New Directions in Federalism Studies

126 Pages·2010·16.659 MB·English

by  Jan Erk, Wilfried Swenden

61 European and North American 64 Religion and Politics in Europe, New Directions in
Policy Change the Middle East and North
Drivers and dynamics Africa Federalism Studies
Edited by Giliberto Capano and Edited by JeffiAey Haynes
Michael Howlett
65 New Directions in Federalism
62 Referendums and Studies
Representative Democracy Edited by Jan Erk and
Responsiveness, accountability WilfiAied Swenden
and deliberation
Edited by Maija Setala and
Theo Schiller
Edited by Jan Erk and
63 Education in Political Science Wilfried Swenden
Discovering a neglected field
Edited by Anja P. Jakobi,
Kerstin Martens and
Klaus Dieter Wolf
Also avai!ablefiAom ROlltledge in association with the ECPR:
Sex Equality Policy in Western Europe, Edited by Frances Gardiner; Demo
cracy and Green Political Thought, Edited by Brian Doherty & Marius de
Geus; The New Politics of Unemployment, Edited by Hugh Compston;
Citizenship, Democracy and Justice in the New Europe Edited by Percy B.
Lehning & Albert Weale; Private Groups and Public Life, Edited by Jan W.
van Deth; The Political Context of Collective Action, Edited by Ricca
Edmondson; Theories of Secession, Edited by Percy Lehning; Regionalism
Across the North/South Divide, Edited by Jean Grugel & Wi! HOlit.
I
~ ~~o~!!;n~~;up
LONDON AND NEW YORK
Contents
First published 2010 List of illustrations xi
by Routledge List ofc ontributors xiii
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Ox on OXI4 4RN
Series editor's preface xvii
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
The new wave of federalism studies
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
JAN ERK AND WILFRIED SWENDEN
© 2010 Selection and editorial matter, Jan Erk and WilH-ied Swenden;
individual chapters, the contributors
2 Understanding federal change: types of federalism and
Typeset in Times by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear
institutional evolution in the Spanish and German
Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJI Digital, Padstow, Cornwall
federal systems 16
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now CESAR COLINO
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers. 3 More courageous than expected? The 2006 reform of
German federalism 34
British LibrGlY Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ROLAND STURM
LibrGlJ! ofC ongress Cataloging in Publication Data
New directions in federalism studies/edited by Jan Erk and Wilfried 4 The role of the federal judiciary in union-state relations
Swenden.
p. cm. in India 50
Includes bibliographical reterences and index.
REKHA SAXENA AND MAHENDRA P. SINGH
I. Federal government. 2. Federal government-Europe. 3. Decentralization
in government. 4. Decentralization in government-Europe. 5. Comparative
government. I. Erk, Jan. II. Swenden, Wilfried. 5 Patronage-preserving federalism? Legislative
JC355.N422009 malapportionment and subnational fiscal policies 68
320.4' 049-dc22
JORGE P. GORDIN
2009020479
ISBN I 0: 0-415-54844-6 (hbk)
6 Electoral patterns in federal countries: moderating in
ISBN 10: 0-203-86543-X (ebk)
the case of Spain 83
ISBNI3: 978-0-415-54844-1 (hbk)
ISBNI3: 978-0-203-86543-9 (ebk) CAROLINA G. DE MIGUEL MOYER
7 Party politics in multi-level systems: party responses to
new challenges in European democracies 106
KLAUS DETTERBECK AND EVE HEPBURN
x Contents
8 Toward a resolution of the paradox of federalism 126
Illustrations
LAWRENCE M. ANDERSON
9 Federalism and ethnic conflict management: rival
hypotheses, the attitudinal missing link and comparative
evidence 141
ENRIC MARTiNEZ-HERRERA
10 The distinct effects of federalism and decentralization on
performance 157
JAN BIELA AND ANNIKA HENNL
Figures
11 Making fiscal federalism self-enforcing: Germany,
2. I Spatial representation of the relative position and
Australia, and Switzerland compared 172
direction of change of the two countries with relation to
DIETMAR BRAUN
the four ideal types of federal subsystem 31
5.1 Regression-line fit 79
12 Taking stock during times of change 188
5.2 Relationship between Fondo de Desarrollo Ehlctrico
JAN ERK AND WILFRIED SWENDEN
del Interior allocations and malapportionment 80
6.1 Vote share differences for national incumbent pat1y 87-90
Bibliography 207 6.2 Vote share differences for national incumbent party in
Index 234 all regional elections 91
6.3 Vote share differences for national opposition party in
all regional elections 92
6.4 Regional elections aggregated 1982-2003 (national
party vote share) 103
7.1 Continuum of party strategies 122
9.1 Standardized effect of decentralization on rejection of
the host political community according to GOP per
capita (given in quartiles) in four nationalities - 152
10.1 Scatterplot showing the countries' position on the
unitary-federal dimension and the centralized
decentralized dimension 168
Tables
2.1 Summary of the dimensions and variables of the formal
framework 22
2.2 Dimensions and variables of federal relations 23
2.3 Types of federal subsystems according to formal
framework and federal relations 24
2.4 Four ideal types of federal subsystems and their
dimensions 26
2.5 Nature and evolution of the formal framework in Spain 27
xii Illustrations
