chapter 11

Question 1

sub-national government

Answer 1

can be arranged in:

• unitary system
• federal system

*emphasizes domestic matters

Question 2

role sub-national governments in democratic regimes

Answer 2

• management: managing local affairs on behalf of national gov.
• implementation: national law and policy + local law and policy
• information: reporting to national gov. on status and needs local communities
• investment: in local economies and services (e.g. education, transport)
• culture: recognizing and protecting local cultural differences

Question 3

in what ways can sub-national government be arranged?

Answer 3

• unitary system (90% of UN countries, 63% of world population)
• federal system (~24 countries, 37% world population)

unitary system = national gov. has sole sovereignty, sub-national gov. only has the power it is granted by the national gov.

federal system = national and sub-national levels gov. have independent powers (how they are divided depends on the country)

*some unitary systems function more like federal systems and vice versa

Question 4

multi-level governance

Answer 4

(MLG)

Niemann:
an administrative system in which power is distributed and shared horizontally and vertically among different levels of gov., from supranational to local, with considerable interaction among the parts

*can be seen as positive: pragmatic concern with finding solutions to shared problems through compromise
*can be seen as negative: complicated, slow-moving form of regulation

Question 5

four tiers of gov

Answer 5

• supranational = above states (e.g. EU)
• national or central = state-level, focus on state as a whole
• regional = middle-level between states and local gov. (states or provinces)
• local = closest to citizens, focus on local interests (e.g. districts, countries, cities, towns, departments, communes)

Question 6

unitary systems

Answer 6

= sovereignty rests with the national gov., regional or local units have few independent powers

• emerged naturally in societies with a history of rule by sovereign monarchs and emperors: authority radiates from an historic core
• normal in smaller democracies (esp. without strong ethnic/cultural divisions)
• often one-chambered legislature: no need to balance national and sub-national interests

!trend of creating and expanding a middle tier of regional governm. + EU encourages this

!!unitary government is often decentralized + lately move to push responsibility for more functions to lower levels:

1. deconcentration
2. delegation
3. devolution

Question 7

(systems theory)

Answer 7

= studies the way in which parts of a unit relate to the whole, how parts of an institution fit together, how institutions work together etc.

• Easton 1953
• fell out of favour in the 70s (had to little predictive power)

Question 8

how do unitary systems decentralize?

Answer 8

deconcentration = process by which central gov. tasks are shifted from offices in the capital to those in the regions or local districts

delegation = process by which central gov. responsibilities are shifted to semi-autonomous bodies accountable to central gov.

devolution = center transfers decision-making autonomy to autonomous lower levels
*is the most radical form
*can go so far that a state can be a unitary state, but look and act more like a federal (e.g. Spain)

Question 9

regional government

Answer 9

middle-level gov. in unitary states that takes place below the national level and above the local level

Question 10

federal systems / federations

Answer 10

= sovereignty shared between 2+ levels of gov, each with independent powers and responsibilities

• authority is shared among different levels of gov. with entrenched and independent powers
• usually 3 levels: national, regional, local
• works best in big and divided countries
• usually regional gov. has voice in national policymaking through an upper chamber of national legislature

~24 states, e.g. Brazil, India, Russia, US

diff. with unitary system = constitutional protected position of regional gov.

Question 11

motive behind creation of federations

Answer 11

fear of consequences of remaining separate overcomes the natural desire to remain independent:

• joining helps exploit economic and military bonus of size

Question 12

… federalism

• ethnic
• dual
• cooperative

Answer 12

ethnic federalism =
federal system of gov. based on recognition of autonomy for different ethnic groups (e.g. Ethiopia)

dual federalism = national and local levels of gov. have clearly separate sets of responsibilities

cooperative federalism =
layers are intermingled and it is difficult always to see who has ultimate responsibility

Question 13

subsidiarity

Answer 13

= principle that decisions should be taken at the lowest feasible level

*in cooperative federalism

Question 14

quasi federations

Answer 14

= system of administration that is formally unitary but has some of the features of a federation

*de jure unitary systems, de facto in some ways more quasi-federation

e.g. South Africa

Question 15

local government

• tasks
• structure
• weaknesses

Answer 15

= lowest tier of gov. taking place at a geographically contained local level, as in a county, town or city

tasks:

1. provide local public services (although this is now often outsourced to NGOs)
2. implement national welfare policies

weaknesses: often too small to deliver services efficiently + shaped by relative wealth/poverty of local communities + lack funds to set own priorities + easily dominated by local elites

structures:

• council-system = elected council operates through smaller sub-group or functional committees, unelected mayor is appointed by the council or central gov., has limitied powers (e.g. NL, panchayats in India)
• mayor-council system = elected mayor as chief executive, elected councilors have legislative and financial authority (e.g. Brazil, Poland, half the cities in the US)
  *can be divided into weak and strong major systems

!balance between intimacy (local gov) and efficiency (higher forms of gov) varies over time + balance is hard to achie

Question 16

cities and government

Answer 16

= important question: how are cities (best) governed

• understudied area
• important: majority world lives in cities + cities play important role reducing poverty, cutting emissions, addressing unrest, advancing productivity

not all countries have made a success of metropolitan governance (e.g. Australia: federal structure -> state gov. authority for metropolitan governance -> suburbs don’t fare well)

Question 17

role sub-national gov. in authoritarian regimes

Answer 17

• parallel government
• channels of patronage (favors to local gov. in return for support)
  *not limited to autocracies
• sustaining traditional leadership (in many authoritarian regimes and poorer democracies traditional leaders still have authority and sometimes have national influence)
  *e.g. old local elites placed/sustained by British colonizers

Question 18

sub-national government in authoritarian regimes

Answer 18

= not entirely without value

• increasingly central gov. policies ignored, local officials more interested in local/personal projects than in centrally directed eco. plans)
• traditional leaders and warlords don’t get the attention they deserve (researching warlords is dangerous though)
• sometimes local gov. by informal warlords (often after power vacuum left by central gov.)
  *warlords do things to prevent formation of a central stat

~50% of Federations is hybrid or authoritarian (e.g. Russia, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Iraq, Sudan, Pakistan, Venezuela)

*Venezuela and Ethiopia e.g. federal mainly in name only,

Question 18

China governed as a federation?

Answer 18

no = unitary, because

• quasi-imperial rule of the provinces from Beijing allows Chinese Communist Party to exert more control

China has multipe levels of gov., but all that matters is the authority of the party (adds control by circulating members between national and provincial posts)

Question 19

(de)centralization Russia

Answer 19

-Yeltsin: decentralization
-Putin: recentralization (part of ‘sovereign democracy’ project)

Recentralization developments:

-administrative system to better monitor regional executives
-dividing Russia into 7 new federal okrugs/districts to oversee lower-level units (=extra-constitutional)
-obliging regional governors to give up previous party affiliations + join the United Russia Party
-reducing powers of Federation Council (upper chamber) by giving president authority to appoint members

=> Ross: Russia as unitary state masquerading as a federation

Question 20

warlord

Answer 20

informal leader who uses military force and patronage to control territory within weak states with unstable central gov.