Federalism in 2030

Abstract

In this chapter, I discuss federalism as a power-sharing mechanism within larger quasi-federated entities such as the European Union and in decentralized states like the United Kingdom, Spain, and Italy, arguing that seemingly federalism might have lost much of its appeal (or at least momentum). This trend is then juxtaposed to the emerging rise of urbanism. I present some sociological findings as well as legal doctrine related to cities in the United States and the European Union, and point to empirical examples of city networks in the shared economy, human rights, and the environment. The argument is that the resulting power-sharing vacuum that opens as a result of the failures of vertical federalism allows cities (and urban networks) to grow in prominence on a global stage posing new challenges to constitutionalism and international law. With collective action problems moving away from the traditional avoidance of conventional welfare (the main raison d’etre of the European Union and of the Westphalian state before it) horizontal federalism asks for new and bold ways of reimagining communities.

Keywords: federalism, urbanism, brexit, separatism, constitutionalism, constitutive units, identity, subsidiarity

JEL Classification: K40, K00