2.6 Nature and evolution of the formal framework in
Contributors
Germany 28
2.7 Nature and evolution of federal relations in Spain 29
2.8 Nature and evolution of federal relations in Germany 30
2.9 Scores on the two indexes 31
3.1 Federalism narratives which legitimized path loyalty 41
3.2 The new federalism narrative 43
3.3 Diversity in German federalism after 2006 46
5.1 Determinants of Fondo de Desarrollo Etectrico del
Interior transfers 78
6.1 Years of national and regional elections in Spain
( 1982-2007) 84
6.2 Explaining regional vote differences 94 Lawrence M. Anderson is Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin
6.3 Explaining vote difference for national incumbent parties 98 Whitewater. His cun'ent research interest focuses on the link between federalism
6.4 Explaining vote difference for national opposition parties 99 and secessionism. He is currently completing a book on federalism and seces
6.5 Change in vote share (% points) with respect to previous sionism in the antebellum American South. His work has appeared in Regional
national election 102 and Federal Studies, Publius: The Journal of Federalism, Nationalism and
7.1 Typology of party strategies 116 Ethnic Politics, TheOlY and Society, and elsewhere.
9.1 Standardized OLS regression coefficients of rejection of
Jan Biela is a doctoral student and research associate in political science at the
the host political community 150
University of Cologne, Germany. Aside from his interest in the relationship
10.1 Interaction effects between federalism, decentralization
between federalism, decentralization, and public policy, his research focuses
and performance 161
on institutional change and public service in emerging and developing econo
10.2 Correlations of federalism and decentralization indices 165
mies.
10.3 Federalism, decentralization, and macroeconomic
performance 166 Dietmar Braun is Professor of Political Science at the University of Lausanne,
10.4 Federalism, decentralization, and performance in policy Switzerland. His research interests are in comparative political science, feder
areas 167 alism, science and technology policies, and political theory. Among his recent
10.5 Classification of federalism and decentralization in the publications are (with F. Gilardi) Delegation in ContemporGlY Democracies,
literature 169 London: Routledge, 2006, "Modernising Federalism. Towards Convergence
in the Organisation of Intergovernmental Relations?", Acta Politica, Vol. 43,
No.1, pp. 4-25, and "Constitutional Change in Switzerland", Publius: The
Journal of Federalism , Vol. 39, No.2, pp. 1-27.
Cesar Colino is Associate Professor (Profesor Titular) at the Department
of Political Science and Public Administration at the Spanish Distance
Learning University (UNED) in Madrid. He has been visiting researcher at
the Max-Planck Institute for the Study of Society (MP(fG) in Cologne and
Research Officer (Forschungsreferent) at the Institute for Research in Public
Administration (FaV), in Speyer, Germany. He has also been visiting fellow
at the Center for Federal Studies at the University of Kent (UK) (2008). His
research revolves around comparative federalism, intergovernmental relations
and constitutional reform in federations. His publications include the book
Cambio institucional y reforma en las federaciones: Espafia y Alemania en
perspectiva comparada, Madrid: Centro de Estudios Politicos y Constitucion
ales (forthcoming). He is currently co-editing (with Luis Moreno) Diversity
xiv Contributors Contributors xv
and Unity in Federal Systems (Vol. VII, "Global Dialogue on Federalism"), Visiting Fellow at the Universities of British Columbia (Vancouver), McGill
Montreal and Kingston/London/Ithaca: McGill-Queen's University Press. (Montreal), Humboldt (Berlin) and Cagliari (Sardinia). She is also Co-Editor
Recent articles on federal issues include "Reforming the Constitution without and Book Reviews Editor of the Journal of Regional & Federal Studies,
Constitutional Reform: Spanish Federalism and the Revision of Catalonia's and Academic Coordinator of the ECPR Standing Group on Federalism and
Statute of Autonomy", Publius: The Journal of Federalism, Vol. 39, No.2; Regionalism. Her research explores the dynamics of regional party systems,
"The Spanish Model of Devolution and Regional Governance: Evolution, multi-level politics and regionalist parties in Europe and Canada. She has
Motivations and Effects on Public Policy-making", Policy & Politics, Vol. authored The Politics of Autonomy in Europe. Regional Party Strategies in
36, No.4, and "Den spanischen F6deralimus vertiefen oder transformieren? Multi-level Systems, Manchester University Press, 20 to - forthcoming, edited
Die neue Reformrunde und die Herausforderungen fUr den Autonomiestaat", New Challenges for Stateless Nationalists and Regionalists, special issue of
Jahrbuch des Foderalismus 2007, Europaisches Zentrum fUr F6deralismus Regional and Federal Studies, 2009 - forthcoming, and has published sev
Forschung, Baden-Baden: Nomos. eral articles in journals such as West European Politics, Cambridge Journal
C!.f Regions, Economy and Society, Regional and Federal Studies and German
Klaus Detterbeck is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of
Politics.
