1 / 17

SUBNATIONAL POLITICS

SUBNATIONAL POLITICS. WEEK 12. Sovereignty: Unlimited power; unchallengeable right to rule Internal sovereignty: Supreme authority within the state External sovereignty: Independence and autonomy in the international system. . Territorial Distribution of Authority.

topper
Download Presentation

SUBNATIONAL POLITICS

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. SUBNATIONAL POLITICS WEEK 12

  2. Sovereignty: Unlimited power; unchallengeable right to rule Internal sovereignty: Supreme authority within the state External sovereignty: Independence and autonomy in the international system. Introduction to Political Science

  3. Territorial Distribution of Authority • The distribution of functions and responsibilities between the central (national) and peripheral institutions (regional, local) • Centralization: The concentration of political power at the national level. • Decentralization: The transfer of powers and responsibilities away from central government to local governments. Introduction to Political Science

  4. Vertical Diffusion of Power Central Authority Local Authority Introduction to Political Science

  5. Why need to centralize? • National unity: Pursing common interests of the entire community • Uniformity: Same laws and rules in the entire country • Equality: Eliminating the geographic, economic and demographic discrepancies between regions • Prosperity: Economic development in all regions led by a central government Introduction to Political Science

  6. Why need to decentralize? • Participation: Through local governments citizens can have access to policy-making • Responsiveness: Quicker and effective response to local needs • Legitimacy: Rightfulness to use authority/act • Liberty: Free from central government’s interventions Introduction to Political Science

  7. Decentralized Centralized Confederation Federation Unitary State with devolution Unitary State Introduction to Political Science

  8. Federalism • What is confederation? • A union of two or more states created by a treaty and enshrined in a common constitution • Each state is independent political entities • Self-governing states • No hierarchy among states • Central government is weaker than its parts Introduction to Political Science

  9. Federalism: The existence shared sovereignty between two distinct levels of government. What are the factors behind the establishment of federations? • Common historical experiences • Common enemy or political objectives • Geographical size: Regionally divided societies • Ethnic and cultural differences: Ethnic diversity Introduction to Political Science

  10. Features of Federal Systems • Two autonomous levels of government: • Federal(Central) government • Regional(State) government • Responsibilities and powers of each government are written in constitution • Constitutional guarantees given to local governments • Existence of a constitutional arbiter between the federal and regional governments • The judiciary functions to preserve the federal system • The judiciary functions to preserve the federal system • Linking institutions between federal and regional governments • Bicameral legislature: Two houses. One of them consists of representatives from regional governments Introduction to Political Science

  11. Pros and Cons of Federations Introduction to Political Science

  12. Unitary Systems • Unrivalled and unchallengeable authority of central government • Limited power given to local governments by the central government • Local institutions are subordinate to central government Introduction to Political Science

  13. Local institutions are usually responsible for delivering public services such as collecting garbage, public transportation, parks and recreational spaces. • Devolution: The transfer of power from central government to subordinate regional institutions. • Power is conferred upon devolved bodies by the centre. • Regional authorities might have policy-making powers (Legislative devolution), regional authorities only have administrative responsibilities to implement policies (administrative devolution) Introduction to Political Science

  14. Devolution in the UK Introduction to Political Science

  15. Ethnic and Community Politics • The rise of ethnic politics: • Increasing influence of ethnic and regional identities and decreasing influence of national identity • Ethnic politics creates pressure fro decentralization in European countries such as UK, Spain, France and Belgium Introduction to Political Science

  16. The core-periphery model • The core-periphery model is based on the assumption that there is an imbalance and inequality between core and periphery (Internal colonialism) • Core: Centre • Core is economically developed and life standards are higher • Core is integrated to global economy • Periphery: Regions and centrifugal forces • Periphery is economically underdeveloped and subordinate to core • Periphery is exploited by core Introduction to Political Science

  17. Ethnic nationalism: A form of nationalism that is fuelled by a sense of ethnic distinctiveness. • Factors behind ethnic nationalism: • A sense of ethnic differences(Rise of ethnic consciousness) • A sense of injustice caused by discrimination • Exploitation of ethnic communities by central government • Political aspiration for autonomy Introduction to Political Science

More Related