Federalism and national groups

National pluralism is a feature that is not shared by all federations. Nor, until recent times, has it received sufficient analytical attention. In certain federations various national groups coexist. Among the national characteristics of these groups, we can mention the fact that their members recognise themselves as such because they share some cultural patterns. They also share some sense of historical distinctiveness in relation to other groups of the federation, are situated in a more or less clear territory, and display a will to maintain its distinctiveness in the political sphere. This, for example, is the case in Belgium, Canada, India, or Spain. These are plurinational federations or regional decentralised polities with institutional and regulatory challenges distinct from those faced by mononational federations such as the USA, Germany, Austria, Brazil, or Australia. This article briefly outlines certain elements pertaining to liberal-democratic federalism within plurinational contexts. It gives particular attention to the characteristics of the main types of federal agreement, and a proposal for a federal organisation, here called plural federalism, that is more adequate to the needs of plurinational societies

Consolidation (business) · Democracy · Federalism · Optimal distinctiveness theory · Plural · Pluralism (philosophy) · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · European Union Policy and Governance · Law · Political Systems and Governance · Public Administration

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