Magdeburg, Germany. He works on political parties, federalism and regional
ism. His publications include Del' Wandel politischer Parteien in Westeuropa, Enric Martinez-Herrera is M. Garcia Pelayo fellow at the Centro de Estudios
Opladen: Leske & Budrich, 2002, "Cartel Parties in Western Europe?", Party Politicos y Constitucionales (Spain) and a part-time lecturer at Universidad
Politics, Vol. 11, No.2, pp. 172-193 and Zusammenlegung von Bundes- und Aut6noma de Madrid. He conducts research on political behaviour, institu
Landtagswahlen? Die Terminierllng von Wahlen lind ihre Konsequenzen im tions and public policies in comparative perspective, with particular attention
europaischen Vergleich, Glitersloh: Bel1elsmann Stiftung, 2006. to nationalism and interethnic relations. He is author of more than twenty
scholarly publications, contributing to many edited volumes as well as to
Jan Erk teaches at the University of Leiden. He has research interests in vari
journals such as the European Journal C!.f Political Research, the Interna
ous areas of Comparative Politics, including federalism. He is the author of
tional Journal on Multicultural Societies, the Revista Espanola de Investiga
Explaining Federalism: State, Society and Congruence, London: Routledge,
ciones Sociologicas and Nations and Nationalism (forthcoming). He currently
2007. His work has appeared in the journals Comparative Politics, Com
leads the project "Framing Attitudes towards Migration and Asylum in 15 EU
parative Political Studies, Publius: The Journal of Federalism, Journal of
Countries" .
Common Market Studies, Nations and Nationalism, West European Politics,
Regional and Federal Studies, Canadian Journal of Political Science, Jour Carolina G. de Miguel Moyer is a PhD candidate at the University of Michi
nal of Public Policy, Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, among others. gan, Ann Arbor, US. Her dissertation explores the relationship between
sub-national power asymmetries and regionalization of pal1y systems. Her
Jorge P. Gordin is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Latin American
research interests are federalism and decentralization, party systems, regional
Studies, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg. He
parties and voting behavior from a comparative pe~spective. She is also work
has published articles on federalism, decentralization, c1ientelism and polit
ing on an article with Mark Tessler and Amaney Jamal on electoral participa
ical parties in comparative perspective in such journals as European Journal
tion in competitive autocratic regimes in the Middle East.
of Political Research, Publius: the Journal of Federalism, Regional and Fed
eral Studies, Journal of Public Policy, and Scandinavian Political Studies. Rekha Saxena is Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science, Uni
versity, Delhi. She was a Doctoral and Faculty Research Fellow of the Shastri
Annika Hennl is a doctoral student and research associate in political science
Indo-Canadian Institute at the Department of Political Studies and Institute of
at the University of Cologne, Gennany. Her research is situated in the field
Intergovernmental Relations at Queen's University in Canada in 1999-2000
of comparative politics. Next to analyzing the relationship between federal
and 2003 respectively. She was twice appointed as a country co-coordinator
ism, decentralization, and public policy, her work focuses on the impact of
for India on Global Dialogue Programs of the Forum of Federations, Canada
candidate selection and electoral systems on political representation. Annika
on the themes of "Legislative and Executive Governance in Federal Coun
Hennl has published in Electoral Studies, Politische VierteljahresschriJt, and
tries" and "Intergovernmental Relations in Federal Countries". She has also
Zeitschr(ftfiir Politikwissenscha,ft.
been appointed as a Member of a Task-Force of the Second Commission on
Eve Hepburn is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in Politics at the Univer Centre-State Relations set up by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, Govern
sity of Edinburgh. Previously she held the positions of ESRC Postdoctoral ment of India. Her recent publications include: Situating Federalism: lvlech
Fellow at Edinburgh, Research Associate at the University of Aberdeen, and an isms of Intergovernmental Relations in Canada and India (Delhi: Manohar
xvi Contributors
Publishers, 2006) (authored), Mapping Canadian Federalism for India (Delhi:
Series editor's preface
Konark Publishers, 2002) (edited), India at the Polls: Parliamentmy Elec
tions in the Federal Phase (Delhi: Orient Longman, 2003) and Indian Politics:
Contempormy Issues and Concerns, (Delhi: Prentice Hall of India, 2008) (co
authored). She specializes in the study of federal political institutions, elections
and party systems in a comparative perspective.
