Showing papers in "Regional & Federal Studies in 2015"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the effectiveness of decentralization in Uganda and showed that decentralization has suffered from a lack of independence from central government control, which has led to the lack of effectiveness in the provision of high quality public goods.
Abstract: There has long been an emphasis on the importance of decentralization in providing better quality public services in the developing world. In order to assess the effectiveness of decentralization I examine here the case study of Uganda, which has seen major decentralization of power over the last quarter-century. In particular the current government has introduced a five-tiered local government structure, decentralized both fiscal and political power to local governments and introduced regular local government elections. However, initial excitement about Uganda's decentralization programme has tapered off in recent years due to a number of problems outlined here. In particular, I show that decentralization in Uganda has suffered from a lack of independence from central government control, which has led to a lack of effectiveness in the provision of high quality public goods.
41 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors look into the everyday practices of Estonian local governments regarding the emergence of multi-level governance (MLG) and their mobilization in EU affairs and policies, especially regional policy.
Abstract: This article looks into the everyday practices of Estonian local governments regarding the emergence of multi-level governance (MLG) and their mobilization in EU affairs and policies, especially regional policy. The theoretical framework is the concept of MLG, also emphasizing the principles of subsidiarity and partnership. The article contributes new empirical insights from a country outside of the mainstream scholarly debates on MLG. We test and answer five interconnected theses linking MLG with practices of the principles of subsidiarity and partnership and the status of a small, unitary state in the European integration process. For many Estonian municipalities, the EU has hardly any effect. We identified almost no adjustment of local-government structures and routines to EU pressures. There is hardly any involvement of local actors in policy-making processes or in networking. Estonian local governments are weak partners for the state
32 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the determinants of local government contact networks within cross-border cooperation organizations (Euroregions) were discussed, based on social capital theory and qualitative analytical tools applied on data from two Scandinavian and two East Central European cases.
Abstract: The article discusses the determinants of local government contact networks within cross-border cooperation organizations (Euroregions). Relying on social capital theory, a combination of social network and qualitative analytical tools are applied on data from two Scandinavian and two East Central European cases. The analysis reveals that, even in favourable circumstances, contact networks are thin and Euroregions fail to develop into truly integrated political spaces. The analysis also shows that contact patterns on one side of the border, determined primarily by inter-municipal cooperation, will matter for how contact networks are formed across the border. The findings are important, as membership in a Euroregion is expected to foster cross-border political relationships that could have possible spillover effects in terms of encouraging policy cooperation outside the framework of the Euroregion, which in turn would enhance the likelihood of well-functioning cross-border governance spaces.
31 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a case-studies of Ghana, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Ethiopia, and Uganda is presented to connect the debates on development with the scholarly literatures on comparative federalism, comparative decentralization and local democracy.
Abstract: Decentralization reforms introduced to Africa have not always delivered the intended outcomes. Through interaction with the broader historical, political, social and economic context, reforms seem to have engendered political consequences beyond decentralization itself. Most of the literature on decentralization and development emphasizes questions of institutional design and policy, but here we expand the focus of analysis and incorporate the harder-to-pin-down political patterns marking the workings of decentralization in Africa. Through the case-studies of Ghana, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Ethiopia and Uganda we seek to connect the debates on development with the scholarly literatures on comparative federalism, comparative decentralization and local democracy. The conclusion that emerges is that no magic formula which can turn countries into peaceful, stable and prosperous democracies overnight exists. And, importing formal institutions without regard to the local historical, political, social...
23 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that the inclusion of the right to secede in the US constitution is motivated by ideological reasons and argue that it is a significant federal nuisance.
Abstract: Ethiopia's federal design has a number of anomalies interesting for comparative federalism. The explicit right to secede provided to member states has become, however, real political dynamite in the country. This article deals with this right, its constitutionalization, its constitutional and ideological underpinnings, and its practical impacts on federal construction in the country for the last two decades. It challenges the political expediency views on its constitutionalization and argues that the inclusion of the right in the federal constitution is motivated by ideological reasons. By having a look at the powers member states are provided by this ‘generous' constitution, it reveals its staggering paradoxes. As far as the practical impacts of the right are concerned, the hefty controversy the constitutionalization of the right has continued creating in the country, the article argues, is a significant federal nuisance.
