Description

Following the end of World War II, many states and nations in Asia were decolonised and reorganised. Most of these new modern-states housed a great diversity of different ethnic groups. Some introduced federalism as one way to manage this diversity. Others instituted a program of identity-based nation-building, which was resisted by minority ethnic groups leading to conflict and de-democratisation.

Federalism is now the contemporary demand of many minority ethnic groups in Asia, and governments have increasingly responded. In the last few years alone, Nepal established a new federal constitution, while each of Myanmar, the Philippines and Sri Lanka established formal bodies tasked with constitutional reform. This new generation of federalism in Asia reinforces an emerging Asian model of federal democracy.

This talk overviews and compares the origins, evolution and effects of three generations of federalism in Asia. It identifies the five key features of the emerging model: the retention of key powers by the centre on account of the holding-together formation process;  ethnoterritorial provincial designs that consolidate small ethnic groups and split large ones; ethnic and multi-ethnic political party systems that are highly fragmented—resulting in coalition governments; majoritarianism, in particular mixed-majoritarian electoral systems; and special structures for small and scattered minorities.

It then demonstrates how these (common) features work together to balance imperatives to accommodate diversity and moderate extremism, including by combining features of otherwise competing consociational and centripetal prescriptions, to achieving democratic stability in deeply divided societies. So far, the model has positive effects on the extent of ethnic inclusion, the quality of democracy, and the regulation of ethnic conflict and stability.