Mahendra P. Singh (PhD, University of Alberta 1975) is Professor Emeritus
of Political Science at the University of New Delhi. He served as Director of
Research and Publications in the Indian council of Social Science Research
New Delhi (1979-1980). He has authored, co-authored, edited or co-edited
more than a dozen books and 50 research papers in professional journals in
India and abroad. Recent books include India at the Polls: Parliamentmy Elec
It can hardly be called into question that the current volume addresses a highly
tions in the Federal Phase, New Delhi: Orient Longman, 2003. Indian Political
relevant topic. As the editors point out in their introductory chapter, some 40
System, 3rd edition, Delhi: Manak, 2005, Coalition Politics in India: Problems
percent of the world's population lives in federal states. To be sure, if we
and Prospects, New Delhi: Manohar, 2004, Indian Federalism in the Netv
exclude those who do not live in democratic systems, the proportion goes down
Millennium, New Delhi: Manohar, 2003, Indian Judicimy and Politics: The
considerably. Furthennore, if we wanted to ascertain exact figures we would be
Changing Landscape, New Delhi: Manohar, 2007, and Indian Politics: Con
confronted with the dual challenge of defining "democracy" and "federalism" -
tempormy Issues and Concerns, New Delhi, Prentice-Hall of India, 2008. He
concepts which lend themselves to a considerable degree of ambiguity. Yet, it is
has participated in several national and international conferences. He is pres
beyond doubt that the number of federal systems has grown significantly in
ently contracted as country coordinator along with Rekha Sexena of the Global
recent decades, sometimes as a result of external pressures emanating from inter
Dialogue on Federalism on the theme of Intergovernmental Relations spon
national monetary institutions such as the World Bank or the IMF, who have
sored by the Forum of Federations, Ottawa.
advocated vertical power sharing as a means of enhancing economic efficiency
Roland Sturm is Professor of Political Science at the University of Erlangen in developing nations. Such demands need not necessarily lead to a fully fledged
NUrnberg, Germany. He has published in the fields of comparative politics, federal system. There are many examples of vertical power sharing which stop
comparative public policy, European studies and political economy. His latest short of a true transfer of political authority to sub-national units - which is the
books include Regional Governance (Leverkusan: Barbara Budrich Verlag, defining criterion of federalism. Such instances of decentralization may come
2009), Wirtschaftspolitik kompakt (Wiesbaden: VS Verlag fur Sozialwissen very close to federalism in that many of the institutional arrangements may look
schaften, 2009) and Das politische System GrojJbritanniens (Wiesbaden: VS very similar, but there is no guarantee of subnational autonomy.
Verlag fUr Sozialwissenschaften, 2009). The belief in the superior efficiency of federalism is but one cause of the
emergence and development of federal systems. Path-dependency is a powerful
Wilfried Swenden is Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Edinburgh.
explanation, as is the need to accommodate deeply divided subcultures by giving
He researches comparative federalism, intergovernmental relations and territo
them far-reaching rights of self-government. In addition, democratic theorists
rial party politics. He is the author of Federalism and Regionalism in Western
have maintained that federalism simply makes for better democracy because it
Europe, Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan, 2006, and recently co-edited (with
brings much decision-making closer to the people. However, much of this rests
Batt Maddens), Territorial Party Politics in Western Europe, Basingstoke:
on shaky empirical grounds and this volume shows that unambiguous evidence
Palgrave-Macmillan, 2009. He co-edited a special issue of West European Pol
for the presumed effects of federalism is hard to generate.
itics on Belgium (2006) and authored or co-authored publications in Regional
Focusing mainly on European democracies but looking as far afield as India
and Federal Studies, West European Politics, the European Journal of Polit
and Argentina, the contributors draw our attention to the considerable variation
ical Research, Publius: The Journal ofF ederalism and The Journal ofC ommon
in individual federal arrangements which make large N comparisons risky,
Market Studies. He is co-editor of Regional and Federal Studies and co-directs
because like may not be compared with like. Federalism is a multifaceted phe
the ECPR Standing Group on Federalism and Regionalism (with Klaus Detter
nomenon and its precise effects depend to a large degree on the specific institu
beck and Eve Hepburn).