19 citations
TL;DR: The final election result was apparently similar to that of 2010: centre-left coalitions won in five out of seven regions, as in the previous election, leaving the remaining two to the centre-right.
Abstract: In May 2015, voters in seven Italian regions went to the polls to elect new regional councils and governments. The final election result was apparently similar to that of 2010: centre-left coalitions won in five out of seven regions, as in the previous election, leaving the remaining two to the centre-right. Yet behind this picture of stability, dramatic changes have occurred in the internal composition of regional coalitions, cross-party equilibriums and levels of participation. Generally, regional party-based democracy seems to be experiencing increasing fragmentation and a crisis of representation and legitimacy.
18 citations
TL;DR: The role of state-led and centre-led pro-poor policies in the electoral shift of state elections in the state of Bahia, in Brazil's Northeast, was explored in this paper.
Abstract: The article explores the role of state-led and of centre-led pro-poor policies in the electoral shift of state elections in the state of Bahia, in Brazil's Northeast. It analyses a pro-poor policy sponsored by a traditional party which has ruled the state for several decades during both the military and the democratic regimes. The article investigates the causes of the party's defeat in 2006 and its replacement by a non-traditional party. The argument is that the defeat of the traditional party and the victory of a non-traditional one can be explained as the result of the state's main pro-poor policy that has always created dependency between voters and sub-national politicians. Centre-led pro-poor policies introduced in the late 1990s, in contrast, have universal or clear targets, eliminating the intermediation of sub-national political brokers.
17 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a conceptual distinction between diversity claims and equality claims is introduced to reflect critically on the relation between federalism and democracy in India, and critical references are made to the relevant theoretical literature in order to point out federalism's new problematic and its pitfalls.
Abstract: This article introduces a conceptual distinction between diversity-claims and equality-claims in order to reflect critically on the relation between federalism and democracy in India, which is not adequately problematized and somewhat neglected. Federalism and democracy suggest two different problematics, but in India democracy has often played second fiddle to the claims of diversity. As a result, India's success as a federation has not been paralleled by its record as a democracy in terms of its equality functions. Since the article engages with the issue of accommodation of diversity in the wake of federation-building, and the relation between federalism and democracy, critical references are made to the relevant theoretical literature in order to point out federalism's new problematic and its pitfalls. With the Indian case as a major illustration, it is shown here that the institutional arrangements and governing practices have overwhelmingly been given priority to meet the claims of diversity...
15 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors look at the most important endogenous factors influencing the workings of decentralization in Zimbabwe and conclude that the influence of traditional authorities can be translated into the democratic and progressive empowerment of rural populations in the developing world.
Abstract: This paper looks at one of the most important endogenous factors influencing the workings of decentralization in Zimbabwe. Successive waves of formal institutional change that took place during Zimbabwe's colonial and post-colonial history have been unable able to uproot the influence of traditional leaders. Due to their home-grown legitimacy, various traditional authorities continue to play an ever-present role in the lives of people in rural areas. But, as it is the case throughout most of Africa, the powers of traditional leaders have mostly been uncodified under modern law and these power relations tend to be rather informal and culturally inaccessible to most outsiders. Consequently, the scholarly literature has not been able to systematically acknowledge their pervasive influence. The article concludes with a reflection on how the influence of traditional authorities can be translated into the democratic and progressive empowerment of rural populations in the developing world.
15 citations
TL;DR: For the second time in her political history, regional, federal and European elections were organized simultaneously in Belgium as mentioned in this paper, and regional electoral results confirmed the success of the regionalist parties in Flanders, but also in Brussels and in the German-speaking community.
