Federalism explained
by Peter Matjasic
Some historical facts...
• alliances of Greek city states or mediaeval Italian towns
• Switzerland, the Netherlands (the United Provinces)
• Foundation of the United States of America
• Philadelphia Convention (1787)
– first federal constitution
“To look for a continuation of harmony between a number of independent
unconnected sovereignties situated in the same neighbourhood, would be
to disregard the uniform course of human events and to set at defiance the
accumulated experience of ages.”
(A. Hamilton, The Evils of Division; The Federalist, 1788 )
European Federalism
• The idea of the European federation (Saint Simon&Kant, De
Tocqueville, Proudhon, Coudenhove-Kalergi)
• Federalism in the British Empire
• Federal Union = federalist movement in Britain (1938-40)
• The Ventotene Manifesto (1941)
→ a concrete political project
(a post-war campaign for a European federal union)
“The history of European federalism is nothing more than that of the
manifestation of the contradiction between the affirmation of democracy in
the national context, and its negation in the international context.”
(M. Albertini, Federalism, Traditional Ideologies and Internationalism)
continuing ...
• Jean Monet: influenced by his experience of the failure of League of
Nations, his work for the allies in two world wars, his reading of The Federalist Papers
and living in London in 1940.
• Winston Churchill: had been aware of plans for imperial federation and
had endorsed plans for an Anglo-French Union in 1940. He crucially helped launch
moves towards European union in a speech in, calling for the creation of a “kind of
United States of Europe”.
• These forces came together in the post war period to forge
a broad European federalist movement. This movement
split in the late 1950s over attitudes to the European
Community, but reunited in the early 1970s to campaign for
its reform, while other federalists have focused primarily on
the need for world government.
Origins of the Term Federal
• The word came into English via French from Latin.
Foederatus means “bound by treaty” deriving from
foedus: treaty and fidere: to trust.
• The earliest recorded use of the word in English was
by religious 17th century puritans who spoke of
“federal theology” meaning a covenant between
God and the settlers in America. By late 17th and
early 18th centuries the use of the word had evolved
to include agreements between states. By 1721 for
example the term “federation” was being used as
meaning a “united league”.
Key Characteristics of a Federal Union
• The key characteristics of a federal union bringing together
independent states are as follows:
– Rule of Law
– Law enforcement
– Applicability
– Independent legislative & policy-making
institutions
– Democracy
– Constitutionally defined responsibilities
What Federal State Is
• The principal characteristic of federal state:
– the functional division between legislative, executive
and judicial powers
– a territorial division of powers between the various
levels of government which are simultaneously
independent and coordinated
• In existing federal states, there are essentially two specified levels of
government: the federal state and the member states.
• In Europe there is a tendency to organise also the member states on
the basis of federal institutions, and hence to recognise all the local
communities, from districts to towns, cities and regions, as
autonomous levels of power.
JEF’s vision of federalism
• The federalist approach:
– The main principle is that all decisions in society shall
not be made on a higher level than necessary.
– Each individual has the right to exercise maximum
influence over all matters which concern him/her,
limited necessarily by the rights of other individuals.
– The power structure of society must be such that the
authority to deal with a problem lies where the
problem arises or naturally belongs.
– Principles of democracy must be introduced at all
levels: at the place of work; in residential
communities; in educational institutions.
What can be achieved by federalism
• To allow federalism to be effective,
institutions must exist at every level
with sufficient powers to permit and
implement the necessary policies for the
good of the individual and the community
as a whole. Problems present themselves
at local, regional, European and world
levels.
At the lower level
• As much decentralisation as possible within federalist
principles is important in order to overcome the problem
created by the present political and economic structure
of centralised nation states
• A federal Europe should be based on coordinate and
independent levels of government, for example: district,
city, region, nation, transregional area, Europe. The
nation state should be incorporated in a federal structure
as well, in order to let the cities and regions be
coordinate but independent with the national and
European level.
