Transcript THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT:

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT:
Sharing power at the center
Organization of session
• Forum of Federations video, Module 2’,
Sharing Power at the Centre
• Lecture: theory and comparison
• Discussion: strengths and weaknesses of the
Iraqi constitutional design in light of
comparative experience
• CRC and UNAMI comment
‘’Building in’’
• ‘’Building out’’ – empowering groups through
the creation of strong, effective regional
governments
• ‘’Building in’’– strengthening unity through
the ways in which the central government is
designed and operated
• Give regions sense of ownership, belonging in
national government
• Eases fear of ‘slippery slope’
Principles
In a diverse society, it is critical that the central
government be:
• Representative of all groups and sectors of
society
• Inclusive -- everyone must have a voice in the
national government
• Effective – able to make and implement policies
that serve the whole country
• Legitimate in the eyes of citizens and other
governments
• Article 49: ‘All components of the people’ to be
represented
Majority rule and power sharing
• In a diverse society, simple majority rule means
that minorities may be excluded, marginalized
• This may make central government illegitimate in
eyes of minorities
• Result may be minority rejection of democratic
practice; or minorities turn to regional
governments to protect them from majority
tyranny at the center
• Power sharing at the center is a primary unifying
device in divided systems; strengthens, not
weakens central government
Power-sharing and institutions
Institutional arrangements affect the ability of the central
government to be inclusive and representative. These
include:
• How central governments are selected: electoral systems
and political parties
• How they are organized: presidential and parliamentary
systems
• One party or coalition cabinets
• The role of second chambers specifically designed to
represent regions
• Judicial systems
• Representative bureaucracies
Electoral systems/1
• Comparative literature agreed on:
• Proportional systems better able to represent
minorities. Even small groups can get seats and a voice
in legislature.
• Single member systems (Canada, UK) can create large
distortions between votes and seats.
• Can create a government with only minority support,
or that lacks representation from important groups and
regions. (Canada sometimes)
• Create one-party cabinets that may represent only
majority group
Electoral systems/2
• PR systems tend to create multi-party coalition
cabinets: big benefit – more inclusive
• May make formation of government and
development of clear, coherent policy difficult– a
dilemma
• May lead to many small parties appealing to
narrow interests, and weaken parties that seek
broad cross-group coalitions
• Which is the right trade-off in divided societies; in
Iraq? PR is chosen: right decision?
Organization of Government/1
• Basic distinction is between parliamentary
and presidential systems
• Power concentrated vs. power dispersed: big
question given Iraq’s history
• Comparative research suggests parliamentary
systems work best in diverse societies.
• Why? Presidential system may place too
much power in hands of a member of one
group; parliamentary spreads power more
Organization of Government/2
• But there are many variants on these models
• In presidential systems the rules can require that the
president be elected only with broad support across
regions (Nigeria)
• Or have a shared presidency, or a rotating
presidency, or rules that distribute leadership
positions across groups (as in Switzerland and Iraq
today
• Again no one model meets the larger goals of
inclusion, proportionality, legitimacy
• Iraq: history suggested a weak president -- too
weak?
Organization of government/3
The organization of Cabinets and Ministers:
• In single party cabinets, danger that important
regions are left out
• Less danger of this in coalition cabinets
• May be legal requirements for representative
cabinets (e.g. South Africa Government of
National Unity); or informal norms and traditions.
• E.g. Canada: strong tradition of representing each
province in cabinet; increasing tradition of
ensuring representation of other groups (women,
new Canadians, aboriginal peoples, etc.)
Organization of government/3
The public administration
• It is critical that the non-elected central government
officials, civil servants, be:
– Representative of all the major groups in the society
– Able to serve all the members of the society in their own
language, and in culturally sensitive ways
– Hence importance of recruitment, training, language use in the
public service
– Recall Belgium – proportionality in representation – plus
language ability
– Plus linguistically homogeneous regions
Organization of Government/4
The judiciary
• In a federal system, a crucial role for the judiciary is to
act as umpire between orders of government
• Therefore must be seen as impartial
• Courts as servants of constitution and citizens, not as
servant of government. Not servant of any one
government
• Key issues: appointment of judges (by whom); regional
representation on court; jurisdiction; independence;
dual or unified legal system
• Legitimacy, enforcement
Second chambers in federal systems/1
• ‘’Senates’’ in Canada, US, Australia, etc.
