Conclusion: The Future of Belgian Federalism—Between Reform and Swansong?

This article summarizes the main arguments of the special issue. It also probes into the deficiencies of the Belgian federal system and argues that the most recent crisis of Belgian federalism (2007–11) is not the result of rising socio-economic differences between Flanders and Wallonia, but the consequence of building a bipolar federation on to a split party system. The article concludes by identifying some potential roadmaps (federal reform, confederalism, and the referendum) for the future.     

Grassroots democracy and local government in Northern Syria: the case of democratic confederalism

This paper provides a case study regarding an innovative model of grass-roots democracy, called democratic confederalism, which is currently being implemented in Northern Syria. The difference between democratic confederalism and previous experiments with grass-roots democracy is that its evolutionary pattern aims to include heterogeneous local communities living in the same territories, with the objective of becoming an administrative model for the whole Syrian country, without shattering its national constitution. In fact, the evolution of the political and administrative system and the introduction of the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria were specifically aimed at including all ethnicities and not focusing on the Kurdish population only. Following a literature review aimed at defining the theoretical background of democratic confederalism, the case study is presented. Data collection occurred through semi-structured interviews and informal talks with key stakeholders in the Kurdish movement; the findings and main implications of the model are described and analysed.     

Sense on Federalism

Debate on the relevance (or otherwise) of federalism to the development of the European Union is often characterised by mutual incomprehension on either side. Close inspection, however, reveals that the high temperature of argument may not be solely due to differing visions of the finalite politique. For the precise meaning of the federal concept in political science remains unsettled. This article looks back to the earliest origins of federalism, in order to establish a firm basis for suggesting improvements. The idea of divided sovereignty, ‘invented’ in America and now thought to lie at the heart of the federal concept, is identified to be a false construction. On these grounds, it is proposed that the definition of federalism be clarified today as not ‘a division of sovereignty between two levels of government’, but instead ‘a division of the powers flowing from sovereignty between two levels of government of equal status’.     

Assessing the relevance of confederalism to cross-strait integration and China’s reunification

This article explores the relevance of confederalism for cross-Strait integration and the reunification of China. It explains the distinctions between the related concepts of federation, confederation, federalism and confederalism, and analyzes the use of confederal principles in resolving conflicts and maintaining or promoting state integration. It further lists the arguments for and against confederations and the practice of confederalism in the context of cross-Strait relations. The article argues that although a confederation cannot be regarded as a mutually acceptable model for China's eventual reunification, the application of some of the ideas, principles and values embodied in confederalism may be useful for cross-Strait integration and to peaceful reunification.