scholarly journals Federalism in Pakistan: A Conflict Management Tool to Manage Ethnic Diversities (2002-2012)

2020 ◽  
Vol V (III) ◽  
pp. 96-104
Author(s):  
Muhammad Imran ◽  
Mughees Ahmad ◽  
Zab Un Nisa
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Management ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Ethnic Diversity ◽  
Power Sharing ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Dimensional System ◽  
Federal System ◽  
Federal States

Federations can be different at the level of centralism and in practices of governance. Due to such idiosyncratic features, states can be considered as centralized on the basis of the powerful federal government at the centre or decentralized because of the implementation of the theory of devolution of power and majoritarian federations due to the influential position of majority ethnic groups of the society. Certain federal states can apply a multi-dimensional system of governance, power and authority, while some other states can ascent more centralized and powerful governance. Some scholars alleged that the capability of the Federal state to meet the issue of ethnic diversity diverges transversely to its commitments and different structures. The aforementioned is further claimed that “a formal federal system functions in practice as a unitary system; the system's capacity is not according to the needs to accommodate ethnic and national cleavages” (Kohli, 2004). On the basis of such suggestions, this research paper endeavors to examine federalism as a tool to manage ethnic diversities in Pakistan. This paper argues that a more effective paradigm of the power sharing mechanism can be fruitful to enable federalism in Pakistan to manage ethnic diversities more exclusively.

scholarly journals Ethno-Religious Conflicts and the Restructuring of Nigeria Debate: Issues, Trends and Perspectives

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Ifeanyi Ede ◽  
Ozioma Faith Chiaghanam
Keyword(s):  
Federal Government ◽  
Ethnic Diversity ◽  
Religious Pluralism ◽  
Political Power ◽  
The Political ◽  
Federal System ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Political Structure ◽  
Religious Conflicts ◽  
Political Decisions

One of the burning national issues in Nigeria in recent times is the issue of political restructuring. Nigeria’s ethnic and religious diversities have always influenced political decisions since the amalgamation in 1914. Several administrations, both colonial and post-independence, have fashioned out different political structures for the country. Currently, Nigeria operates a unique federal system in which the federal government wields enormous powers while the federating units are mere subordinates. In recent times, there has been clamour from different quarters for the political restructuring of the country. This paper examined the restructuring debate in the light of the country’s ethnic and religious diversities which have given rise to ethno-religious conflicts which have led to loss of lives and destruction of property in recent times. Political restructuring in the context of this study is the decentralization of political power in the country to ensure political balance among various ethnic and religious groups. Findings show that the fundamental issues that gave rise to the call for restructuring include ethnic diversity, religious pluralism and marginalization in the political equation of the country. These have fuelled ethno-religious conflicts which have ravaged most parts of the country. The paper recommends among others a form of political structure in which the federating units should be given the powers to manage their affairs in line with their ethnic and religious affiliations. It is believed that this will reduce the level of ethno-religious conflicts in the country.

scholarly journals Nigerian Federalism Problems in Prospects

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 12-18
Author(s):  
Mustapha Alhaji Ali ◽  
Fatima Ahmed Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Research Data ◽  
Power Sharing ◽  
Resources Allocation ◽  
Federal System ◽  
Religious Conflicts ◽  
Unequal Access ◽  
The Government ◽  
System Operating

The paper examined Nigerian federalism problems in prospects. Nigerian as a nation was amalgamated in 1914. The unification of the two protectorates under one canopy has created a problem in power-sharing and resources allocation among the diverse ethnic groups. Certainly, the federal system operating in the Nigerian context has created a lot of problems and prospects because of the heterogeneity nature of the country that unites diverse people under one umbrella. This study is qualitative research, data were obtained through books, journals, newspapers, magazines, reports. These data were thoroughly reviewed to explain the topic under examination. To support this paper the researcher adopted Pluralism theory. This theory by tradition explains the complication and heterogeneity nature of the country. This is because of the diverse ethnic groups and ethnoreligious differences that were united under one federating units. The study found that federalism was born to unite people of different religion, ethnicity, culture, and traditions so as to enhance the national inity as well as the economy. But the major problem of Nigerian federalism is power sharing and resources allocation across the regions and states. It is found that under the federal system there are serious problems of majority domination over the minority. These have led to ethno-religious conflicts in the nation because of unequal access to national resources and power sharing among the citizens. To overcome these problems the study recommended that: Aall the citizens of the confederating units should be treated equally in term of power and resources allocations. To maintain equality and justice among the citizens. The government should adhere to the principles of federal character commission. To minimize the problems of federalism Nigeria should ensure equality and justice in power and resources allocation among its citizen in the federating units.

