FEDERALISM
Key Characteristics of
federalism
• Rule of Law
•Democracy
•Subsidiarity
•Freedom
•Equality
SUBSIDIARITY
•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 authority to deal with a problem lies where the problem arises
or naturally belongs.
•democracy must be introduced at all levels: at the place of work;
in residential communities; in educational institutions.
Institutions
•institutions must exist at every level with
sufficient powers to permit the implementation of
the necessary policies.
“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. “
How would a federal EU look
like
•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
Aims of federalism
•Peace
• Democracy at all levels
•Efficiency
To sum up…
DEMOCRACY and EFFICIENCY
...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.
UNITY and DIVERSITY
...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.
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 sovereignity 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!