tional rules of a given country. Federalism may be integrated or unintegrated, it
may have in-built incentives that foster competition or enforce cooperation,
and the required level of equalization across subnational units may differ
xviii Series editor's preface
substantially. Furthermore, federalism interacts with a range of other institutional 1 The new wave of federalism
variables like the degree of neo-corporatism, the power of constitutional courts
or the nature of the party system. studies
Regional diversity is another case in point. While federalism aims, as Cesar
Colino writes in this volume, at facilitating the integration and coexistence of
Jan Erk and Wilfried Swenden
different territorial groups or entities, the very nature of such entities differs
widely and may hence lead to very different kinds of federalism. Germany, for
example, has little need to accommodate substantially different communities
through a federal system of governanc.e. Arguably, German federalism owes its
existence mainly to the historical trajectory of nation-building. The absence of
strong sub-national variation has facilitated or even promoted emergence of a
highly sophisticated and almost unintelligible mechanism for making the con
Comparative federalism as a growth industry
ditions of life largely similar across the German Lander. This differs sharply
from other federal systems where the very essence of federalism is the preserva
Federalism - the vertical division of political authority among orders of govern
tion of difference - be it cultural, linguistic or economic. FUl1hermore, the strong
ment - has experienced a remarkable renaissance in the recent decades, leading
emphasis on cooperation has increased the risk of gridlock and, contrary to what
some observers to label comparative federalism a growth industry (Kaiser 2004;
some democratic theorists would expect, led to a conspicuous lack of democratic
Erk 2007a). The boom is reflected in the growing prominence of specialist schol
accountability. Co-decision by the Bundesrat makes it almost impossible even
arly journals such as Publius: The Journal of Federalism and Regional and
for informed citizens to attribute policy outcomes to specific political camps.
Federal Studies. Federalism is also granted individual chapters in no fewer than
Unsurprisingly, the confrontational British political system is frequently
four volumes of the new Oxford Handbooks of Political Science. Federalism chap
regarded to be superior from this perspective. Yet, devolution means that the UK
ters appear in the handbook of political economy (Rodden 2006: 357-372), the
has taken decisive steps in the opposite direction while two rounds of federalism
handbook of political institutions (Galligan 2006: 261-280), the handbook of com
reform in Germany seem to cast doubt on the validity of some overly pessimistic
parative politics (Beramendi 2007: 752-781) and the handbook oflaw and politics
accounts of the capacity of German federalism to reform.
(Halberstam 2008: 142-164). Articles dealing with various aspects of federalism
In any case, there can be little doubt that federal institutions normally embody
also increasingly feature on the pages of generalist comparative politics journals.
powerful checks against excessive central power. At least under conditions of
The recent surge in federalism studies is defined by two basic characteristics.
democratic government the growing number of federal systems can be regarded
First, the work is increasingly comparative in outlook; and second, contempor
as a gain in terms of freedom. As many stateless nations have accomplished
ary federalism scholars tend to be more analytical in their approaches than previ
some degree of self rule in the recent past, we may see fewer of such develop
ous generations of federalism researchers, whose work was often informed by a
ments in the future. Furthermore, as the editors point out in their concluding
normative attachment to the merits of divided political authority (Elazar 1987).
chapter, there are significant countervailing trends. The global economic crisis
What we call "the new wave of federalism studies" is not defined by a clear
has resulted in a "resurgence of central government activism", and geopolitical
scholarly consensus however. For starters, there is no clear agreement as to what
considerations related to Russia's increasingly assertive role may make it likely
federalism exactly means and how it should be operationalized. In very broad
that "concerns over international security are likely to trump concerns over
brushstrokes, what defines federalism studies is an interest in divided political
domestic federal reforms".
authority, but beyond this, there are important disagreements. Divisions exist in
substantive foci as well as in theoretical and methodological approaches. Yet we
Thomas Poguntke, Series Editor
believe there are latent commonalities within the new wave. It is in this chapter
Bochum, June 2009
that we expose common analytical puzzles shared by most of the new wave to
help move beyond the divisions that beset our field of study. We employ four
benchmarks based on institutions, democracy, cleavages and public policy in
order to allow lessons/insights/findings from different empirical contexts to
travel, thereby ensuring cumulative growth for the field.
In broad terms, all contributions to New Directions in Federalism Studies
share a comparative outlook. Even chapters that are based on empirical evidence
2 J. £rk and W. Swenden
The new wave off ederalism studies 3
from single cases follow a theoretical reasoning that endorses the premise of
decentralization are separate concepts, they both lead to the strengthening of
generalizability. That is, every case is seen to be part of a bigger whole and the
regional and local orders of government. Decentralization in essence is an act of
quest is to unearth patterns to understand and explain federalism. While their
the centre to devolve some of its political competences to lower levels; regions,
subfields and empirical concerns might differ, the contributions to this volume
thus, do not have a constitutional guarantee to self-government. Under federal
are all part of this new wave of federalism studies that flourished in the last
ism, on the other hand, the regions' right to self-rule tends to be constitutionally
decade.
enshrined. Both forms of vertical division, however, have become more salient
How can we explain this recent growth in federalism scholarship? We see two
partly due to international factors. For industrialized states, the global integration
major reasons for the boom. The first relates to changes in the supply side of
of international markets and the dominance of monetarist economic ideology
federal and decentralized government. Put simply, from Iraq to the European
weakened the political and economic responsibilities of central governments,
Union, there are more federal experiments with vertically divided political author
thereby providing favorable conditions for decentralization. However, the
ity around the world. As the political importance of federalism increases, so does
current global financial crisis might slow this process as central governments
federalism as a subject of study. The second reason relates to developments
around the world are forced to reclaim some of their former role in managing the
within the discipline of political science. Following the decline of behaviorialism
economy. That being said, at this stage the financial crisis triggering a complete
and structural-functionalism, political science (re)discovered institutions (Weaver
reversal of the economic empowerment of regions seems unlikely.
