ABSTRACT
The Conclusion first summarizes overall the findings of the previous chapters, evaluates them for their significance in comparative federalism in Asia and beyond; and highlights the need to pay serious attention to what I have called the equality-claims. It has been seen throughout the book that meeting the diversity-claims in federations in Asia as well as those aspiring to be ones has not been easy, so further measures are needed to satiate the aspirations of ethnic communities, especially those territorially rooted. Even where much of the diversity-claims have been met, further issues remain for appropriate recognition and accommodation of such communities within the existing units. Even where there are pre-existing ethnic ‘homelands’, there is still need for treating them equally with others with appropriate autonomy. In cases where ethnic boundaries are not in accord with territorial boundaries, other supplementary solutions are required, such as consociational and proportional methods of power-sharing. Democracy thus is a constant back-up to federalism. In conclusion, I reiterate the hypothesis that the equality-claims are to be conjoined to the diversity-claims as a yardstick for the effectiveness of federalism at both macro and micro levels. This calls for revision of perspective in the current debate.
