How Federalism and Decentralization Enhance Democracy
I have already begun to suggest, then, how federalism and other forms of decentralization can strengthen democracy and enhance its stability. They may help to hold the country together by giving each group some control of its own affairs. They may help to sustain the political system by distributing power among a wider array of political parties, each of which finds that it has some tangible stake in the system. And it speaks to the aspirations of people and communities who simply want government to be closer and more responsive to their needs.
When government is closer to the people, it is more likely to be held accountable by them for its successes and failures in the provision of basic services, the maintenance of order, and the fair resolution of local issues and disputes. Government tends to be more responsive when it is closer to the people. That is why democracies are more and more embracing the principle of subsidiarity: that each government function should be performed by the lowest level of government that is capable of performing that function effectively.
When there are multiple layers of elected government, as in a federal or politically decentralized system, there are other benefits for democracy. Lower levels of elective office can constitute an arena for training and recruiting new political leaders, including women and young people who have not previously had a role in political life. And these lower levels of democracy provide a more accessible means for citizens to become active in public affairs: to question their local officials, monitor what they do, present their interests and concerns, and learn the skills and values of democratic citizenship. Typically, it is difficult for most citizens and organized groups to get access to the national parliament or the central ministries. They need decentralized opportunities for access to decision-making power. And those points of local access are more likely to be responsive if they are accountable to the people through elections.
Finally, decentralization of power provides an additional check against the abuse of power. Of course, checks and balances are needed within the central government itself. This is why there must be an independent parliament and judiciary, and effective auditing and counter-corruption mechanisms. But federalism can provide an additional bulwark against the concentration and abuse of power.
What is Necessary for Federalism to Work in a Democracy
I do not mean to suggest that federalism, or even more limited decentralization of power, is without risks and dangers for democracy. In many democracies, old and new, local and provincial governments become not outposts of grassroots democracy but local fiefdoms, dominated by political bosses who do not play by democratic rules or respect citizens' rights. As local autocratic leaders enhance their power, they can rig elections and intimidate the opposition, creating a one-party state at the provincial level, even if the national system remains vigorously competitive. I have seen this happen in countries like Nigeria. But this is far from inevitable.
There is a way to prevent or correct this problem. A federal democracy must establish that the national constitution, and the national judicial system, is supreme over local and provincial authorities. Prosecutors, investigators and commissions at the national level must have the authority to investigate abuses of power, violations of rights, and charges of corruption in local and provincial governments. Violators must be held accountable in the national courts, if they cannot be tried and punished at lower levels. And levels of government below the center should not be allowed to maintain their own armies or militias. That should be a national function.
There is also the problem of capacity for self-governance at the local and provincial level. This can be a particular problem in terms of the ability to raise, budget, and expend resources. In a country like Iraq, where the central government receives large streams of revenue from petroleum exports, a system can be developed to allocate some portion of this revenue automatically to the lower units of government, by a formula, perhaps largely based on shares of population, that is mutually negotiated and generally accepted as fair. But still, lower governments must develop the capacity to administer the revenue and provide the necessary services. Often, this requires a period of training and a phase-in of responsibilities devolved down from the center. One of the most important lessons from other country experiences is that local governments should not be burdened with obligations to perform functions and provide services for which they do not have adequate revenue or training.
Is Federalism a Slippery Slope downward to Disintegration?
A very legitimate fear of many who are wary of federalism is that, in a context of deep ethnic and regional divisions, it can lead to the break-up of the country, as in the former Soviet Union or the former Yugoslavia. These fears are real, but they are based on a mistaken reading of other experiences. Divided countries have disintegrated at crucial moments precisely because they did not develop over time democratic means for the devolution of power that knitted groups together in a more authentic, voluntary, and legitimate political union. When groups are held together in one nation mainly by force and fear, anxious minorities may seek to secede at the first sign of a weakening of central government power. By contrast, when the national government, under the fresh political circumstances that attend the formation of a new democratic system, makes an early and sincere grant of autonomy, the consequence is almost always greater stability and unity, rather than secession. This has been the case in India, Spain, Mexico, and Nigeria, for example. By contrast, countries like Sudan and Sri Lanka have paid a heavy price in civil war and massive violence for the failure to accommodate aspirations for devolution.
Many Iraqis fear that federalism is just a stalking horse or vehicle for the eventual break-up of the country. As a political scientist who has studied group conflict and institutions to manage conflict in democracies, I sincerely do not believe that will be the case. Federalism-as negotiated and structured by Iraqis in their process of constitution making during the coming year-will provide the means to hold Iraq together permanently, democratically, and peacefully.
As an independent academic who sympathizes with your concerns and aspirations, permit me a final reflection. We in the United States do not wish for a divided or shattered Iraq. There is a strong consensus within the U.S. that Iraq should be a unified and democratic state, and that federalism or devolution of power in some important ways will provide an important means toward those other two goals. Remember that a century and a half ago we in the United States fought a civil war to hold our own country together, around basic principles of democracy, equality, and fairness. We do not wish for other countries and peoples anything less than what we have, at great cost, achieved for ourselves.
In a democracy, opposition political parties and the party in power have the duty and obligation to educate and inform its citizens the basic
principles of democracy. Unfortunately, this has not been the case with political parties in our country.
CHADEMA wanatakiwa sasa tena kwa nguvu zote waretrogressive culture and usher in a culture that will build citizens knowledge, skills and ability to participate, to advocate and to hold government officials accountable.
Once citizens understand the basic principles of democracy, citizens are able to play their part actively and effectively at all levels of government.
Ni vema wakabeba kauli mbiu hii "We Put People First" in a decentralized national government system that will be compatible with an economy that will guarantee Tanzanians a life of hope, freedom, and opportunity.
It is important, therefore, that our citizens know the Benefits of Decentralization to appreciate the need to decentralize the governance system in our country now.
CHADEMA - "Putting People First"