The Purpose and Principles of Federalism

Abstract

AbstractThe function of any constitution is to transform political power into lawful authority. Each constitution does this in its own way and for its own purpose. It is also the case that certain constitutions perform this function in a sufficiently similar manner to warrant categorisation as particular families of constitutionalism. Federalism is such a genus of government,and it is the aim of this chapter to explain the generic constitutional purpose of federalism. Federalism is an act of constitutional union that gives foundational recognition and accommodation to the state’s constituent territorial pluralism. The purpose of the federal constitution is both to foster this foundational pluralism and to maintain the constitutional relationship between pluralism and union in the creation and reconciliation of different orders of government. From this definition flows a set of constitutional principles that underpin the purpose of federalism: principles as the logical implication or ‘chain of reasoning’ that flows from the foundational character of federalism as a particular form of constitutional rule. It is constitutional theory that leads us to these principles: recognition, autonomous government, associational government, and both vertical and horizontal reciprocity.