and Rockman 1993; Steinmo et al. 1995). Scholarly attention to institutional
For many developing states on the other hand, the rise of decentralized gov
arrangements that shape political strategies and distribute political power brought
ernment owes its existence to leading international monetary institutions such as
a renewed interest in how political authority is divided, shared or dispersed
the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Inter-American Develop
among two or more orders of government. A rising interest in federalism would
ment Bank and the United Nations Development Program, who have all advoc
have still been quite likely irrespective of change~ in its supply. ated various forms of vertically divided political and economic decision-making.
These international fiscal institutions do more than just advocating decentraliza
Challges ill the supply side of {/ecelltralizeli goverllmellt tion; they formulate the implementation of such policies as a prerequisite for
receiving monetary support. Daniel Treisman notes that between 1997 and 2003,
In a recent comparative study, Liesbeth Hooghe, Gary Marks and Arjan Schakel
the World Bank pledged 300-500 million US dollars per year to support projects
demonstrate that between 1950 and· 2006 the regional tiers of government in a
with a significant decentralization component. In his view, "for a developing
majority of 42 OECD countries grew significantly in strength (Hooghe et al.
country short of money, devolving power must look like an easy way to cash in
2008).1 The authors measure regional authority by using a variety of indicators
on the rich world's desire to help" (Treisman 2007: 4).
expressing degrees of regional self-rule (the degree to which regional govern
The virtues of federalism and decentralization are not only propagated from
ments can make autonomous decisions in certain matters) and shared rule (the
the viewpoint of econom ic performance but also from the perspective of manag
extent to which regions participate in central decisions). Hooghe, Marks and
ing ethnic conflict. The process of democratization in Central and Eastern
Schakel observe that the growth of regional authority is not pronounced among
Europe following the end of the Cold War compelledJeformers to think through
those states that were already federal in 1950 (for instance Australia, the US,
appropriate institutional schemes for stabilizing and consolidating these new
Switzerland or Germany) and among those states that are too small (i.e. three
democracies. Institutional engineers often turned to federalism. But in some
million inhabitants or fewer) to generate regional tiers of government of signifi
parts of the former communist world the pacifying potential of federalism was
cance. However, their calculations show that regional authority has grown sub
not warmly received. For instance, in some East European countries federalism
stantially in non-federal countries with populations above three million. The
was automatically associated with "ethno-federalism" - which carried negative
authors raise a number of explanations to account for this growth. For instance,
connotations of divisive nationalist movements pitting one ethnic group against
the absence of warfare obviates the need for a strong centralized effort to recon
the other. The breakdown of multi-ethnic (if non-democratic) federations such as
struct national economies after war. Furthermore, the functional logic of eco
Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union prevented the widespread
nomic, infrastructural, environmental and welfare policies has pressed many
adoption of federalism in this part of the world - notwithstanding federal Russia
formerly unitary states in the decentralizing direction. In recent years in Latin
and Bosnia-Hercegovina (Heinemann-Grtider 2002: 4; Seroka 2002: 103-115).
America alone, local or provincial elections were introduced in (non-federal)
But such a pessimistic attitude towards the conflict-management potential of fed
Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay and Venezuela and strengthened in (federal)
eralism is not shared in the west of the continent and elsewhere. In Western
Argentina and Brazil (Treisman 2007: 3).
Europe, Spain, Belgium and the United Kingdom have sought to contain nation
Both in its federal and decentralized forms, there has been an increase in the
alist pressures by decentralizing powers to regional governments (Swenden
supply of vertically divided political authority. Although federalism and political
2006). Federalism was adopted in Iraq as a means to ensure the coexistence of
4 J. £rk and W. Swenden The new wave off ederalism studies 5
Kurds, Shiite and Sunni Muslims; and it is also seen as a necessary institutional China could only liberalize politically if it were to become a federation (Bahl
ingredient for holding together large or multi-nation states such as Indonesia, and Martinez-Vasquez 2006: 249-300). Others have already argued that political
Ethiopia, Nigeria or the Congo (Anderson 2007). An example of the growing decentralization has been the key to the economic success of China (Qian and
international salience of federalism is the "Forum of Federations" - an interna Weingast 1996; but see Cai and Treisman 2006 for a critical assessment and an
tional organization supported by many countries and governments in a quest to alternative explanation).
promote the conflict-management potential of federalism.
