1st Edition

Comparative Federalism and Intergovernmental Agreements Analyzing Australia, Canada, Germany, South Africa, Switzerland and the United States

By Jeffrey Parker Copyright 2015
    252 Pages
    by Routledge

    266 Pages
    by Routledge

    Intergovernmental agreements are an important instrument in federal systems, establishing new social programs, regulating agricultural practices, and even changing constitutions. Despite their importance, there have only been limited attempts to understand agreements in a comparative context or to provide a theoretical framework for their study.

    This book addresses both of these deficiencies by comparing the use of agreements in six federations (Australia, Canada, Germany, South Africa, Switzerland and the United States) and considering why certain federations form more agreements than others. Parker analyzes the data using an institutional framework that considers the effects of seven variables, including the constitutional division of powers, the system of intergovernmental transfers, the size of the welfare state and the nature of governing institutions. In addition, the study provides the first ever comparative database of national intergovernmental agreements — a new resource for future research.

     

    This book will be of interest to students and scholars of Political Science, Federalism, Government, Political Institutions, Political Theory and Comparative Politics.

    Acknowledgements  List of Tables  1 Introduction  2 Theory and Methodology  3 Australia  4 Canada  5 Germany  6 South Africa  7 Switzerland  8 United States of America  9 Comparison and Analysis of the Results  10 Conclusion

    Biography

    Jeffrey Parker received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Western Ontario, Canada.