Bundesrat in Germany, National Council of the
Provinces (South Africa), etc.
• Second chambers vary in terms of:
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Method of selection
Distribution of seats
Term lengths
Powers
Role in the federal system
Second chamber roles
In a federal system:
• To help central government pay attention to
regional interests
• To ensure regional representation at center
• To give greater weight to smaller regions
• To assist in coordination, cooperation
between regional and central governments –
in some countries, plays an important role in
intergovernmental relations
Many other roles for second chambers
Second chambers are not only an element of
federalism. They also serve other roles:
• Check on tyranny or majority– separation of
powers
• Chambers of ‘’sober second thought” (Canada)
• Ratification of treaties
• Preserving independence of Electoral
Commission and other such agencies
• Representation of other minorities: aboriginal
peoples, immigrants, etc.
Second Chambers/2
Methods of selection:
• Appointment:
– By the central government – Canada. Failure, calls
for reform in Canada
– By the regional or provincial governments.
Germany (Bundesrat); South Africa (NCOP)
– Primary role of provincial appointment:
intergovernmental coordination; provincial voice
in national framework legislation
– Represents governments, not people
Second Chambers/3
Methods of selection: elected
• Represents people, not governments; seems
more democratic US, Australia, Iraq
• Method and timing of elections is critical
• If same as lower house, Senate likely simply to
duplicate the lower House and make little
contribution—question for Iraq?
• Hence – usually different election systems;
different term lengths, etc.
• May link to provincial not federal elections
The German Bundesrat
• A fully federal body
• Members are regional executives
• Designed to achieve intergovernmental
coordination
• In a system with many shared powers
• Weaknesses in terms of democracy? A useful
trade off?
• Borrowed by South Africa --NCOP
Second Chambers/4
Numbers
• Distribution of seats in representative chamber (COR) is
proportional to population
• Second House may be used to temper the power of
larger units, and to give greater voice to smaller units
• Methods: equal representation of regions (US) – two
Senators per state, large or small
• Greater weight for smaller provinces, but not equality.
(Canada, Germany, Australia)
• Illuustates double role of equality in federations –
equality of individuals, equality of constituent units
Second Chambers/5
Powers:
• Equal to first chamber – e.g. US. Potential
problems: deadlock in divided government;
departure from majority rule
• Equal to first chamber, with over-ride. First
Chamber can over-ride laws or amendments by
second chamber, usually with a super-majority
• Limited powers – role of second chamber focused
on laws by central government that have major
effects on units. Germany, South Africa
Second chambers/6
Length of term:
• Same as lower House
• Longer terms -- US
• Life (to 75) Canada
Canada debates Senate reform
• Method of appointment: federal. Seen as
illegitimate
• Result: equal powers in law; not in practice
• Alternatives: election, provincial appointment
• Numbers: fast-growing regions want more
representation; some want equal representation
like US
• Terms: proposals for shorter – 8-10 years
• Representation of different interests: women,
Aboriginals, immigrants, etc.
The Federation Council in Iraq
/1
• Not well-developed in 2005 constitution
• CRC improvements:
– Will be in constitution, not a creation of the Council of
Representatives
– Will be elected (not representatives of regional
governments). Pro and con.
– Provides for larger representation of smaller units, but
without detail
– Term of office: 4 years. Less than most federations.
The Federation Council/2
Powers:
• Can propose laws
• Can consider laws ‘’related to regions and Governorates’’ –
not all laws. How decide?
• If Council and Representatives cannot agree, COR may
prevail with 2/3 majority
• Must approve appointments to major judicial positions, and
Chairpersons of major independent institutions
• Questions: Has the CRC got it right?
• UNAMI: Big improvement. But indirect election better.
• Region/governorate distinction unclear.
Conclusions
• Basic point: to be effective the central
government must be fully representative and
reflect principles of power-sharing
• At the same time a national government
needs to be able to make national decisions,
articulate national goals, and provide
leadership to the whole country
• Are these roles undermined, or promoted, by
the representative, power-sharing model?