Federalism - a More Sustainable Political System Than Devolution

There is a real influence both of federalism and devolution, but what form of government power is better? Here is a federalism essay in which the topic is discussed with the analysis of both forms and their influences. Legal and constitutional power in a federal state, like the USA and Germany, is divided between a national government and various regional governments. Each level of government has policy areas in which it is autonomous and each level has its own elected assembly (or assemblies) and government. Each of the 50 American states, for example, has its own constitution, its own Governor and, among other things, the state’s control education policy. The crucial feature of a federal state is that the division of power is defined in a codified constitution and protected by that constitution. Devolution is ‘the delegation of central government powers to subordinate units, these powers being exercised with some degree of autonomy though with ultimate power remaining with central government.’ Vernon Bogdanor. In theory, the key difference between federalism and devolution is that in a federal system the division of power between the central government and the regional governments is defined and protected by a codified constitution whereas devolution is more flexible with the division depending on the central government’s discretion. For example, Northern Ireland’s virtual autonomy within the UK was ended when the British government restored direct rule in 1972, abolishing the Northern Ireland parliament.

Why Devolution? The Maintenance of the Union (and New Labour self-interest). The single most important practical political reason why devolution has been introduced is that the popular demand in Scotland for an elected Scottish Assembly with significant powers became overwhelming. Without devolution Scotland might have been pushed toward demanding independence. The logic of this argument can be summarised: there are nationalist sentiments in Scotland, which provide important sources of cultural identity. If this was not recognised by opportunities for increased self-government, pressure for independence would continue to grow. The United Kingdom can only be preserved by a meaningful devolution of power to Scotland. The Labour Party had good political reasons for introducing increased devolution. It dominates representation at Westminster for both Scotland and Wales. The EU has provided an important incentive to develop a layer of elected regional government. The Maastricht Treaty created the Committee of the Regions and requires requests for many sources of funds from the EU budget to be developed at a regional level.

The ‘Democratic Deficit' argument has many dimensions. The case in principle for devolution includes the following arguments: Highly centralised government is unrepresentative and unaccountable. Centralised government appears remote and lacks legitimacy, in the sense that people do not feel properly consulted or that their consent has been given. Greater devolution leads to greater participation and self-government because elected national and regional assemblies control areas of policy most directly affecting people's lives. Devolution inevitably leads to greater diversity because different communities could make different decisions reflecting majority opinion in their areas. Devolution also provide checks and balances on the misuse of government power because government powers are taken away from the centre. Better Government results from Devolution. Democratic government, by local people and politicians who know local conditions and circumstances, and have a stake in the outcome, it is also a more efficient government. Centralised government is overloaded, leading to delays and is unable to focus on the problems facing specific regions. Devolution adds to democracy by providing a check on central government. The Plaid Cymru website says, ‘The Assembly has achieved some important things, the most important being unmasking the truth about the way in which the UK government has been dealing with European money. For year’s money earmarked for Wales has been going to the Treasury's coffers while European projects were funded at the cost of our public services.’

The Survival of Federalism. Since the late 1980s, there has been an attempt to devolve power by Congress and the Supreme Court has made serious attempts to revive federalism by strengthening the Tenth Amendment and by reinterpreting the Commerce Clause. The states remain very important administrative and political units and the states preserve variety, each continues to have its own separate legal and political system, and travelling from state to state the observer is aware of distinctive political cultures. The states preserve a degree of local or regional political autonomy that is quite unfamiliar in more centralized political systems. State law remains preeminent in many areas of economic and social life. The role of the states has increased, as federal governments have required them to participate in the implementation of federally funded programmes. The states are at the very heart of some of most important issues in American politics, for example, abortion. Constitutional provisions in America are complex, vague and contradictory. For example, the 'necessary and proper' clause conflicts with the Tenth Amendment. The Supreme Court has therefore been of crucial significance in the development of federalism. 'Federalism is not a fixed, well defined legalistic principle; it is an evolving concept …Federalism is what political leaders, especially Supreme Court justices, say it is.'

Those who favour decentralisation put forward a number of claims. Democracy near the people, different regions have their own political and cultural traditions. Only a federal system offers the space that will allow these to flourish. Decentralised systems of government offer opportunities for policy experimentation and innovation, no Regional governments can balance out the actions of the national government. They can prevent the legislators and bureaucrats in the centre from becoming excessively powerful. Conflict management – allowing policy diversity also means that a uniform policy is not imposed on hostile citizens. The arguments for stronger central government include: citizens are entitled to the nationally set minimum standards. Efficiency and fairness require national policies and redistribution of wealth from wealthier to poorer areas. National crises constantly demand national action. The realities of modern economic and social life and technology, mean that the appropriate framework for decisions are large – national and international (for example, pollution). These arguments both have validity and in modern federalism and devolution some political decisions are taken at national level and some at regional level.

Both federalism and devolution apply to national governments with sub governments underneath them. Both deal with division of power. Both tend to be democratic. Both sovereign states. Federal government has Constitutional specified powers for both sub and national governments. In Devolution the national government holds all the power, which they delegate to the sub national governments but they can also take it away at will. The sub national powers are separate but equal and all have the same national authority. Federalism is also a system where there is a division between a central level and a regional or sub central level. Smaller branches rely on the supreme levels (unitary government and sub-units). Devolution is a form of decentralization it gives power from the unitary government (supreme) to the sub governments, but does not guarantee them equality, or power over the same things, and it is not set in stone. Federalism is more rigid, since the powers that are given to the federal government and to the state governments are set by the Constitution, which can only be changed with the consent of the federal government and most of the states.

To sum up, federalism allows power through a delegated constitution. The power comes from the people. They put it into a constitution (or government framework). The constitution defines the delegation of powers to the states (all equally) and to the federal government. In a unitary government, the power comes from the people. They give that power to Parliament (the national government), and then Parliament can choose to delegate it to subnational governments. Devolution is used in a unitary state and federalism is used in a federal stats. A type of government structure in which power is transferred from a central government to sub national authorities. With devolution, power is given to the lower states (sub governments). Example: UK sub governments: Scottish Assembly, Assembly of Wales, Assembly of Northern Ireland.