scholarly journals FEDERAL STATE CLAUSE, TERRITORIAL UNITS CLAUSE AND FEDERAL RESERVATION — THE WAYS TO LIMIT INTERNATIONAL TREATY OBLIGATIONS

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 0-0
Author(s):  
Борис Осминин ◽  
Boris Osminin
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Federal State ◽  
International Treaties ◽  
International Treaty ◽  
Federal States ◽  
Domestic Law

Federal states may encounter difficulties in applying international treaties on matters constitutionally committed to their constituent units. In such cases a federal state may not be able to join the treaty without some accommodation either by its constituent units or other parties to the treaty. There are certain methods by which these problems can be reduced: federal state clauses, territorial units clauses, and federalism reservations. Some treaties may include a federal state clause to the effect that limits the scope of treaty’s obligations to those that federal state’s government has constitutional authority to assume. Another solution is to include a territorial units clause where the treaty may apply to some of a state’s constituent units but not others. Several federal states have made reservations to limit their obligations to those areas of legislative jurisdiction that the federal government has assumed. On occasion, other states have objected to such reservations. Alternatively, a federal state may issue a federal declaration to explain how federalism affects its implementation of the treaty. Unitary states tend to resist the federal state clause and the territorial units clause because they create an imbalance between rights and obligations of the contracting federal and unitary states. Although such clauses are not popular with unitary states, they do make it that much easier for federations to become parties. Such clauses are a compromise between the interest of unitary and federal states. Domestic law provides no excuse for a failure to fully implement international treaty obligations. In international law, if the constituent units fail to comply, it is the federal government that is liable for the failure to properly implement the treaty.

The G8 Summit in Germany, the Bundeswehr and the German Bundestag

2010 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1161-1172
Author(s):  
Dieter Wiefelspütz
Keyword(s):  
Federal Government ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Summit Meeting ◽  
Federal States ◽  
Industrialized Nations ◽  
German Bundestag

From 6–8 June 2007, the summit meeting of the Group of Eight (G8) leading industrialized nations was held in Heiligendamm, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, under Germany's presidency. In advance of the summit, the federal state (Land) Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and the federal authorities agreed that the task of providing adequate security for the Summit would overstretch Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's capacities unless assistance were provided by the Federal Government and other federal states.

Enforced consociationalism and deeply divided societies: some reflections on recent developments in Fiji

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-153
Author(s):  
Venkat Iyer
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Management ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Proportional Representation ◽  
Power Sharing ◽  
Pacific Island ◽  
Divided Societies ◽  
Judicial Intervention ◽  
Island State ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Recent Developments

Consociationalism is seen as a useful tool in dealing with intractable ethnic, religious, linguistic and other tensions in deeply divided societies and is often preferred over federalism, partition, secession, assimilation or other forms of conflict management in such societies. This article examines the validity of many of the assumptions which underlie the concept of consociationalism by looking at the experience of its use in the Pacific island state of Fiji, which has had a long record of strife between the country’s two main ethnic groups, the indigenous Fijians and the Indo-Fijians. It argues that the consociational model – particularly one which is highly prescriptive and involves strong mandatory power-sharing – has certain structural shortcomings which make it unsuitable for adoption in societies (like Fiji) where the ethnic or other cleavages run deep. In such cases, says the author, the society concerned would do well to explore other options such as a looser form of power-sharing, proportional representation, or outright majoritarian rule but with strong minority protections. The article also examines the limitations of judicial intervention in the enforcement of consociational agreements.

scholarly journals Souveraineté et fédéralisme

2005 ◽  
Vol 20 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 237-246
Author(s):  
Gil Rémillard
Keyword(s):  
Federal Government ◽  
Constitutional Law ◽  
Great Difficulty ◽  
Public Law ◽  
Fundamental Concept ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Federal System ◽  
Canadian Federalism ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Regional Governments

The notion of sovereignty is the most fundamental concept of public law. At the same time, it is one of the main difficulties federalism has to face. Where does sovereignty reside in a federal state ? While this question is not an easy one to answer, knowledge of the manner in which it has been answered in Canadian constitutional law is essential to an understanding of the present constitutional crisis. The most appropriate definition of sovereignty is « jurisdiction to define jurisdictions ». This definition implies the concept of an ultimate authority and its application to a federal system is of great difficulty. Two main theories confront each other. The first one develops the concept that sovereignty should be shared between the federal government and the federated states. The second sees sovereignty as belonging exclusively to the federal government, regional governments merely enjoying some form of autonomy. This paper studies the implications of both theories in Canadian federalism.

scholarly journals The problem of the distribution of competencies between the federal authorities and the authorities of the Kurdistan Region