Abstract: In May 2014 and for the second time in her political history, regional, federal and European elections were organized simultaneously in Belgium. In the direct follow-up of the sixth state reform that increased the powers and the autonomy of the Belgian Regions and Communities, these elections were crucial for the future of the country and for the multi-level coalition formation at the regional and federal levels. The political campaign was dominated by socio-economic issues and demands for further autonomy, particularly in the Flemish region. Regional electoral results confirmed the success of the regionalist parties in Flanders, but also in Brussels and in the German-speaking community. These successes allowed regionalist parties to enter all regional and federal governments – often as the dominant party – with the exception of the Walloon and the French-speaking Community cabinets.
14 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, Detterbeck examines the effect of multi-level governance on political parties and finds that internal party organization and party competition has been located at the level of the local level.
Abstract: This study by Klaus Detterbeck examines the effect of multi-level governance on political parties. For the most part, until now, internal party organization and party competition has been located o...
TL;DR: The influence of nationalism as a driving force behind the practice of commercial paradiplomacy by subnational entities has often been subordinated to other variables such as "trade openness" (exports as part of GDP) or "asymmetry with national economic interests (export and FDI partners) as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Many of the most active regions in terms of commercial paradiplomacy are home to influential nationalist movements: Scotland and Quebec are cases in point. Conversely, many rich and export-oriented regions, such as South East England in the United Kingdom or Ontario in Canada, remain less active, if at all, in this domain. Nevertheless, the influence of nationalism as a driving force behind the practice of commercial paradiplomacy by subnational entities has often been subordinated to other variables such as ‘trade openness’ (exports as part of GDP) or ‘asymmetry’ with national economic interests (export and FDI partners). This article describes the development of autonomous commercial paradiplomacy apparatuses in Quebec and Scotland by focusing on nationalism as a crucial motive, which is also partly responsible for the way such apparatuses developed, through the establishment of organizations and strategies institutionally distinct from those of the ‘rest’ of Canada and the UK.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the idea of federalism held by prominent political actors as promoting division and division can promote disunity, undermine solidarity, and possibly lead to disintegration.
Abstract: Federalism has been discussed as a potential system of governance in many countries, but in some it has failed to take shape. This has been the case in Nepal and, to a certain extent, in Italy. In fact, in Italy the federal option was rejected at the time of Risorgimento, and constitutional reforms in the 2000s never transformed the country into a federation as desired by political actors such as the Northern League despite some decentralization. In Nepal, the 2007 interim constitution specified that the country would be federal, but the first Constituent Assembly elected to write a new constitution was unable to produce a federal map acceptable to the major political parties and the second is wrestling with the same issue. In both cases, federal structuring was attacked by political actors who argued that it could promote disunity, undermine solidarity, and possibly lead to disintegration. This article argues that the idea of federalism held by prominent political actors as promoting division and...
TL;DR: The autonomous elections held on 25 May 2015 took place simultaneously in 13 of the 17 Spanish autonomous communities (CCAA), leading to the most profound change in the autonomous party system seen in Spain in the last 20 years as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The autonomous elections held on 25 May 2015 took place simultaneously in 13 of the 17 Spanish autonomous communities (CCAA), leading to the most profound change in the autonomous party system seen in Spain in the last 20 years. A significant number of Spanish citizens hold the two main parties—the PP and the PSOE—responsible for being unable to solve their economic problems and for having pursued their austerity policies and containment of social expenditure to the extent of giving rise to the greatest inequality experienced in Spanish society in history. Furthermore, and as important as the economic crisis, support for the new parties, Podemos and Ciudadanos, has been linked to the emergence in Spanish public debate of party regeneration and the corruption scandals that tainted the main parties and most institutions in the years prior to the elections on 25 May 2015.
TL;DR: The idea of "new politics" in Scotland, in the 1990s, was based on a rejection of the "majoritarian" politics of "old Westminster" in favour of a "consensus democracy" associated with Scandinavian countries.
