ABSTRACT

Although these two spheres do sometimes overlap, the normative and institutional analytical “agenda” of these two kinds of discussion are different. Both pose questions which have a bearing on  the debate about  the quality of democracy in federations. On the other hand, the duo of pluralism/monism is present both in theories of democracy and in normative theories of federalism and is applied to individuals and collectivities. Pluralism is a complex notion which requires some clarification. We can posit the existence of at least three notions of pluralism which are associated with the current debates on democracy and federalism.