The Future Of Federalism

The global financial crisis had a dramatic short-term effect on federal relations and, as the twelve case studies in this illuminating book show, set in place a new set of socio-political factors that are shaping the longer-run process of institutional change in federal systems. The Future of Federalism illustrates how an understanding of these complex dynamics is crucial to the development of policies needed for effective and sustainable federal governance in the 21st century. The book finds that growing fiscal pressures are interacting with domestic political variables to produce country specific federal dynamics. Arguably the first detailed study of the medium term impact of the financial crisis and its aftermath on federal governance, this volume highlights how growing budget pressures are contributing to increased centralisation in many federations, while in others national governments are devolving power to appease regional grievances and preserve the federal union. Contributions from leading federalism and public finance scholars test recent theoretical explanations of change in federal systems against the experiences of a diverse cross-section of federal jurisdictions. The case studies include both established federations and 'federalizing' jurisdictions, such as the UK and China, and highlights the complex dynamics which shape the evolution of federal governance Comprehensive and interdisciplinary, this timely book will appeal to students and scholars - from political science, economics and law - studying federalism, governance studies and comparative political economy. It is essential reading for public officials and policy makers interested in intergovernmental relations, public finance and budgeting and tax policy. Contributors include: J.R. Afonso, D.M. Brown, C. Colino, T.J. Conlan, L. de Mello, E. del Pino, R. Eccleston, R. Hortle, R. Jha, R. Krever, S. Lee, R. Mabugu, E. Massetti, P. Mellor, J. Schnellenbach, N. Soguel, C. Wong

By the beginning of 1964 public debate about the terms on which French and English culture could continue to co-exist within a single Canadian federal state had become intense. Many causes could be assigned for the intensity of the debate, but one of them evidently was the lack of clear formulation of the problems. It was in these circumstances that the Association of Canadian Law Teachers and the Canadian Political Science Association used their annual meeting at Charlottetown in 1964 to get, on each of four aspects of the current problem of Canadian federalism, a vigorously reasoned statement, by a French-Canadian and an English-Canadian scholar, of the essentials of the problem as he saw it and then, by way of invited commentaries, to bring the ideas more fully into play. The four aspects were: competing concepts of federalism, economic problems peculiar to our federal state, legal and political attitudes towards the BNA Act, and institutional problems of a revision of the Act.

The time is ripe to revisit Canada's past and redress its historical wrongs. Yet in our urgency to imagine roads to reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, it is important to keep in sight the many other forms of diversity that Canadian federalism has historically been designed to accommodate or could also reflect more effectively. Canadian Federalism and Its Future brings together international experts to assess four fundamental institutions: bicameralism, the judiciary as arbiter of the federal deal, the electoral system and party politics, and intergovernmental relations. The contributors use comparative and critical lenses to appraise the repercussions of these four dimensions of Canadian federalism on key actors, including member states, constitutive units, internal nations, Indigenous peoples, and linguistic minorities. Pursuing the work of The Constitutions That Shaped Us (2015) and The Quebec Conference of 1864 (2018), this third volume is a testimony to Canada's successes and failures in constitutional design. Reflecting on the cultural pluralism inherent in this country, Canadian Federalism and Its Future offers thought-provoking lessons for a world in search of concrete institutional solutions, within and beyond the traditional nation-state.

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The crisis and its aftermath had a dramatic short-term effect on federal relations and, as the twelve case studies in this volume show, set in place a new set of socio-political factors that are shaping the longer-run process of institutional evolution and adaptation in federal systems. This illuminating book illustrates how an understanding of these complex dynamics is crucial to the development of policies needed for effective and sustainable federal governance in the twenty-first century.​