At the European level
• The countries of Europe share a common cultural, economic
and political background. They have been characterised
through centuries by similar development patterns. A federal
Europe would be open to all European countries which are
prepared to adopt federalist principles. This would be the best
way to safeguard the interests of all Europeans.
• The national dimension has become completely insufficient to
assure economic growth, environmental protection, social
justice, democratic decision-making and sustainable
development. The creation of a European Federation would
lead to a more effective way of dealing with such issues.
These can only be solved by a supranational body which in
the long term will prevail over the short term national self
interest.
continued ...
• The present political structure of the EU does not permit
true European interests to be pursued. The EU should
not be governed by the representatives of the members
states' governments. The Heads of State and
governments, their ministers and their unelected civil
servants currently hold the power to block or to modify
every decision. They represent their national interests
and therefore usually ignore a true European standpoint.
• The development of European politics should be the
result of a democratic process where real European
needs are taken into account.
Institutional vision
• European Commission = European Government
(President elected by the Parliament and would
choose his own Commissioners)
• bicameral European Parliament composed of
the current EP and the Council of Ministers
(Council of EU)
• abolishment of the European Council
So what’s important to remember?
Federalism is...
DEMOCRACY and EFFICIENCY
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...a model of governance ensuring efficiency in a democratic framework.
...a division of political power between levels of government to achieve
the best combination of democracy and effectiveness.
... a system of multi-level governance so that decisions are taken at the
most appropriate level, with as much decentralisation as possible and as
much centralisation as necessary.
...a theory of political legitimacy since each level of government should
have a direct link to the citizens and their interests should be represented at
central level.
...a bottom-up political approach to the society based on the principle of
subsidiarity, where decisions should be taken as openly and as closely to
citizens as possible.
...a means of protecting pluralism and the rights of the individual
against an over powerful government.
...an idea that democracy and the rule of law should apply between states
as well as within them.
Federalism is ...
UNITY and DIVERSITY
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...a way of managing diversity safeguarding and promoting cultural
identities within political entities as vital for their viability and dynamism.
...a model of multi-layered identity reflecting the complexity of human life
by taking into account and reconciling multiple identifications and
allegiances of citizens. Feelings of belonging to a local community, region
and/or country are not incompatible with the identification with and support
of supranational and international political entities (such as the EU and UN),
but supplement and mutually influence each other.
PEACE and UNIVERSAL VALUES
...a guarantor of all human beings' fundamental and inalienable rights.
...a means of preventing war by establishing a means for the peaceful
resolution of disputes between states.
...a rejection of the idea that the development of political institutions in
human history has come to a full stop with the creation of nation states.
...a political theory promoting solidarity as a precondition for the
peaceful coexistence and cooperation within and between states and other
political bodies.
Federalism is...
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CONFRONTING MODERN CHALLENGES GLOBALLY
...an alternative to the hegemony of one state or group of states in an ordered
international system.
...a means of starting to tackle seemingly impossible political problems by
understanding the way that the design of institutional systems both causes and can
help to solve them.
...an answer to the erosion of the sovereignty of the nation state caused by
globalisation. Modern states can no longer tackle many (both global and national)
problems on their own or solely by means of traditional intergovernmental
cooperation. Nowadays challenges facing states need to be addressed with common
policies.
UNIVERSAL APPLICABILITY
...a dynamic concept that in spite of the challenges raised by the evolution of society
succeeded in adapting to new forms of societal organization resulting in diverse forms
of federal arrangements that encompass a large number of countries, regions and
populations all around the world.
...a political ideology and means of addressing politics that is not tied to traditional
left-right party divisions.
...a realisation that progress both can and must come in stages - think of federalism
as a direction rather than a destination!
That’s it folks!
• Thanks for your patience and if you want
to know more about federalism and/or JEF
check out the following websites:
www.jef-europe.net
www.federaleurope.org
(these sites were also used as references for the content of this presentation)