Federalism

10. Possible alternatives to 
federalism
Other forms of macro-decentralization (quasi-federalism)
Federalism has many disadvantages. Even when some form of territorial power-
sharing is needed, federalism is not the only way (and not necessarily the best way 
in all contexts) of achieving it. There are four major alternatives: confederation, 
devolution, regionalism and special autonomy (federacy).
Confederation
In some cases, confederation may be an alternative to federalism. Confederalism 
usually implies a looser form of union than is common in modern federalism. 
Representation tends to be organized on an intergovernmental rather than elective 
basis, with each state government or state legislature sending delegates to the 
confederal assembly. States might have weighted votes, in proportion to their tax 
base or population, but typically members of a confederal assembly vote en bloc 
as state delegations. The powers of the confederal institutions are typically limited 
to a very small range of policy areas such as foreign affairs, defence, trade and 
possibly citizenship. The decisions of confederal institutions are typically binding 
only on the states, which have to translate them into state law, rather than being 
directly binding on the people.
This sort of confederal system is sometimes demanded by groups in federal 
systems that are seeking greater autonomy than is permitted under the federal 
constitution without the destabilizing effects of full independence. Confederal 
solutions have historically been proposed, for example, in Belgium, Spain and 
Canada.

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40 International IDEA
Federalism
Devolution
Devolution is a mechanism for decentralizing power without sharing 
sovereignty (see Box 10.1. for an example). The essence of devolution is that the 
central level (e.g. a national parliament) establishes decentralized institutions (e.g. 
a provincial parliament or assembly) and determines the nature and the scope of 
the powers that are delegated to those institutions. In principle, if not always 
easily in practice, the powers of devolved institutions can be revoked or 
overturned, or their institutional arrangements changed, by a unilateral decision 
of the central legislature. Devolution is a flexible arrangement that can overcome 
some of the difficulties associated with federalism. It does not necessarily require a 
rigid constitution or strong judicial review, since most disputes between the 
centre and the devolved regions can ultimately be resolved by political 
negotiations, not by judicial decisions.
However, this flexibility means that devolution depends on a high degree of 
trust and goodwill. If subnational units cannot trust the national legislature to 
protect their interests and autonomy by political means, then devolution may 
provide insufficient guarantees to the devolved regions.