Abstract: The idea of ‘new politics' in Scotland, in the 1990s, was based on a rejection of the ‘majoritarian’ politics of ‘old Westminster’ in favour of a ‘consensus democracy’ associated with Scandinavian countries. Yet, the nascent literature suggests that Scottish and UK policy-making practices are similar. UK policy making does not live up to its majoritarian reputation and Scotland was designed with key ‘old Westminster’ features. We extend the comparison to Sweden, as one of several, distinctive, Nordic reference points in Scotland. We examine critically its consensual image and identify the ways in which Scotland has similar features. The study helps clarify the practical meaning of majoritarian and consensus and encourages scholars to focus on actual behaviour rather than policy-making reputations. It also informs current debates on Scotland's future, using long-term evidence to inform recent attempts to revive this focus on the Nordic ideal.
TL;DR: Subsidiarity has become one of the key principles of European Union law since its introduction in the Treaty of Maastricht, but in recent years other federal or decentralized systems have cemented this principle into their constitutions: Italy, where subsidiarity was encapsulated in art. 118 of the constitution as amended in 2001.
Abstract: Subsidiarity has become one of the key principles of European Union law since its introduction in the Treaty of Maastricht, but in recent years other federal or decentralized systems have cemented this principle into their constitutions: one example is Italy, where subsidiarity was encapsulated in art. 118 of the constitution as amended in 2001. This article surveys some of the contributions coming from Italian constitutionalism and adds to the debate on subsidiarity, especially with regards to the stimulating, yet controversial, interpretation of the principle offered by the Italian constitutional court, which permeated it with a “centralist” essence. The article explores how subsidiarity is construed beyond EU law and argues that, while revealing all the elasticity of this principle, the interpretation offered by the Italian constitutional judges presents some risky consequences.
TL;DR: This article conducted qualitative interviews with state officials, traditional authorities of the Nama and Ovambo ethnicity, workers and farmers in Namibia, and found that although it was presented as a decentralization reform, the Communal Land Reform Act reintroduced the Namibian state as a central actor in land tenure, resulting in power struggles between the state and traditional authorities, albeit to varying intensities as some traditional authorities have historically restricted access to communal land and limited political leverage.
Abstract: Land is a key element to socio-economic development, peace- and state-building in Africa. It is inherent to local identity and inextricably linked to power. In Namibia, land rights were historically administered and allocated by traditional authorities. However, with the adoption of the 2002 Communal Land Reform Act, these customary land rights were codified. Drawing on qualitative interviews conducted in Namibia with state officials, traditional authorities of the Nama and Ovambo ethnicity, workers and farmers, we show that although it was presented as a decentralization reform, the Act reintroduced the Namibian state as a central actor in land tenure. This has resulted in power struggles between the state and traditional authorities, albeit to varying intensities as some traditional authorities have historically restricted access to communal land and limited political leverage.
TL;DR: The dominant national party in power, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Democratic Front (EPRDF), either directly or through affiliates, controls political office at all levels of government, thereby limiting the room for local initiative and autonomy as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: In the mid-1990s Ethiopia adopted a federal constitution promising regional autonomy and the creation and strengthening of local government units below the regional level. Some observers attribute the various shortcomings of Ethiopian federalism that have emerged since then to the original institutional/constitutional design. This paper, however, argues that what is not in the constitution has come to influence the workings of decentralization more than what is codified in it. The dominant national party in power, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), either directly or through affiliates, controls political office at all levels of government, thereby limiting the room for local initiative and autonomy. The presence of a national dominant party limits the responsiveness and downward accountability of Wereda (district) authorities; it also undermines political competition, and by extension, good governance at the grassroots level. The paper is based on field research carrie...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors assess the level of diplomatic actorness of the Republika Srpska in four dimensions (legal authority, external presence, internal presence, autonomy) and examine whether this has grown in collaboration or competition with state-level diplomacy.
