DOCSLIB.ORG

Territorial Self-Government As a Conflict Management Tool Dawn Walsh

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Territorial Self-Government As a Conflict Management Tool Dawn Walsh Federalism and Internal Conflicts Series edited by Soeren Keil and Eva Maria Belser Territorial Self-Government as a Conflict Management Tool Dawn Walsh Federalism and Internal Conficts Series Editors Soeren Keil Canterbury Christ Church University Canterbury, UK Eva Maria Belser University of Freiburg Freiburg, Switzerland This series engages in the discussions on federalism as a tool of internal confict resolution. Building on a growing body of literature on the use of federalism and territorial autonomy to solve ethnic, cultural, linguistic and identity conficts, both in the West and in non-Western countries, this global series assesses to what extent different forms of federalism and territorial autonomy are being used as tools of confict resolution and how successful these approaches are. We welcome proposals on theoretical debates, single case studies and short comparative pieces covering topics such as: – Federalism and peace-making in contemporary intra-state conficts – The link between federalism and democratization in countries facing intra-state confict – Secessionism, separatism, self-determination and power-sharing – Inter-group violence and the potential of federalism to transform conficts – Successes and failures of federalism and other forms of territorial autonomy in post-confict countries – Federalism, decentralisation and resource conficts – Peace treaties, interim constitutions and permanent power sharing arrangements – The role of international actors in the promotion of federalism (and other forms of territorial autonomy) as tools of internal confict reso- lution – Federalism and state-building – Federalism, democracy and minority protection For further information on the series and to submit a proposal for consideration, please get in touch with Ambra Finotello [email protected], or series editors Soeren Keil [email protected] and Eva Maria Belser [email protected] More information about this series at http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/15730 Dawn Walsh Territorial Self-Government as a Confict Management Tool Dawn Walsh School of Law and Government Dublin City University Dublin, Ireland Federalism and Internal Conficts ISBN 978-3-319-77233-2 ISBN 978-3-319-77234-9 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77234-9 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018934654 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifcally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microflms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifc statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affliations. Cover illustration: Westend61 Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer International Publishing AG part of Springer Nature The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland This volume is dedicated to the political and community leaders who help us to imagine a brighter future. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Prof. Stefan Wolff of the School of Politics and International Studies at the University of Birmingham and Dr. John Doyle of the School of Law and Government, at Dublin City University, for their guidance and insightful comments on an earlier version of this work. I would also like to thank those who agreed to be interviewed for this research or provided informal insights. I am grateful to Prof. Brendan O’Leary of the University of Pennsylvania whose support assisted me greatly in the completion of this volume. Finally, without the unfailing support and encouragement of my mother Grace and my husband Cian this project would not have been possible. The support of the Irish Research Council is gratefully acknowledged. vii CONTENTS Introduction: Guaranteeing Territorial Self-Government as a Confict Management Tool 1 Northern Ireland: Autonomy as a Confict Management Tool in a Stable State, Ethnonational Guarantors, and Low-Level International Assistance 35 Bosnia and Herzegovina: Ethnic Entities in a Multi-ethnic State? Instability and Disputed Interpretations of the State 69 The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: Enhanced Local Government and Ethnic Confict 103 Moldova: Weak Autonomy, Central Government Neglect, and Mixed International Impact 141 Iraq: Iraqi Kurdistan, Unresolved Issues, and Changing International Priorities 179 Conclusion 219 Index 241 ix Introduction: Guaranteeing Territorial Self-Government as a Confict Management Tool Over the last century, the nature of violent confict has undergone a fun- damental transformation, with interstate confict gradually being replaced by intra-state group based confict as the most common and destructive. In the immediate aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union, there was a particularly sharp rise in the number of such conficts, while this then decreased slowly and unevenly, it began to rise again in the mid- 2000s.1 Technological advances in warfare and developing international norms of minority protection combined to undermine security based responses to these conficts. This led to a large increase in peace agree- ments aimed at ending these violent disputes. Territorial self-government (TSG) is at the heart of many current and proposed confict resolution settlements. TSG provides territorially concentrated groups, usually those that are minorities within the wider state, with autonomy over a range of matters. This can provide such groups with security against discriminatory state practices and offcial recognition. Yet such arrange- ments are often unhappy compromises, with identity groups pursuing higher levels of autonomy, up to and including secession or unifcation with a neighbouring kin-state, and central government seeking to limit 1 Pettersson, T., & Wallensteen, P. (2015). Armed Conficts, 1946–2014. Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 52, No. 4, 536–550. © The Author(s) 2018 1 D. Walsh, Territorial Self-Government as a Confict Management Tool, Federalism and Internal Conficts, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77234-9_1 2 D. WALSH the level of autonomy to retain power and protect against state break-up. The compromise nature of such measures and the post-confict context in which they operate makes them inherently unstable. Many scholars argue that TSG is not an effective confict resolution mechanism.2 They argue that the autonomy structures provided by TSG facilitate further centrifugal activities by identity groups. The identity groups will utilise self-rule provided by the central government to manip- ulate the TSG arrangements, moving the compromise in the direction which they favour—more autonomy or even full independence—again bringing them into confict with the state. The ability of TSG to resolve confict can also be undermined by the reverse process: re-centralisation. Central governments may agree to autonomy provisions as part of a peace accord, however once the violence has ended, identity groups have surrender land or arms, and international attention has faded, they may re-centralise these powers. Such unilateral moves are again likely to lead to the re-emergence of confict. Even where the identity group or central government have no intention of manoeuvring the TSG provisions to achieve their preferred outcome, a lack of trust between the parties impedes the conclusion and operation of such agreements. Confict parties often have negative past experiences of interacting with each other. They do not typically have a history of coop- eration or reciprocal compromise; rather there may have been atrocities committed by both sides or long-standing patterns of discrimination. So despite prefering reform and institutions provided for in a peace agreement to continued violence, parties may not sign up to agreements. These def- cits of trust are particularly problematic in relation to TSG. They ensure that both identity groups and central governments are fearful that TSG will fail due to the possible aforementioned manipulations by the other. This book assesses the potential of guarantee mechanisms to over- come the innate instability of TSG as a confict resolution mechanism by examining fve cases (Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Macedonia, Moldova, and Iraq) where TSG was a key element of a political agreement aimed at ameliroating intra-state group based confict. This chapter develops a theory of TSG as a confict management tool, including an understand- ing of the causes of intra-state identity confict, the role of institutional design, and sources of instability. It then describes
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Palacký University Olomouc ANGLOPHONE CONFERENCE 26
    The publication of this volume was generously supported and completed within the Specific researched project 2119, “Teaching Performing, Performing Teaching,” funded by the Faculty of Education, University of Hradec Králové. Vol. 6 HRADEC KRÁLOVÉ No. 1 JOURNAL 2019 OF ANGLOPHONE STUDIES Volume’s editor: Jan Suk Original illustrations: Ivan Mečl Published: Department of English Language and Literature Faculty of Education University of Hradec Králové Rokitanského 62 500 03 Hradec Králové Czech Republic Print: Tiskárna Brázda, Hodonín Web: pdf.uhk.cz/hkjas/ ISSN: 2336-3347 (Print) ISSN: 2571-032X (Online) Editorial Board Bohuslav Mánek, University of Hradec Kralové, Czech Republic Helena Polehlová, University of Hradec Kralové, Czech Republic Editor in Chief Jan Suk, University of Hradec Kralové, Czech Republic Volume’s Guest Editors Cyrielle Garson, Avignon University, France Daniel Schulze, Theater Konstanz, Germany Advisory Board Blanka Babická, Palacký University Olomouc, Czech Republic Šárka Bubíková, University of Pardubice, Czech Republic Richard Burt, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA Yilin Chen, Providence University, Taichung, Taiwan Jan Comorek, Charles University, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic Milada Franková, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic Jana Harťanská, Constantine the Philosopher University, Nitra, Slovakia Kacie Hittel Tam, University of Georgia, Athens, USA Mirka Horová, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic Vladimíra Ježdíková, University of Hradec Králové, Czech Republic Ema Jelínková, Palacký University
