Federalization in Russia and Spain: The Puzzle of Reversible and Irreversible Outcomes

Abstract

The article aims at contributing to the understanding of the dynamics of federalism in Russia and Spain. It traces the dynamics of decentralization in both states and addresses a puzzle on reversible (Russia) and irreversible (Spain) outcomes of territorial reforms and regime transition. Among other explanatory factors, this article argues that the role of the political parties as mediating actors—proactive or reactive—has been crucial in shaping institutional building in both countries. Concluding remarks envisage some scenarios of further territorial developments in comparative perspective.

Keywords:

• Federalism
• decentralization
• democratization
• regime transition

Notes

For some interesting comparative studies of both states in a larger world-wide context, see Requejo (2005), Gel'man (2008), Burgess (2009), Moreno and Colino (2010), Agranoff (1999), Filippov and Schvetsova (1999) and Filippov et al. (2004).

The key terrorist act officially motivating the re-centralization reforms of Putin was a three-day hostage of a school with about 1100 people in Beslan (September 2004). As a result, 380 people were killed. Beslan is a city in the autonomous Russian Republic of North Ossetia.

Wyoming is a state of the Union with a population of little more than half a million inhabitants, which compares with California (36.5 million or 12% of the US population, respectively). In India, Uttar Pradesh has a population of 166 million, contrasting with the constituent unit of Sikkim (400,000 inhabitants). The population of Switzerland is around 7.5 million and the federation is composed of 26 cantons.

According to Census 2002, there are about 160 ethnic indigenous groups in Russia. With the exception of the constitutionally recognized 32 ethnic regions, the rest of the regions are not ethnic (after 2003 six ethnic-based autonomous districts were merged with non-ethnic regions so the number of ethnic federal units is 26). Most of the ethnic groups (also called indigenous people) do not have their own territorial regions as constituent units and live across the borders of the constituent units. Note, as well, an ethnic region may have a very small percentage of the corresponding ethnic group (e.g. in 1989, the Jewish autonomous oblast had only 2% of the Jewish regional population).

These ten regions are the following: Nenets autonomous okrug (AO) was incorporated into Arkhangelsk oblast; Ust-Orda Buryat into Irkutsk oblast; Koryak AO is situated within Kamchatka oblast; Komi-Permiak within Perm oblast; Chukotka is geographically incorporated within Magadan oblast; the Agin-Buryat AO is within Chita oblast; both Yevenk and Taimyr are placed within Krasnoyarsk Krai; and Khanty-Mansiisk and Yamala-Nenets were integrated within Tyumen oblast.

The State Council is a consultative body and meets at least once every three months and is meant to act as an alternative information source for the President of the Russian Federation. The main function of the State Council is to monitor the implementation of federal law, to evaluate legislative bills on presidential request, and to discuss the federal budget and its implementation. The Council has a seven-member presidium comprising leaders from each of the federal districts with rotation of membership every six months (Herd and Aldis, 2002). On other related Putin's reforms, see also Goode (2004).

Up to the end of 2000, 74 elections of regional heads of administration had taken place: “… out of 744 candidates, only 7.6 percent identified with a political party” (Busygina and Heinemann-Grüder, 2010: 271).

Comprehensive data on these attitudes can be consulted at the Levada Centre (http://www.levada.ru/eng/).

While main television networks are firmly controlled by central authorities, other federal, regional and local media still enjoy great independence and keep on challenging the appointed regional governors, showing a high degree of criticism of the ‘party-of-power’ regime and the current centralization.