Abstract: Diplomacy is no longer the preserve of the state. It is increasingly used by sub-state actors to contest state-level authority. In malfunctioning states like Bosnia and Herzegovina, where lengthy state-building efforts have not alleviated the risk of instability, this possibility is a cause for concern. This article builds on paradiplomatic and state-building studies to examine specific aspects of the Republika Srpska's (RS) bid for diplomatic actorness. Based on the content analysis of official documents and interviews, it assesses the level of diplomatic actorness of the RS in four dimensions (legal authority, external presence, internal presence, autonomy) and examines whether this has grown in collaboration or competition with state-level diplomacy. The article shows that the development of the RS's paradiplomatic activities is driven by ethno-political competition, facilitated by state and sub-state actors’ mutual disregard, and that it both echoes and amplifies the systemic malfunctioning of...
TL;DR: The authors examines US respondents to identify whether the devolution paradox is evident in this country and looks specifically at the South, a region with long-standing distinctiveness, and finds that there is evidence of the paradox among the American public and that the South is indeed different.
Abstract: There is an inherent trade-off in federalism regarding representation and equity. With the devolution of responsibilities to regional governments offering increased representation, there comes the inequity of services provided by some governments and not others. However, citizens in these federations may want the best of both worlds—desiring regional control but without the regional policy variation. This tension, dubbed ‘the devolution paradox’ in a study of federal countries in Europe, was less apparent in one key group of regions—those with historic ties through language, culture, or experience. This article examines US respondents to identify whether the devolution paradox is evident in this country and looks specifically at the South, a region with long-standing distinctiveness. We find that there is evidence of the devolution paradox among the American public and that the South is indeed different.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors offer a thorough and sophisticated analysis of ethnic federalism and its consequences in contemporary Ethiopia, drawing considerable new empirical material from in-depth studies of ethnic federations.
Abstract: This book offers a thorough and sophisticated analysis of ethnic federalism and its consequences in contemporary Ethiopia. The author draws considerable new empirical material from in-depth studies...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors find that left-right ideology, party interest, and local economic interest all have substantial effects on local representatives' attitudes towards local autonomy and national equality.
Abstract: Local autonomy and national equality are conflicting political values. Finding the balance between autonomy and equality is a difficult challenge for local leaders in multi-level government systems everywhere. This article aims to find factors that explain the attitudes of local representatives in these matters. The results show that left–right ideology, party interest and local economic interest all have substantial effects on the representatives’ attitudes. Representatives on the right are generally more positive to local autonomy and more critical to equalisation compared to representatives on the left, but the ideological stance of right-wing representatives depends on the economic strength of their municipality. Left-wing representatives are less affected by local economic interests. Representatives of all colours are more positive to increasing local autonomy when they are part of a local ruling majority. The study builds on data from a survey of all local representatives in Sweden.
TL;DR: One of the peculiar features of Indian federalism concerns the recurrent internal restructuring of its state (regional) boundaries in the decades following Independence as discussed by the authors, which has been observed in most federal states.
Abstract: One of the peculiar features of Indian federalism concerns the recurrent internal restructuring of its state (regional) boundaries in the decades following Independence. In most federal states, int...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that as a result of fiercer competition for votes, a more politically polarized discourse was used in the presidential campaign to mobilize voters around Brazil's regional divide between the richer south and the poorer north.
Abstract: The 2014 presidential elections showed a growing political polarization based on regional differences in Brazil. Against this backdrop, President Dilma Rousseff was re-elected by the slimmest margin ever obtained by a Brazilian president. Rousseff's Workers’ Party (PT) has held the presidency for the past 12 years, gaining widespread support for reducing social inequality and maintaining macroeconomic stability in the country. However, as the latest presidential elections show, this support for the PT and its presidential candidate has eroded. This article argues that as a result of fiercer competition for votes, a more politically polarized discourse was used in the presidential campaign to mobilize voters around Brazil's regional divide between the richer south and the poorer north. In the analysis, the article attempts to elucidate possible causes of territorial patterns of voting in Brazil's 2014 presidential elections.