    [Show full text]
  • Nationalism As Ideology: a Reflection on the Group Remaking Tendencies in Macedonia
    Nationalism as Ideology: A Reflection on the Group Remaking Tendencies in Macedonia Master Thesis for the award of the academic degree of Master of Arts (MA) at the Karl-Franzens-University of Graz submitted by: Branimir Staletovik at the Centre for Southeast European Studies Supervisor: Univ. Professor Florian Bieber Graz, 2015 Table of Contents Introduction............................................................................................................................1 The Rise of Nationalism in Macedonia................................................................................1 Chapter I: Nationalism as Ideology .....................................................................................5 Antiquization and Skopje 2014 – a critical reflection on the existing approaches ..............5 From Identity to Ideology ....................................................................................................8 Beyond Identity..................................................................................................................10 Nationalism as Ideology ....................................................................................................13 Thesis Goals and Methods .................................................................................................16 Nationalism in Macedonia and the Post-Yugoslav States..................................................18 Chapter II: The evolvement of ancient narrative in Macedonia and ‘diaspora’...........24 A Historical Reflection on the
    [Show full text]
  • Candidate Ranking Strategies Under Closed List Proportional Representation
    The Best at the Top? Candidate Ranking Strategies Under Closed List Proportional Representation Benoit S Y Crutzen Hideo Konishi Erasmus School of Economics Boston College Nicolas Sahuguet HEC Montreal April 21, 2021 Abstract Under closed-list proportional representation, a party’selectoral list determines the order in which legislative seats are allocated to candidates. When candidates differ in their ability, parties face a trade-off between competence and incentives. Ranking candidates in decreasing order of competence ensures that elected politicians are most competent. Yet, party list create incentives for candidates that may push parties not to rank candidates in decreasing competence order. We examine this trade-off in a game- theoretical model in which parties rank their candidate on a list, candidates choose their campaign effort, and the election is a team contest for multiple prizes. We show that the trade-off between competence and incentives depends on candidates’objective and the electoral environment. In particular, parties rank candidates in decreasing order of competence if candidates value enough post-electoral high offi ces or media coverage focuses on candidates at the top of the list. 1 1 Introduction Competent politicians are key for government and democracy to function well. In most democracies, political parties select the candidates who can run for offi ce. Parties’decision on which candidates to let run under their banner is therefore of fundamental importance. When they select candidates, parties have to worry not only about the competence of candidates but also about incentives, about their candidates’motivation to engage with voters and work hard for their party’selectoral success.
    [Show full text]
  • Albanian Families' History and Heritage Making at the Crossroads of New
    Voicing the stories of the excluded: Albanian families’ history and heritage making at the crossroads of new and old homes Eleni Vomvyla UCL Institute of Archaeology Thesis submitted for the award of Doctor in Philosophy in Cultural Heritage 2013 Declaration of originality I, Eleni Vomvyla confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. Signature 2 To the five Albanian families for opening their homes and sharing their stories with me. 3 Abstract My research explores the dialectical relationship between identity and the conceptualisation/creation of history and heritage in migration by studying a socially excluded group in Greece, that of Albanian families. Even though the Albanian community has more than twenty years of presence in the country, its stories, often invested with otherness, remain hidden in the Greek ‘mono-cultural’ landscape. In opposition to these stigmatising discourses, my study draws on movements democratising the past and calling for engagements from below by endorsing the socially constructed nature of identity and the denationalisation of memory. A nine-month fieldwork with five Albanian families took place in their domestic and neighbourhood settings in the areas of Athens and Piraeus. Based on critical ethnography, data collection was derived from participant observation, conversational interviews and participatory techniques. From an individual and family group point of view the notion of habitus led to diverse conceptions of ethnic identity, taking transnational dimensions in families’ literal and metaphorical back- and-forth movements between Greece and Albania.
