Ending up with a federation (and not something else)

Ending up with a Federation(and not something else)

Jakub Jermář@jjermar

Ambiguity of Federation


Historical misnomersUnited States of America (union of citizens)

Swiss Confederation (actually a federation)


Historical misnomersUnited States of America (union of citizens)

Swiss Confederation (actually a federation)

Modern confusionConstitutional Treaty (creative marketing name)

Federation of States (oxymoron)

Eurosceptics (want less integration BUT fear “federation”)

Europhiles (want more integration BUT embrace “federation”)

“Federalists” (shouldn’t they want a federation?)

Superstate (everything is decided top-down)

Federation vs. federalism vs. federal systems (different concepts)

What is a federation?


Preston King in Federalism and Federation:An institutional arrangement, taking the form of a sovereign state, and distinguished from other such states solely by the fact that its central government incorporates regional units in its decision procedure on some constitutionally entrenched basis.


Preston King in Federalism and Federation:An institutional arrangement, taking the form of a sovereign state, and distinguished from other such states solely by the fact that its central government incorporates regional units in its decision procedure on some constitutionally entrenched basis.

Daniel Elazar in Exploring Federalism:The federalist alternative insists that no governments or states are sovereign as such – that political sovereignty resides in the people who delegate powers through constitutional devices on a limited basis to different governments as they see fit.

Think of two levels of republican government sharing citizens.


A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R

State level, powers α – ω




Federal level, powers α – δ

State level, powers ε – ω


Federation



Federal level, powers α – δ

State level, powers ε – ω


E F G

H I J K L

P Q R

M N OA B C D


Not a federation

E F G

H I J K L

P Q R

M N OA B C D

Deeper integrationEU treaty reformPolitical/fiscal/defense unionEurophiles

Looser integrationFree trade treaty

EEA/EFTA/NATOEurosceptics

Axis of Confederation Axis of Confederation

Number of Levels of Government Created by the

People

Str

onge

r fe

dera

l go

vern

men

tF

ede

ralis

ts

Wea

ker

fede

ral

gov

ernm

ent

Fe

dera

lists

Axi

s of

Fed

era

tion

Axi

s of

Fed

era

tion

2

1

Simplified field guide Simplified field guide to tellingto tellingFederationsFederationsfrom Confederations from Confederations (and other similar (and other similar forms)forms) Confederation

States establish common institutions and pursue their

common goals in some areas.

Confederation

States establish common institutions and pursue their

common goals in some areas.

Federation

Citizens create a new level of government to take care of

their common interests.

Federation

Citizens create a new level of government to take care of

their common interests.

Federation Confederation

Type ofGovernment

RepublicAssembly of

states

BuildingBlocks

Citizens States

FoundingDocument Constitution Treaty

Democratic1 Yes No

Who isSovereign Citizens States

Powerover States2 No Yes

EnforceableLaws3 Yes No

Levels ofGovernment 2 1

(1) Does majority voting take place within one body politic? This is true in a federation, which is a single body politic, but false in a confederation, which is a union of several bodies politic and in which decisions for one member can be made by other members.

(2) Does the union possess hierarchical powers over states? A federal government makes decisions only for itself whereas the assembly of states makes collective decisions for all member states of a confederation.

(3) Can the common rules be easily enforced? This is true in a federation, in which the compliance with the law is enforced by the courts, and false in a confederation where the ultimate enforcement is by force.

(Con)federation by name?

Levels of government

> 1

Made of citizens

?

Is it a federation?

No

Could be

“There are no examples in the world that we can follow because we are the example.”

“There are no examples in the world that we can follow because we are the example.”

– Jean-Claude Juncker, 2015

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the

common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Daniel Elazar in Exploring Federalism:

The Swiss, however, managed to recoup and learn from the American experience so that in 1848 they transformed their traditional federal system into

a modern federation, borrowing heavily from the American model.

Are we somehow less able than the Swiss?

In conclusion

● Fixing the EU is a waste of time● There is no path from the EU to a federation● Inertia makes people reluctant to accept this● We have been in denial for too long● We need to let the EU go...

In conclusion

● Fixing the EU is a waste of time● There is no path from the EU to a federation● Inertia makes people reluctant to accept this● We have been in denial for too long● We need to let the EU go…

...and create ourselves a new level of republican government – a federation

Thank you!

Ending up with a federation (and not something else)

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