%0 Journal Article
%T THE CLASH OF PERSPECTIVES? THE EU AND RUSSIAN VIEWS ON FEDERALISM
%A Dmitri Mitin
%J Cross-Cultural Communication
%D 2009
%I Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture
%R 10.3968/768
%X This article examines a conspicuous disconnect between the prevalent Russian and European narratives on the costs and benefits of federalism. The observed variation in dominant discursive frameworks can be attributed to distinct historical experiences, especially in the area of centralization and power-sharing. Attitudes toward federalism have also been affected by the trajectory of institutional development. In the EU case, federalism implies a qualitative institutional transformation, entailing political unification and the surrender of national sovereignty to an external, supra-national formation. To individual member-states, federalism is a challenge from above, which may make the government less responsive and exacerbate the already existing democratic deficit. In contrast, Russian federalism has been a question of dividing power and autonomy between the central and regional governments, rather than an external challenge to national sovereignty. Correspondingly, post-communist federalization has become associated with ad hoc bargaining, fragmentation, abuse of power, and encroachments on the national jurisdiction ¨C all emanating from below. The contrasting nature of prior and ongoing federalist projects in the EU and Russia matters: the Western perspective is less sympathetic to the priorities of Russia¡¯s centralization reforms, because they are viewed as amplifying democratic deficit in the regions without enhancing democracy at the national level. Key words: federalism; decentralization; democracy; Russia; European Union R¨¦sum¨¦: Cet article examine un d¨¦calage apparent entre les r¨¦cits r¨¦pandus russes et europ¨¦ens sur les co ts et les avantages du f¨¦d¨¦ralisme. La variation observ¨¦e dans les cadres discursifs dominants peut ¨ºtre attribu¨¦e ¨¤ des exp¨¦riences historiques distinctes, en particulier dans le domaine de la centralisation et du partage du pouvoir. Les attitudes ¨¤ l'¨¦gard du f¨¦d¨¦ralisme ont ¨¦galement ¨¦t¨¦ affect¨¦es par la trajectoire du d¨¦veloppement institutionnel. Dans le cas de l'UE, le f¨¦d¨¦ralisme implique une transformation institutionnelle qualitative, en imposant l'unification politique et l'abandon de la souverainet¨¦ nationale ¨¤ un organisme supra-national ext¨¦rieur. Pour chaque ¨¦tat membre, le f¨¦d¨¦ralisme est une d¨¦fi venat du haut, qui pourrait rendre le gouvernement moins r¨¦actif et exacerbe le d¨¦ficit d¨¦mocratique qui existe d¨¦j¨¤. En revanche, le f¨¦d¨¦ralisme russe a ¨¦t¨¦ une question du partage de pouvoir et d'autonomie entre les gouvernements centraux et r¨¦gionaux, plut t qu¡¯ un d¨¦fit externe ¨¤ l¡¯¨¦gard de la souverainet¨¦ national
%K Federalism
%K decentralization
%K democracy
%K Russia
%K European Union
%U http://cscanada.net/index.php/ccc/article/view/768