Research Catalog

Title

Comparing federal systems / Ronald L. Watts.

Author

Watts, Ronald L. (Ronald Lampman)

Publication

Kingston, Ont., Canada : Institute of Intergovernmental Relations, Queen's University ; Montreal : Ithaca : Published for the School of Policy Studies, Queen's University, by McGill-Queen's University Press, c1999.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Additional Authors

• Queen's University (Kingston, Ont.). Institute of Intergovernmental Relations.
• Queen's University (Kingston, Ont.). School of Policy Studies

Description

xiv, 138 p.; 23 cm.

Summary

"In this updated second edition, Ronald Watts provides a clear analysis of the design and operation of a sample of federations chosen for their relevance to Canadian issues. There is much that can be learned by Canadians from the experience of federal systems elsewhere. At present there are 24 federations in the world (representing over forty per cent of the world's population). A distinctive feature of the popularity of federalism in the contemporary world is that its application has taken a variety of forms and has includes some new variants and innovations." "Countries studied include the United States, Switzerland, Australia, Austria, and Germany as examples of developed industrial societies; India and Malaysia as examples of multilingual and multicultural federations; Belgium and Spain as examples of emerging federal systems that illustrate bicommunal and asymmetrical approaches; and Czechoslovakia and Pakistan as examples of bicommunal federations that have failed. Watts compares the interaction of social diversity and political institutions, the distribution of powers and finances, the processes contributing to flexibility or rigidity in adjustment, the extent of internal symmetry or asymmetry, the degree of centralization and decentralization, the character of representation in federal institutions, the role of constitutions and courts, the provisions for constitutional rights and secession, and the pathology of federations."--Back cover.

Subject

• Comparative government
• Federal government

Note

• Rev. ed. of: Comparing federal systems in the 1990s, 1996.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. [135]-138).

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain
• committed to retain

Contents

The Relevance of Comparisons -- A Brief History of Federalism -- The Relevance of Federalism in the 1990s -- Definition of Terms and Principles of Federalism -- Federal Societies, Constitutions and Governments -- Issues in the Design and Operation of Federations -- Criteria for the Selection of Federations Considered in this Study -- Overview of the Federations Compared in this Study -- Established Federations in Developed Countries -- United States of America (1789) -- Switzerland (1848) -- Canada (1867) -- Australia (1901) -- Austria (1920) -- Germany (1949) -- Selected Multilingual Federations in Developing Countries -- India (1950) -- Malaysia (1963) -- Recently Emerged and Emerging Federations -- Belgium (1993) -- Spain (1978) -- Bicommunal Federations That Have Separated -- Czechoslovakia (1920-1992) -- Pakistan (1947-1971) -- The Distribution of Powers in Federations -- The Issue of Balancing Unity and Diversity -- Relationship between Distributions of Legislative and Executive Powers -- Variations in the Form of the Distribution of Legislative Authority -- Exclusive Legislative Powers -- Concurrent Legislative Powers -- Residual Powers -- The Scope of Legislative Powers Allocated -- Distribution of Administrative Responsibilities -- The Distribution of Finances -- Importance of the Allocation of Financial Resources -- The Distribution of Revenue Powers -- The Allocation of Expenditure Powers -- The Issue of Vertical and Horizontal Imbalances -- The Role of Financial Transfers -- Conditional or Unconditional Transfers.

ISBN

0889118353

LCCN

cn^99931625^

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library