| Abstract: | Federal homogeneity is not always imposed from the center; subnationalunits can and do influence national policy from the bottom upby developing innovative policies. In South Africa, provincialpolicies in the area of HIV/AIDS shaped national policies withinthe context of the overarching normative structure of the nationalBill of Rights. The conditions under which this happened were(1) constitutional space for a province to develop an innovativepolicy and practice, (2) the necessary political will to exploitthe constitutional space, and (3) the judicial and politicalimpact of a province's innovative policy on the national policy.While provincial policy informed the court decision, it alsofurthered the political debate nationally. Finally, intergovernmentalcompetition played an important role in countering the monopolistictendency that can be produced by cooperative government. |