    [Show full text]
  • A Canadian Model of Proportional Representation by Robert S. Ring A
    Proportional-first-past-the-post: A Canadian model of Proportional Representation by Robert S. Ring A thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Political Science Memorial University St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador May 2014 ii Abstract For more than a decade a majority of Canadians have consistently supported the idea of proportional representation when asked, yet all attempts at electoral reform thus far have failed. Even though a majority of Canadians support proportional representation, a majority also report they are satisfied with the current electoral system (even indicating support for both in the same survey). The author seeks to reconcile these potentially conflicting desires by designing a uniquely Canadian electoral system that keeps the positive and familiar features of first-past-the- post while creating a proportional election result. The author touches on the theory of representative democracy and its relationship with proportional representation before delving into the mechanics of electoral systems. He surveys some of the major electoral system proposals and options for Canada before finally presenting his made-in-Canada solution that he believes stands a better chance at gaining approval from Canadians than past proposals. iii Acknowledgements First of foremost, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to my brilliant supervisor, Dr. Amanda Bittner, whose continuous guidance, support, and advice over the past few years has been invaluable. I am especially grateful to you for encouraging me to pursue my Master’s and write about my electoral system idea.
    [Show full text]
  • How New Is New Loyalism?
    HOW NEW IS NEW LOYALISM? CATHERINE MCGLYNN EUROPEAN STUDIES RESEARCH INSTITUTE UNIVERSITY OF SALFORD SALFORD, UK Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, February 2004 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Page 1 Chapter One Hypothesis and Methodology Page 6 Chapter Two Literature Review: Unionism, Loyalism, Page 18 New Loyalism Chapter Three A Civic Loyalism? Page 50 Chapter Four The Roots of New Loyalism 1966-1982 Page 110 Chapter Five New Loyalism and the Peace Process Page 168 Chapter Six New Loyalism and the Progressive Page 205 Unionist Party Chapter Seven Conclusion: How New is New Loyalism? Page 279 Bibliography Page 294 ABBREVIATONS CLMC Combined Loyalist Military Command DENI Department of Education for Northern Ireland DUP Democratic Unionist Party IOO Independent Orange Order IRA Irish Republican Army LAW Loyalist Association of Workers LVF Loyalist Volunteer Force NICRA Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association NIHE Northern Ireland Housing Executive NILP Northern Ireland Labour Party PUP Progressive Unionist Party RHC Red Hand Commandos RHD Red Hand Defenders SDLP Social Democratic and Labour Party UDA Ulster Defence Association UDP Ulster Democratic Party UDLP Ulster Democratic and Loyalist Party UFF Ulster Freedom Fighters UUP Ulster Unionist Party UUUC United Ulster Unionist Council UWC Ulster Workers' Council UVF Ulster Volunteer Force VPP Volunteer Political Party ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my PhD supervisor, Jonathan Tonge for all his support during my time at Salford University. I am also grateful to all the staff at the Northern Irish Political collection at the Linen Hall Library in Belfast for their help and advice.
    [Show full text]
  • PHD DISSERTATION.Pdf
    CHAPTER I Along the path of identity transformation of the different Albanian communities from their original Balkan environment to their destination in Italy as migrants The Albanian Issues and Identities - Introduction In 1912, noting the weakness of the Ottoman empire, the Albanian intellectual elite declared the founding of the Albanian state. Using the language and culture as bounds, they made the first step in erasing substantial cultural and religious differences and the creation of common identity between the Ghegs in Northern Albania and their Tosk cousins in the South. The newly founded state comprised, however, only a part of Albanian-inhabited lands while the rest was divided among the neighboring Slav states (Serbia and Montenegro) and Greece. A third of the Albanian population remained under the Serb and the Montenegrin administration, including the western coast of Lake Scutari, Kosovo and the western part of today’s Macedonia. Although this division had serious economic and psychological implications it was not the only reason for the Albanian discontent. In fact the Yugoslav state was from the beginning bitterly hostile to the ethnic Albanians. At first, the official state policy toward the “anti-national” and subversive Albanian element was one of the state sponsored assimilation through the Serbian education system. This policy, however, did not give the expected results and it was abandoned after it became clear that instead of aiding assimilation it was encouraging the growth of the Albanian national consciousness and oppositional activity. Considering that they were not able to assimilate them, the Serbian state authorities decided to adopt some more incisive policies of colonization and forced emigration.