Another important example of the growth in the supply side of federalism is
Political sciellce rediscovers federalism (lIIul political illstitutiolls)
the European Union, of course. The very foundation of European integration is
based on the principle of divided political authority between the member states As the contemporary political relevance of federalism increases, it is only natural
and the union. Most observers tend to see the European Union as an international that a new generation of political scientists is drawn to studying the contours of
system of multi-level governance with federal traits (Hesse and Wright 1996; this complex phenomenon. In many ways, this reflects the fate of democrat
McKay 2001; Borzel and Hosli 2003). These traits have been helpful in recon ization studies. Each subsequent wave of democratization (Southern Europe,
ciling the overarching goal of economic and political integration with the preser Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe) produced a new wave of democrat
vation of national state boundaries (for a recent literature review on the topic, ization studies. Similarly, the rise of decentralization or the (prospect of) federal
see Kelemen and Nicolardis 2007). ism in Europe and beyond propelled a rise in decentralization or federalism
In the last decades, some of the older federations such as Australia, Canada, studies. But the growing scholarly attention is not only a factor of the growth in
Germany and Switzerland have undertaken various federal reform initiatives. the supply side of federal and decentralized government. The study of federalism
These reforms generally aim to bring about better coordination and cooperation also benefits from a broader tendency among political scientists since the mid-
among orders of government as a means to enhance performance in an increas 1980s to revisit the relevance of political institutions (North 1990; Koelble
ingly globalized world economy. For instance, Germany took some cautious 1995).
steps to reform its federal structure in 2006 in light of growing criticisms that Starting with the mid-1980s, institutionalism slowly moved to the centre of
party political games and growing inter-regional disparities do not square well political science - hitherto dominated by society-based approaches such as
with a model of federalism that expects close cooperation among federal and behavioralism and structural-functionalism and actor-based rationalist
regional orders of government (Scharpf 1988, Benz 2005). Less uniformity, less approaches (Evans et al. 1984). In an influential piece from that period, lames
framework legislation, fewer joint policy tasks and more regional legislative March and lohan Olsen highlight the limits of society-based and rationalist
autonomy are seen as possible ways to break away from the "reform gridlock" explanations of institutional phenomena that dominated the literature (March and
(Reformstau). A more daring reform plan discusses the possibility of returning Olsen 1984). In their view, political scientists using rational choice theory should
some tax powers to the German provinces, i.e. the Lander. The issue of finance pay more attention to collective action problems (rather than individual well
has also featured prominently in a recent reform of Swiss federalism (Vatter being) and acknowledge that many political decisions are taken under a "veil of
2006) and in the Australian decision to replace a number of regional sales taxes ignorance" (i.e. these decisions are only prospective in nature and cannot rely on
with a (federal) Goods and Services Tax, the revenue of which mostly accrues to full information). Similarly, March and Olsen argue th-at structural (or society
the constituent states of the Australian Commonwealth (Swenden 2004). based) explanations of political action pay insufficient attention to the reciprocal
Although changes to Canadian federalism have been less prominent, federalism effect of institutions on societies: politics or political institutions can shape
remains highly vulnerable on a number of points. How to integrate Quebec in society as much as society can shape politics (see Peters 1999: 15-17 for a
the federation and whether (or to what degree) accept its opt-out from federal discussion).
(welfare) programs remains unresolved, as well as how to limit the uses (or Studying the causes and the consequences of an institutional configuration -
abuse) of the federal spending power, and how to reform the second chamber in this case vertically divided political authority between orders of government
and strengthen its potential role as a tool of regional representation (Smith in many ways was an ideal terrain for this new approach in political science. As
2008). institutionalism became part of the mainstream, the study of federalism broke
Finally, federalism receives more attention because some of the emerging from being under the near-monopoly of legal scholars. But the rediscovery of
markets, especially India and Brazil, happen to represent federal states. The political institutions came with an outlook slightly different from the older insti
growing significance of these states from an economic point of view also propels tutionalism. There have been calls for a distinctly neo-institutionalist approach
more research interest into their political systems, including the nature of their (Rhodes 2007). New institutionalists distinguish themselves from the "old" insti
federal systems (see for instance Rao and Singh 2005 on India; Samuels 2003 on tutionalists, who were more concerned with describing than explaining political
Brazil). In parallel, some argue that a country as vast and unevenly developed as institutions. Old institutionalists tended to follow legal scholars in their choice of
6 J. Erk and W. Swenden The new wave o.rrederalism studies 7
political institutions to study, and in how to study them. Furthermore, old institu been a highly problematic one (Erk 2006). Indeed, in a critical review of Riker's
tionalists also tended to define institutions in a manner parallel to legal scholars work on federalism, Alfred Stepan stated that "the world's most prestigious aca
(heavily focusing on the trias politica, i.e. executive, legislative and judiciary, demic authority on federalism [also considers the object of] his scientific obser