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Kurdistan Salim Saeed
Keyword(s):  
Federal Government ◽  
Administrative Law ◽  
The State ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Federal System ◽  
Regional Government ◽  
Kurdistan Region ◽  
Economic Problems ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Regional Governments

  The federal system in Iraq was constitutionally adopted in 2004 in Article 4 of the Transitional Administrative Law of the State. It was subsequently adopted in the 2005 Constitution of Iraq. Article 1 states that "Iraq is a single, sovereign and independent federal state, (Article 117) in the Kurdistan Region and its existing authorities, a federal territory and defined the terms of reference of both the federal government and the terms of reference of the regions in the fourth and fifth of it. The constitutional organization contained in the Iraqi constitution has defined the terms of reference of the federal government exclusively, and gave broad powers to the governments of the regions, with the definition of some common competencies, and accordingly the Kurdistan Regional Government is the general jurisdiction and the federal government with exceptional jurisdiction, which supports the authority of the Kurdistan Region constitutionally Independence and internal sovereignty, But the process of application of these materials accompanied by different problems generated multiple political and economic problems between the parties, which led to shortcomings in the federal democratic experiment in Iraq The study dealt with this issue through two sections, the first deals with the terms of reference of the federal government and regional governments according to the Constitution of 2005. The second addresses Problems of the exercise of the functions of the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government.

scholarly journals Canada’s Inevitable Evolution Towards Bilateral Spending

Federalism-E ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kymone Fletcher
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
The United States ◽  
Federal System ◽  
Federal Level ◽  
Federal States ◽  
Form Of Government ◽  
Canadian Provinces

 The federal government should be allowed to provide condition free funding within the provincial jurisdiction. Canada is naturally evolving towards intrastate federalism and a more collaborative government and this evolution has been apparent since the BNA act was formulated.In the BNA act the Canadian provinces were promised ongoing grants/subsidies and we have also seen in Quebec’s case, they opted for a more collaborative form of government for wanting to be represented more at the federal level. It has also been demonstrated that each level of government in Canada’s federal system must be autonomous in its own right or else the system will collapse. Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau views have also been presented to illustrate this. The cases of the United States and Germany have also been brought up to show that not only Canada, but other federal states are redefining what federalism means and re-interpreting their own respective constitutions to bring this new definition into action. The case of Quebec has also been brought up to demonstrate how the biggest players in the Canadian system, how Canadian policy can be updated to limit the amount of critics towards how the federal power is spending its money.           

Balancing Between Empowerment and Inclusion: Multinational Federalism and Citizenship Rights in Ethiopia

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 588-608
Author(s):  
Christophe Van der Beken
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Ethnic Diversity ◽  
Federal System ◽  
Citizenship Rights ◽  
The Core ◽  
Ethnic Boundaries ◽  
Regional State ◽  
Ethnic Federalism ◽  
The Common ◽  
Group Empowerment

The major rationale behind the introduction of a federal system in Ethiopia was the accommodation of the country's significant ethnic diversity. The federal system aims to achieve this by empowering ethnic groups through the establishment of regional states, which explains the common designation of Ethiopian federalism as ‘ethnic federalism’. Yet, the ethnic profile of the nine regional states hitherto established exhibits a considerable lack of overlap between ethnic and territorial boundaries, which implies that many Ethiopian citizens live outside the regional state established for the group whose identity they share. Recent migratory trends are furthermore fuelling this phenomenon. The lack of correspondence between regional and ethnic boundaries generates tensions between the empowerment of ethnic groups – which the federal system is set to guarantee – and the rights of individuals who do not belong to the regionally empowered groups but who are Ethiopian citizens nevertheless. The core argument of this article is that a reduction of this tension requires the Ethiopian state to strike a balance between the two competing objectives of group empowerment and protection of citizenship. From this perspective, the article outlines a number of legal instruments that could arguably contribute to this delicate balancing act.

scholarly journals Examining Minority Rights Protection under the Ethiopian Federal System

Acta Humana ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-58
Author(s):  
Marew Abebe Salemot
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Minority Rights ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Federal System ◽  
State Structure ◽  
National Group ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Diverse Society

This research investigates minority rights protection under the Ethiopian federal state structure, its legal instruments and institutional setups. Ethiopia is a land of a diverse society having more than eighty distinct ethnic groups, but the federal system conferred only seven ethnic groups, their own regions subsuming the rest within them. The territorial autonomy of ethno-national groups in Ethiopian federal context – in which the constituent units themselves are diverse – imposes a rigid conception of territory. The constituent unit that empowers autonomy for a particular group – the titular ethno-national group – claims exclusive control over territory and dominance within the constituent unit. Thus, the interests of minorities who are lumped with relatively dominant ethnic groups are not addressed and these minorities have neither been given self-determination nor are recognised as distinct nationalities of the country.

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