    [Show full text]
  • Engineering Electoral Systems: Possibilities and Pitfalls
    Alan Wall and Mohamed Salih Engineering Electoral Systems: Possibilities and Pitfalls 1 Indonesia – Voting Station 2005 Index 1 Introduction 5 2 Engineering Electoral Systems: Possibilities and Pitfalls 6 2.1 What Is Electoral Engineering? 6 2.2 Basic Terms and Classifications 6 2.3 What Are the Potential Objectives of an Electoral System? 8 3 2.4 What Is the Best Electoral System? 8 2.5 Specific Issues in Split or Post Conflict Societies 10 2.6 The Post Colonial Blues 10 2.7 What Is an Appropriate Electoral System Development or Reform Process? 11 2.8 Stakeholders in Electoral System Reform 13 2.9 Some Key Issues for Political Parties 16 3 Further Reading 18 4 About the Authors 19 5 About NIMD 20 Annex Electoral Systems in NIMD Partner Countries 21 Colophon 24 4 Engineering Electoral Systems: Possibilities and Pitfalls 1 Introduction 5 The choice of electoral system is one of the most important decisions that any political party can be involved in. Supporting or choosing an inappropriate system may not only affect the level of representation a party achieves, but may threaten the very existence of the party. But which factors need to be considered in determining an appropriate electoral system? This publication provides an introduction to the different electoral systems which exist around the world, some brief case studies of recent electoral system reforms, and some practical tips to those political parties involved in development or reform of electoral systems. Each electoral system is based on specific values, and while each has some generic advantages and disadvantages, these may not occur consistently in different social and political environments.
    [Show full text]
  • Content Analysis Baden & Stalpouskaya
    Methodological Framework: Content Analysis Baden & Stalpouskaya 17 September 2015 INFOCORE Working Paper 2015/10 COMMON METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK: CONTENT ANALYSIS A MIXED-METHODS STRATEGY FOR COMPARATIVELY, DIACHRONICALLY ANALYZING CONFLICT DISCOURSE Christian Baden1 & Katsiaryna Stalpouskaya2 1Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2Ludwig Maximilian University Munich INFOCORE Working Paper 2015/10 1 www.infocore.eu/results/ www.infocore.eu/results/ Methodological Framework: Content Analysis Baden & Stalpouskaya COMMON METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK: CONTENT ANALYSIS (EXECUTIVE SUMMARY) The “common methodological framework” sets out those elements of INFOCORE’s methodological strategy shared by the analyses of INFOCORE’s four content-analytic WPs. The framework departs from an understanding of discourse as the use of lexical indicators (in different languages and manifold variations) to express semantic meaning – meanings that can be compared over time, across conflicts, across media, across cases, and in many other ways. In order to meet INFOCORE’s complex analytic demands, the framework combines inductive with deductive approaches, applies mixed qualitative and quantitative methodology, and formulates a sequence of steps to ensure that the respective strengths of each part are integrated to inform subsequent steps. Specifically, INFOCORE follows three main stages. In the first stage, the involved WPs and conflict leaders gather material and input on the cultural richness and variability of conflict-related discourse. From a detailed, qualitative
    [Show full text]
  • Gibbs Umd 0117E 12639.Pdf
    ABSTRACT Title of Document: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEGITIMACY, TERRORIST ATTACKS AND POLICE Jennifer Catherine Gibbs Doctor of Philosophy, 2011 Directed By: Professor Laura Dugan Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice Scholars often suggest that terrorism – “the threatened or actual use of illegal force and violence to attain a political, economic, religious or social goal through fear, coercion or intimidation” (LaFree & Dugan, 2007, 184) – is a battle of legitimacy. As the most ubiquitous representatives of the government’s coercive force, the police should be most susceptible to terrorism stemming from perceptions of illegitimacy. Police are attractive symbolic and strategic targets, and they were victimized in over 12% of terrorist attacks worldwide since 1970. However, empirical research assessing the influence of legitimacy on terrorist attacks, generally, and scholarly attention to terrorist attacks on police are scant. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the influence of state and police legitimacy and alternative explanations on the proportion of all and only fatal terrorist attacks on police in 82 countries between 1999 and 2008. Data were drawn from several sources, including the Global Terrorism Database and the World Values Survey. Surprisingly, results of Tobit analyses indicate that police legitimacy, measured by the percentage of the population who have at least some confidence in police, is not significantly related to the proportion of all terrorist attacks on police or the proportion of fatal terrorist attacks on police. State legitimacy was measured by four indicators; only the percentage of the population who would never protest reached significance, lending limited support for this hypothesis. Greater societal schism, the presence of a foreign military and greater economic inequality were consistently significant predictors of higher proportions of terrorist attacks on police.
