ABSTRACT
This book draws from Ronald L. Watts’s influence and academic contribution to comparative federalism. Following an overall introduction, it discusses, first, Watts’s focus on comparative federalism in the Global North and South; second, his broad knowledge that stemmed from his studies of diverse countries; and, third, his pragmatic and value-based approach to federalism. It also considers strategic choices and shifting positions of parties in coalitions, described as ‘revolving-door partners’. It analyses ‘cooperative federalism’ in India describing it as falling within the spectrum of centralisation and peripheralisation. Further it examines federalism through a gender lens and highlights aspects of gender, which have been overlooked in the federalism discourse. It discusses the erosion of the ‘nation-state’ in relation to federalism, and the need to combine traditional federalism analysis and theory with new approaches. It proposes a Societal Culture Index (SCI) as a means to measure the degree of self-government for minorities within federations. Subsequently, it looks at a method for measuring ‘fiscal responsibility’ which examines the gaps between laws as stated in financial constitutions ‘law in books’, and government practice of these laws ‘law in action’. Finally, it analyses the degeneration of federalism in Australia, illustrated through the tendency towards central regulation and standardisation.
