Hanns Bühler / Susanne Luther / Volker L. Plän (eds.) FEDERALISM – A SUCCESS STORY? International Munich Federalism Days 2016 www.hss.de Hanns Bühler / Susanne Luther / Volker L. Plän (eds.) FEDERALISM – A SUCCESS STORY? International Munich Federalism Days 2016 Imprint ISBN 978-3-88795-516-8 Publisher Copyright 2016, Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung e.V., Munich Lazarettstr. 33, 80636 Munich, Tel. +49 (0)89 1258-0 E-Mail: [email protected], online: www.hss.de Chairwoman Prof. Ursula Männle, State Minister (ret.) Chief Executive Officer Dr. Peter Witterauf Director of Institute for Dr. Susanne Luther (Editor-in-Chief, V.i.S.d.P.) International Cooperation Head of Press, Hubertus Klingsbögl PR & Internet Editorial Office Susanne Berke (Editorial Staff) Marion Steib (Editorial Assistant) Print Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung e.V., Munich Cover Artwork Formidee Designbüro, Munich All rights reserved, in particular the right to reproduction, distribution and translation. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, microfilm, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. The copyright for this publication is held by the Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung e.V. The views expressed by the authors in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. PREFACE ||| Ursula Männle In more and more countries with challenged statehood, feder- alism is being discussed as a model for reform. Under various pre- conditions, expectations are being addressed towards federalism worldwide. The ability of federalism to integrate diverging interests, autono- my movements, and territorial conflicts peacefully is emphasized. It is, however, apparent, that peace and development with or by fed- eralism are not guaranteed. For federalism reforms, a dialogue with the community is essential, which has to take place in the context of a democratic system and by mutual consent on its principles. The concepts of federalism and decentralisation are thus facing support as well as various challenges and political circumstances are rather deteriorating than improving. How can federalism help satisfying critical voices? What requirements need to be fulfilled to overcome economic negligence (or its impression) and to prevent the extension of social rifts? Which role do security forces play to overcome conflicts that tear at a nation’s unity? These questions were discussed at the International Munich Fed- eralism Days 2016, the sequel to the Wildbad Kreuth Federalism Days series. More than one hundred political and social scientists, politicians as well as activists from twenty-two countries discussed in the four day-conference, under which circumstances political re- forms, aiming at establishment of federalized structures and mecha- 3 URSULA MÄNNLE nisms can be successful. This book presents their findings of the discussions from eleven countries. Despite its challenges, the concept of federalism itself is increas- ingly sought after by countries harbouring inherent geographical or ethnical tensions. The decentralisation of political power can help unifying interests and thus strengthening the country as a whole, making it easier for its citizens to identify themselves with it. The cases of the Philippines, Nepal or Myanmar are good examples. Here, federalism has been included in the political discourse. In some coun- tries like Israel or Ukraine, federal models are discussed for pacifica- tion, but have yet to leave the stage of theory (See Oleh Berezyuk’s article on current obstacles for decentralisation in Ukraine). On the other hand, the cases of Yemen and Nepal show that the decentralised allocation of power or resources associated with federalism can also be the source of unrest instead of its remedy (see Hari Bansh Jha’s article on the reasons of the failed implementation of Nepal’s 2015 constitution). This further leads to the question which is also being discussed in the later part of this book: do certain economic preconditions have to be in place to ensure a stable federal state or is a decentralised structure necessary to ensure an economic and social balance? Even stable democracies such as Germany, have to re-evaluate their mechanisms as the case of fiscal equalisation between the Free State of Bavaria and other German states shows. In order to maintain stability in a democracy, armed forces and police can play a significant role as well. Armed conflicts and mili- tary juntas – traditionally supporting centralised structures – have prevented the full implementation of decentralised structures as examples in this book show. On the other hand, a decentralised security force (police) with local accountability can increase effec- tiveness. However, a transition from a centralised to a decentralised security force is a tremendous act which can leave a power vacuum or incur substantial costs (this challenge is illustrated in Luis Cedeño’s article on the case of Venezuela). 