ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the two subjects of federalism and competition in government, and focuses on their bearing on each other. It addresses two main questions. The first one is about the idea of arranging policy competition within Sweden, by making the country federal in some way. The other one is about the idea of creating, for instance within the EU, some kind of policy competition in which many countries, among them Sweden, may participate. Governing, of course, is difficult and risky, and may go astray. In particular there are the risks that those in power satisfy their own wants at the expense of those of the citizens. Several imaginable means have been suggested for correcting failures, among them the introduction of a certain amount of real federalism. Central federalism was invented in Philadelphia in 1787 and was a crucial event in the history of federalism.