without paying much attention to political parties or informal political proc vation [as a] a powerless chimera" (Stepan 2001: 337). Riker is not a rational
esses). By contrast, new institutionalists provide a much broader definition of choice institutionalist but a rational choice theorist pur sang. For him, individual
institutions (Peters ] 999: ] 8-] 9), and they criticize but do not outright reject the preferences remain the key driving force behind social choice. Therefore, "feder
methods deployed by behavioralists, structuralists and rational choice theorists. alism is not more than a [fiction]. No matter how useful the fiction of federalism
For instance, new institutionalists tend to nuance rather than reject the premises is in creating a new government ... In the study of federal governments", so he
of rational choice theory and even seek to incorporate its analytical rigor. once argued, "it is always appropriate to go behind the fiction to study the real
Rational choice institutionalists such as George Tsebelis (2002) and Frits forces in the political system" (Riker 1969: 144-145). Riker's provocative
Scharpf (1997) bring in institutional rules and consider how they affect or con verdict was that federalism simply did not matter. Perhaps the most important
dition the strategic behavior of actors in the political process. Similarly, new scholarly task of the new wave of federalism studies has been to prove Riker
institutionalists increasingly deploy the sophisticated data-skills behavorialists wrong. By doing so, students of federalism have not only sought to demonstrate
tend to use. This is particularly the case in the analysis of how institutions inter that federalism matters, but also how it matters, to what extent it matters and
act with the external context to steer processes of interest aggregation or affect what it matters for. Although students of federalism bring different approaches
policy outcomes (Lijphart 1999; Castles 1998). to the forefront when addressing these questions they also share two basic
These developments within political science also affected the way in which characteristics.
political scientists studied federalism. We would argue that what we are witness First, showing how federalism matters necessitates a comparative approach in
ing since the 19 90s is indeed a new approach to studying federalism. However it which different forms of federalism are compared with each other and with non
is also new because - unlike what Alfred Stepan could still claim as recently as federal regimes. This increasingly comparative outlook has brought with it a
2001 - by now the leading approaches within comparative politics are reflected concern for external validity to an area of study that used to be driven by internal
in how federalism is studied (Stepan 2001: 316). Comparative politics and feder validity. In addition to becoming experts of the minutiae of one federation, the
alism have found each other in the new wave. new wave of federalism studies now seeks lessons that could be generalized to
other cases where political authority is divided among orders of government. In
this respect the study of federalism benefited from the rising prominence of com
The research puzzles and approaches of the new wave
parative politics, the wider availability of international datasets (provided by
Notwithstanding the recent upsurge in comparative federalism research, the international organizations such as the OECD or academe such as "The Minori
study of federalism has an intellectual lineage predating 1990. In fact, an import ties at Risk Project" at the University of Maryland) and the diffusion of data
ant corpus of classics within the literature appeared during the time-period skills among comparativists. The emphasis on external validity and the rising
between the end of World War II and the 1980s (Livingston] 952; Duchachek quality of comparative federalism research also reflects the mainstreaming of
1970; Sawer ] 969; King 1982; Watts 1970; Wheare 1946; Riker 1964; Friedrich federalism into comparative politics. Conversely, comparative federalists have
1968). This cycle producing some of these landmark studies on federalism fin increasingly branched out to other fields of study. Contemporary scholarship dis
ished with Daniel Elazar's influential Exploring Federalism, first published in plays an awareness of ongoing theoretical debates in other parts of the scholarly
] 987. During this time-period, the study of federalism occasionally emerged on community, and a desire to enrich federalism studies by importing (and export
the radar of general comparative political scientists as well. For instance, in his ing) ideas across fields of study. It is this belief in finding generalizable patterns
first edition of Democracies (1984), Arend Lijphart considered the distinction that drives contemporary scholarship.
between unitary and federal government as one crucial dimension of his broader Second, federalism studies shed much of its normative undel10nes during its
typology setting out consensus vs. majoritarian democracies. recent boom. There now seems to be an analytic distance to the very subject
Arguably of all the authors listed above, the political scientist who cast the under study. That is, we see more of an even-handed discussion of both the
longest shadow on contemporary federalism research remains William H. Riker positive and negative sides of federalism. The new wave of federalism studies
(1964). The significance of Riker as an analyst of federalism is due to his overall tends to be less driven by an underlying normative attachment to the subject -
influence as a public choice theorist and the strength of rational choice/formal often held by the previous generation of federalism research (Elazar 1987, 1994).
theory applications in current federalism or new institutionalist scholarship more In fact many of these earlier studies were often built on a federal illusion, i.e.
generally (see for instance Kelemen 2004; Filippov et al. 2004; McKay 2004; "federalism breeds better democracy, better bureaucracies and better markets"
Volden 2007; Tsebelis 2002). Yet, Rikers' contribution to federalism has also (Beramendi 2007: 758). According to Pablo Beramendi: "The need to bridge this