The New Democratic Federalism For Europe: Functional, Overlapping and Competing Jurisdictions

by Bruno S. Frey (Primary Contributor), Reiner Eichenberger

This innovative book proposes a new institutional arrangement for government to fulfil the needs of its citizens as well as possible. Existing aspects of federalism and direct democracy in Europe are strengthened, and as a result future developments arising in the region are coped with better.

In this book Bruno Frey and Reiner Eichenberger propose a new model of federalism which includes new types of governmental units established by citizens from below. These units are called functional, overlapping and competing jurisdictions as they extend over task-specific areas and therefore overlap. They also provide competitive governance via direct and representative democratic institutions, and as jurisdictions they have independent power over taxation policy. This new model is more responsive to citizens' preferences and adjusts more dynamically to provide public services efficiently. The authors suggest that this new system should be allowed to develop in Europe to safeguard diversity and ensure that decentralization emerges effectively. It would also allow for the flexible integration of East European transition economies into the European Union and may also combine with traditional modes of government in developing countries.

This book will be warmly welcomed by economists, political scientists and sociologists interested in the future of the European Union, by all those studying federal systems of government, and by those interested in the prospects for improving democratic institutions throughout the world.

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1999

Reviews

[Lasse Laitinen · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I happened to see this book in a university library nearly two decades ago, its title didn't impress me. I was immersed in EU studies as an undergraduate student, and I was involved in pro-European NGOs, so for me it was self-evident that European federalism was and should be on the table; it should be new because nothing of an old kind of European federalism existed, and existing forms of federalism weren't suitable or possible for a European supranational state; and of course federalism should be democratic (or at least more democratic than the current EU politics!).

I am very happy I took hold of the book despite its non-sequiter title, as I then thought. Over the years my thoughts have returned over and over again to its coherent, revolutionary and ambitious core idea of the functional and competing overlapping jurisdictions.

Most recently I was reading about the liberal value of the freedom of movement for individuals between jurisdictions, and how it fosters competition and works against the centralization of power. Frey's and Eichenberger's manifesto (?) is in a way another side of the coin, where you also have the freedom to _found_ jurisdictions.

I hope this little mighty book has found and will find its way to the readers, who shape the dynamic and liberal politics of renewal in this century.