Federalism In Africa

Looking at the experiences of other federal societies across the globe this volume interrogates the problem of national integration within the context of ethno-religious and cultural pluralism, and presents exciting prospects for the resolution of the National Question. Compelling and indispensable, this work is the most comprehensive and authoritative treatment of the subject in recent years.

The world's first attempt at a scholarly historicisation of the African crisis of development, this book interrogates the problem of national integration within the context of ethno-religious and cultural pluralism. Here, top scholars offer refreshing insight into the prospects for transforming Africa into a super-power of the third millennium. The breadth and depth of coverage and analytical rigour unites the essays, providing one of the most comprehensive and authoritative treatments of the subject in recent years.

This volume examines the design and impact of courts in African federal systems from a comparative perspective. Recent developments indicate that the previously stymied idea of federalism is now being revived in the constitutional arrangements of several African countries. A number of them jumped on the bandwagon of federalism in the early 1990s because it came to be seen as a means to facilitate development, to counter the concentration of power in a single governmental actor and to manage communal tensions. An important part of the move towards federalism is the establishment of courts that are empowered to umpire intergovernmental disputes. This edited volume brings together contributions that first discuss questions of design by focusing, in particular, on the organization of the judiciary and the appointment of judges in African federal systems. They then examine whether courts have had a rather centralizing or decentralizing impact on the operation of African federal systems. The book will be of interest to researchers and policy-makers in the areas of comparative constitutional law and comparative politics.

The book covers both the theoretical and practical aspects of the functioning of federal systems on the African continent. The reader gets an opportunity to familiarise him/herself in greater details with the Nigerian federation in its past and present, vis--vis the national question and the problem of fiscal federalism. The book also reveals the subject of ethnic federalism in its pure form as exemplified in Ethiopia Furthermore, analyses the use of hybrid, quasi-federative policy instruments in countries like Tanzania, Republic of South Africa, Sudan, Kenya and others. It addresses the issue of the opportunistic use of the federal idea, its abuse in various socio-economic and political circumstances (Nigeria), as well as the occasional and sometimes very short exposition of federalism (Madagascar) and confederalism (Senegambia). In general, the articles in the book present federalism from different angles, revealing the complex and contradictory nature of the concept and the ambiguous experience of its implementation in the African reality.

The 1990s were marked by democratic reforms throughout Africa, which went in tandem with decentralization reforms. The chapters of the volume all highlight the gradual changes that have taken place since. Long-term structural uncodified factors – be it societal, economic, geographic, demographic – seem to have interacted with the constitutional clauses introduced during the reforms. Some chapters look at how decentralization slowly gave way to recentralization because none of the new subnational entities were politically and economically strong enough to balance off the center; some look at how inherent deficiencies in infrastructure and personnel at the subnational level brought the central government back in; some look at how different subnational units ended up working differently due to differences in demographic and social factors; some look at how uncodified factors came to determine how national politics functioned; some look at how decentralization created new conflicts between ethnic groups competing for the control of the new entities; some look at how decentralization blew new life into traditional authorities. This book was original published as a special issue of Regional and Federal Studies.

How federalism can be used to provide recognition and accommodate ethnic groups is an important topic, not only in Africa, but in multi-ethnic communities around the world. Examining how institutions of multi-ethnic states have been designed to accommodate ethnic diversity while at the same time maintaining national unity, this book locates institutional responses to the challenges of ethnic diversity within the context of a federal arrangement. It examines how a federal arrangement has been used to reconcile the conflicting pressures of the demand for the recognition of distinctive identities, on the one hand, and the promotion of political and territorial integrity, on the other. Comparative case studies of South Africa and Ethiopia as the two federal systems provide a contrasting approach to issues of ethnic diversity. Suggesting new ways in which federalism might work, the author identifies key institutions lessons which will help to build an all-inclusive society.

Africa is changing and it is easy to overlook how decentralization, democratization, and new forms of illiberalism have transformed federalism, political parties, and local politics. Chapters on Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and South Africa help fill an important gap in comparative institutional research about state and local politics in Africa.