TL;DR: The authors explored the extent to which federal and provincial parties engage in cross-jurisdictional coordination using survey data from Canadian constituency associations and concluded that vertical party integration is not simply an organizational phenomenon, as organizationally truncated parties still engage in modest levels of informal integration.
Abstract: The purpose of this article is twofold. First, using survey data from Canadian constituency associations, the article explores the extent to which federal and provincial parties engage in cross-jurisdictional coordination. In doing so, this study builds on and empirically tests findings that have been derived from earlier case studies (i.e. Koop, 2011). Far from inhabiting ‘two political worlds’ the data reveal that parties are much more connected than previously thought. Second, the article seeks to uncover why some parties and associations are more integrated than others. Examining organizational design, the article concludes that vertical party integration is not simply an organizational phenomenon, as organizationally truncated parties still engage in modest levels of informal integration. In addition, constituency level factors are also considered. The results of a multinomial logistic regression demonstrate that parties are significantly more integrated in districts where they are electoral...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that state-building legacies, which shaped the capacity of local governments and the opportunity structure of local government to cooperate with indigenous communities, explain the variation in implementation records of public service devolution.
Abstract: The widely held belief that decentralization of public services would reduce the fiscal burden of deeply indebted states led a large number of developing countries throughout the 1980s and 1990s to embark on devolution and public sector reform. Among the responsibilities that have generally been devolved are the provision and support of drinking water facilities. There is, however, a substantial cross-national difference in implementation records of public service devolution. This paper argues that state-building legacies, which shaped the capacity of local governments and the opportunity structure of local governments to cooperate with indigenous communities, explain this variation. This argument is analyzed in the context of devolution of water supply in Ghana and Senegal. The analysis shows that the weak capacity of local governments is compensated in Ghana, but not in Senegal, through co-optation of historically strong traditional authorities into local governance structures.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyse the formal institutional framework available for the Spanish Autonomous Communities to participate in the negotiation of the Cohesion Policy 2014-2020 and the Common Agriculture Policy 2014−2020.
Abstract: The negotiation of the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014–2020 has been an outstanding topic on the agenda of the EU during the past few years, on which subnational units also tried to have a say. In this article we analyse the formal institutional framework available for the Spanish Autonomous Communities to participate in the negotiation of the Cohesion Policy 2014–2020 and the Common Agriculture Policy 2014–2020. By analysing this participation, this text explores how this institutional framework has evolved during the past few years and how the Autonomous Communities could represent their interests at the domestic and supranational level within these crucial negotiations.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that "Of course we should care about Belgium" and that "the Belgian political scientist Kris Deschouwer argues in the introduction to his book The Politics of Belgium".
Abstract: Should we care about Belgium? Of course we should. At least, that is what the Belgian political scientist Kris Deschouwer argues in the introduction to his book The Politics of Belgium. To start wi...
TL;DR: The 2015 Madeira regional elections, held on 29 March, saw the re-election of the Social Democratic Party (PSD/M), for the twelfth regional government, despite the incumbent party's vote share falling to 44.36% as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The 2015 Madeira regional elections, held on 29 March, saw the re-election of the Social Democratic Party (PSD/M), for the twelfth regional government. This was despite the incumbent party's vote share falling to 44.36%. For almost 40 years of regional elections in Madeira, the PSD/M has won consecutive absolute majorities without once losing power. The result of the 2015 election reinforced the tendency over the last 40 years of politics in Madeira: the emergence of a viable electoral challenger to the ruling party continues to be unlikely and the incumbent continues to mobilize the regional electorate and win the electoral contest.
TL;DR: Uruguay is one of the smallest countries in South America, geographically located between Argentina and Brazil and separated from the former by the La Plat... as discussed by the authors, the largest country in the world.
Abstract: Uruguay—officially Republica Oriental del Uruguay—is one of the smallest countries in South America, geographically located between Argentina and Brazil and separated from the former by the La Plat...