Bruylant , 2008
    Details
    Table of contents
    Brancati Dawn
    Peace by Design. Managing Intrastate Conflict through Decentralization »
    Oxford University Press , New York , 2011
    Why does political decentralization seem reduce intrastate conflict more in some countries than in others? This question constitutes the central focus of Peace by Design. Brancati argues that the ability of decentralization to reduce intrastate conflict hinges on the electoral strength of regional parties. According to Brancati, regional parties tend to promote intrastate conflict by creating regional identities, advocating legislation harmful to other regions and regional minorities, and mobilizing groups to engage in conflict or supporting extremist organizations that do. Brancati also highlights a number of conditions under which regional parties are more likely to promote conflict, such as democratic transitions. Brancati further argues that decentralization increases the strength of regional parties depending on particular features of decentralization (i.e., the proportion of legislative seats a region possesses, the number of regional legislatures in a country, the upper house election procedures, the sequencing of national and regional elections). These features of decentralization vary across countries and are fundamental to explaining why decentralization is not effective in reducing conflict in all countries. Brancati's ultimate conclusion is that decentralization can be effectively designed to promote peace, as long as it is designed to encourage statewide parties to incorporate regional parties into their agendas and to limit the strength of regional parties. The author provides compelling evidence for her argument through three detailed cases studies (e.g., Czechoslovakia, Spain, and India) and a rigorous quantitative analysis in which she introduces a new dataset on constituency-level elections that will prove an invaluable resource for many future studies.
    Ross Cameron (ed.)
    Russian Regional Politics under Putin and Medvedev »
    Routledge , London/New York , 2011
    Many authors have alluded to the unique nature of Russia’s dual transition and its difficult task of simultaneously reforming its economy and polity. But there is in fact a third transition still far from completed that is of no less importance, the need to reconfigure central-regional relations and to create a stable and viable form of federalism. There are vast economic, demographic and political variations across the Russian federation. Therefore an understanding of regions, and the causes and consequences of cross-regional diversity, is a vitally important dimension of Russian politics that should not be overlooked. It is only by studying regional level politics that we can gain a full understanding of the complexities of Russia’s protracted transition. This edited volume examines regional politics and centre-regional relations over the period 2000-2010, including the most recent developments which have taken place under the new dual leadership of Medvedev and Putin. All eight chapters have been written by leading experts in the field of Russian politics. In addition to chapters on regional elections, parties, regional governors and local politics, there are three chapters devoted to the important developments which are currently taking place in the Caucasus. This book was published as a special issue of Europe-Asia Studies.
    Chebankova Elena
    Russia’s Federal Relations »
    Routledge , 2009
    The development of centre-regional relations has been at the forefront of Russian politics since the formation of the Russian state and numerous efforts have been made by the country’s subsequent rulers to create a political model that would be suitable for the effective management of its vast territory and multiple nationalities. This book examines the origins, underlying foundations, and dynamics of the federal reforms conducted by President Putin throughout the eight years of his presidency. It offers a comprehensive analysis of the nature of Russia’s federal relations during this period, as well as an examination of factors that led to the development of the extant model of centre-regional dialogue. It discusses how and why the outcomes of most domestic reforms and policies significantly vary from the initial intentions envisaged by the federal centre, and argues that despite a range of positive developments the reforms resulted mainly in a redistribution of powers between the two levels of government and not in a fundamental rethinking of centre-regional relations towards genuine federalism.
    Keating Michael (ed.)
    Scottish Social Democracy: Progressive Ideas for Public Policy »
    Peter Lang , Bruxelles, Bern, Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, New York, Oxford, Wien , 2007
    Scotland is a country of strong progressive traditions and could be a model for a renewed social democracy. Devolution has given it a chance to show what a small self-governing nation, within a wider British and European Union, can do. Yet the authors of this volume are disappointed by the lack of policy innovation since 1999. In an effort to relaunch the debate, they offer a range of ideas for new thinking and new policies for Scotland of the twenty-first century. Whether independent or devolved, Scotland faces the same challenge: how to harness the energies of the nation and to combine economic competitiveness with social cohesion.
    Bologna Chiara
    Stato federale e «national interest». Le istanze unitarie nell'esperienza statunitense »
    Bononia University Press , Bologna , 2010
    Details
    Colombo Alessandro (ed.)
    Subsidiarity Governance: Theoretical and Empirical Models »
    Palgrave Macmillan , New York , 2012
    In Europe, the subsidiarity principle has been enjoying renewed consensus in recent years. This book offers an insight on the original meaning of subsidiarity, particularly the horizontal dimension of subsidiarity, which challenge traditional patterns of government. Prominent international scholars and experts from various fields "read" the distinctive wealth of government experience accumulated in Lombardy and the experience of governing in their own various countries. This book is for anyone willing to add a new perspective, that of subsidiarity, to the debate on governance reform.
    Hubbard Ruth, Paquet Gilles (eds.)
    The Case for Decentralized Federalism »
    University of Ottawa Press , Ottawa , 2010
    Keating Michael
    The Government of Scotland »
    Edinburgh University Press , Edinburgh , 2005
    A critical challenge to Scotland's new system of government is the making and implementation of public policy. This book offers a comprehensive account of the policy process in contemporary Scotland. It identifies the key actors and institutions, patterns of policy making, and the extent of convergence and divergence in comparison with England and other devolved territories. Case studies of policy making in urban and rural policy, education, social inclusion and economic development allow the reader to see how policy making works in practice. There is an analysis of financial planning and decision making, and an examination of Scotland's role in UK and European policy networks. Comparisons are made with other devolved governments in Europe and beyond. The book is based on extensive research, including interviews with leaders of interest groups, politicians and officials across the Scottish Executive and in the Scottish Parliament, an analysis of spending patterns, an examination of the legislative output, and case studies of policy making.
    Details
    Keating Michael
    The new regionalism in Western Europe: territorial restructuring and political change »
    Edward Elgar , Cheltenham , 1998
    Details
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