The Federal Idea

A significant part of the world's population lives under some sort of federal arrangement. And yet, the concepts of federalism and federation remain under-theorised. Federalist theorists have, for the most part, defined their object by opposition to the unitary state. As a result, they have not developed public law theories that capture the specificity of this type of polity.

Bringing together contributions from leading public law theorists and intellectual historians, this volume explores the foundations of federalism. It develops novel perspectives on the core problems of traditional federalist theory and charts new departures in federalist theory and federal power-sharing. At a time when we look for more inclusive ways of ordering public life, the volume fills an urgent theoretical and political need.

Auteur

Amnon Lev is Associate Professor of Law and Philosophy at the University of Copenhagen.

Contenu

Introduction: Federalism and Public Law Theory
Amnon Lev
I. Making Public Law Work as Theory
II. Modes of Federalism
III. Aspects of the Federal Idea: An Overview of the Volume

Part I: Theorising Federalism

1. The Federal Condition
   Nicholas Aroney
   I. The Liberal Condition
   II. The Federal Condition
2. Federation and Empire: About a Conceptual Distinction of Political Forms
   Olivier Beaud
   I. The Federation as a Political Form and its Relation to Empire
   II. The Ideal Typical Opposition between Federation and Empire
   III. An Illustration in Law: Federative Compact and Federal Treaty
   IV. Some Remarks on Unity and Diversity
3. Towards a Deontic-Axiomatic Theory of Federal Adjudication
   Jean-François Gaudreault-DesBiens
   I. Preliminary Remarks
   II. Ambitions and Limits of a Normative, Deontic-Axiomatic Theory of Federalism
   III. Conclusion
   
   Part II: Governing the Federation
4. Federalism and the Separation of Powers
   Jessica Bulman-Pozen
   I. Cooperative and Uncooperative Federalism
   II. Checking the Federal Executive on Behalf of Congress
   III. Fractal Separation of Powers
   IV. Conclusion
5. Federalism as a Mode of Governance: Autonomy, Identity, Power, and Rights
   Edward L Rubin
   I. The Essence of Federalism: Partial Political Autonomy
   II. The Motivation for Federalism: Divergent Political Identity
   III. The Features of Federalism as a Modality of Government
   IV. The Normative Basis for Federalism
   V. Conclusion
6. Executive Power in Federations
   Cheryl Saunders
   I. Federal Design
   II. Separation of Powers
   III. Australia
   IV. Conclusions
   
   Part III: Federal Trajectories
7. Woodrow Wilson and the Challenge of Federalism in World War One
   Duncan Kelly
   I. Woodrow Wilson on Democracy and Federalism
   II. Pan-Nationalism
   III. Federation and Federalism
8. Federalism and the Ends of Europe
   Amnon Lev
   I. Federalism in the European State System
   II. Theorising the Federation
   III. Crisis and Post-Humanism: Federalising Europe
9. Federalism and Democracy: The Far-Reaching Dynamism of Democratic Federations
   Dwight Newman
   I. Federalism and Democracy in the Secession Reference
   II. Federalism as a Response to Divided Demoi
   III. Federalism and the Construction of Divided Demos-Identities
   IV. Federalism, Democracy, and Dynamism
10. Federalism and the Plurinational Challenge
    Stephen Tierney
    I. Federalism: Why Does it Matter, What is it?
    II. Inherent Tensions in the Federal Idea
    III. The Plurinational State and Federalism
    IV. Why Does this Matter?
    V. Plurinational Scholarship and the Liberal Theory of the State
    VI. Implications for Federal Theory and Practice
    VII. E Pluribus Unum: The Plurinational Challenge
    VIII. Plurinational Federation and Sovereignty
    IX. Conclusion