4 P R E F A C E This book mirrors the manifold challenges democracies face with the practical implementation of decentralised structures. At the same time, it provides ideas and solutions from various perspectives. For this reason, I am confident that this book will be a significant con- tribution to the international exchange on the topics of federalism and decentralisation. ||| PROF. URSULA MÄNNLE Chairwoman of Hanns Seidel Foundation since 2014. She served as Bavarian Minister of State for Federal Affairs and was a long-standing member of both the German Federal Parliament as well as the Parliament of the Free State of Bavaria. 5 . CONTENTS 3 PREFACE Ursula Männle 9 FEDERALISM AS A MODEL FOR SUCCESSFUL POLICY-MAKING AND AS A CHALLENGE TO GOVERNANCE Roland Sturm 23 ON THE BORDERLINE OF WESTERN DEMOCRACY & EASTERN DESPOTISM Oleh Berezyuk 37 RESOLUTION OF ARMED AND ETHNIC CONFLICTS IN D.R. CONGO IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE CONSTITUTION Kalulu M. Taba 55 FEDERALISM AND DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION: AN INDIAN PERSPECTIVE Shakti Sinha 73 FEDERALISM IN SOUTH AFRICA: A COMPLEX CONTEXT AND CONTINUED CHALLENGES Erwin Schwella 7 C O N T E N T S 103 FEDERALISM AND INTERNAL SECURITY IN THE AGE OF TERROR: POLICE IN PAKISTAN Asma Faiz 115 POLICE WORK IN DECENTRALIZED GOVERNMENTS IN VENEZUELA Luis Cedeño 129 ECONOMIC PRECONDITIONS FOR A STABLE FEDERAL STATE: WITH REFERENCE TO NEPAL Hari Bansh Jha 149 DEVOLUTION: THE KENYA CASE Peter Wanyande / Tom Mboya 163 ARGENTINA: FEDERAL DEVELOPMENT AS A STATE PROGRAMME IN THE 21 ST CENTURY Pablo María Garat 183 DECENTRALIZATION IN TUNISIA: CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS Néji Baccouche 8 FEDERALISM AS A MODEL FOR SUCCESSFUL POLICY-MAKING AND AS A CHALLENGE TO GOVERNANCE ||| Roland Sturm Federalism in the world comes in many shapes and institutional realities. This is due to the national circumstances federalism has to pay respect to. Still, it is not impossible to generalize, and to filter out the preconditions for a successful federal state. The most basic context is the one of democracy and federalism: Without democracy, there is no chance to develop the efficiency and participation poten- tials of federalism. 1 In an ideal world policy-making will follow the logic of federal power-sharing. The reality in federal states is often less straight-forward. 2 Federalism is often seen as a challenge to traditional modes of governance and not as offering ways to improve governance. For example, the Westminster model of governance has to find ways to reconcile the thought of absolute parliamentary sovereignty with the popular sovereignty of the states / regions / provinces that make up the federation. Different strategies can be found here. In Canada, for example, the weakening of the role of the federal government in provincial affairs has reduced the fields of joint policy-making to an extent which makes it highly unlikely that the question arises, which of the principles of statecraft, the federal one or the sover- eignty of Parliament in Ottawa shall prevail. In addition, with regard to policy-making, there exists no federal chamber to speak of, that would be able to and inclined to veto provincial politics. In India, we find the opposite extreme: A frequent involvement of the 9 ROLAND STURM federal government in states’ affairs, especially via public adminis- tration, which is the backbone of policy implementation. In times of region-state conflicts, the federal government prevails to an extent which has led to the question whether India still is a federal state. The South African case is even more extreme. The leading political party ANC sees the federal organization of the state as an obstacle to governance. This obstacle should be overcome by the central- izing influence of party politics. The centralism of ANC party organization cannot be reconciled with federal diversity. SUCCESSFUL POLICY-MAKING The "secret" of successful policy-making in federalism is to make good use of diversity. Diversity is a complex issue. It helps to inte- grate centrifugal forces in societies, especially in ethnically divided ones. But the acceptance of diversity comes at a price. Governance gains in complexity, and it is necessary to deal with demands for different kinds of participation in policy-making. A balance has to be found between efficiency and voice. Policy experts tend to prefer problem-oriented solutions. In federal states, problem orientation has to take on board procedural orientations. It is not enough to come up with, for example, a better system of health care, when the introduction of such a system ignores regional demands and neces- sities. A recent example is the National Health Service in Britain, which federalized when the country began to accept a decentraliza- tion of its state organization. Now four health services – for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland – exist. The technical question whether a unitary health service would perhaps be more efficient is obsolete. Diversity is the precondition for the acceptance of the organization of the health service. Efficiency questions need to be answered in a framework which depends on the degree of diversity a society believes to be adequate.