    [Show full text]
  • Pasts, Futures, and Connections Between Scotland, Ulster,1 and Ireland: a Critique of Some Historiographical Tendencies
    G. K. Peatling IRSS 32 (2007) 33 Pasts, Futures, and Connections between Scotland, Ulster,1 and Ireland: a critique of some historiographical tendencies G. K.Peatling* The diversity of historical interactions between Scotland and modern Ireland, especially Northern Ireland, is not in doubt. But the nature and effect of the paramount Scottish influences upon Northern Ireland are disputed. That there are also cognate disputes pertaining to the future of Northern Ireland, and the likely future of relations between Scotland and Northern Ireland, raises fundamental questions as to the purpose of academic study of such historical questions. Even scholarly depictions of the past of Scottish-Irish connections may make implicit assumptions about how the legacy of these connections may impede or nurture certain future developments in both locations. To offer any such depiction may thus be to make political recommendations on some fiercely contested present controversies, such as the likely political future of these constituent nations or regions of the British Isles or north Atlantic archipelago. This paper reviews perceptions of likely futures of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland which historically-informed commentators have advanced, identifying four strands in such analyses. Because none of these perceptions are entirely sound, this essay is partly an illustration of the seductive, and at times delusive, attraction of historical and political parallels and analogies. Significantly however, a common deficiency in such analyses lies in exaggerations of the significance of connections, parallels and affinities between Northern Ireland (or Ireland) and Scotland. Armed thus with a caution as to the errors that such overstatements may produce, this paper offers its own estimates * Dr Gary Peatling is Lecturer in European/British History at the University of Plymouth.
    [Show full text]
  • EU Electoral Law Memorandum.Pages
    Memorandum on the Electoral Law of the European Union: Confederal and Federal Legitimacy and Turnout European Parliament Committee on Constitutional Affairs Hearing on Electoral Reform Brendan O’Leary, BA (Oxon), PhD (LSE) Lauder Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania Citizen of Ireland and Citizen of the USA1 submitted November 26 2014 hearing December 3 2014 Page !1 of !22 The European Parliament, on one view, is a direct descendant of its confederal precursor, which was indirectly elected from among the member-state parliaments of the ESCC and the EEC. In a very different view the Parliament is the incipient first chamber of the European federal demos, an integral component of a European federation in the making.2 These contrasting confederal and federal understandings imply very different approaches to the law(s) regulating the election of the European Parliament. 1. The Confederal Understanding In the confederal vision of Europe as a union of sovereign member-states, each member- state should pass its own electoral laws, execute its own electoral administration, and regulate the conduct of its representatives in European institutions, who should be accountable to member- state parties and citizens, and indeed function as their “mandatable” delegates. In the strongest confederal vision, in the conduct of EU law-making and policy MEPs should have less powers and status than the ministers of member-states, and their delegated authorities (e.g., ambassadors, or functionally specialized civil servants). In most confederal visions MEPs should be indirectly elected from and accountable to their home parliaments. Applied astringently, the confederal understanding would suggest that the current Parliament has been mis-designed, and operating beyond its appropriate functions at least since 1979.
    [Show full text]