Federal Structure

A federally structured political system consists of (at least) two levels of government and combines shared rule on the federal level with self-rule of the constituent states. Different from regionalized political systems where some power is devolved to regional territorial units, in federal systems, vertical power separation is constitutionally guaranteed so that changes in the power distribution can only be implemented according to the amendment rules—that is, with the consent of the overwhelming majority of the affected territorial units.

Federal structures are established to achieve a better performance regarding the production and distribution of three types of public goods than the constituent units could achieve alone: security from external and internal threats, prosperity through economic efficiency gains, and liberty through adequate representation of preferences. The diverse arrangements found within federal structures can be reduced to two basic types: dual federalism and joint federalism. Dual structures, as exemplified by political systems such as Canada or the United States, are characterized by a strict separation of powers and resources between the federal and the state levels, complemented by voluntary and ad hoc intergovernmental structures of negotiation and cooperation alongside a bicameral legislature that is the central access point for constituent states to influence federal legislation. Joint federalism, as in Germany and in the European Union, does not so much separate powers and resources between levels but allocates functions. The federal level—with the participation of the states—makes decisions, the state level implements them. Following from the need to cooperate in this type of federal structure, intergovernmental relations are fully institutionalized and compulsory. However, because opportunistic incentives to deviate from the constitutional division of authority are built into every federal structure, the federal balance is in constant danger of being eroded.

A further distinction is between symmetrical and asymmetrical federal structures. De facto asymmetries exist in all federal systems with regard to size, social and cultural composition of population, or socioeconomic potential. Some federal systems, however, deliberately establish de jure asymmetries. They allocate special competences and resources to some constituent units to reflect the multinational character of the country. Whereas symmetrical federalism is found in countries with a pluralist composition of the population based on territorial federalism, asymmetrical federalism responds to the fact that some territorial units are inhabited by a population with a specific national identity: cases such as Francophones in Quebec; Flemings, Germans, and Walloons in Belgium; or Basques and Catalans in Spain (although in this latter case, the constitution does not formally reflect the essentially federal character of the political system).