1. Intergovernmental Relations
Forum of Federations
Intensive Course on
Democratic Federalism

2. OVERVIEW What are intergovernmental relations (IGR)?
Why are they important?
Patterns of intergovernmental relations
The tasks of intergovernmental relations
Some examples
IGR in the Iraqi Federation
Observations and Conclusions

3. WHAT ARE INTERGOVERMENTAL RELATIONS (IGR)?
A federal constitution establishes the structure of government; IGR bring the structure to life
The constitution is the structure; IGR are the process – the way in which the necessary business of the federation gets done
Two types:
Relations between the central government and the provinces or states (vertical)
Relations among the provinces or the states themselves (horizontal)
No real watertight compartments – overlap, entanglement, sharing
Powers and responsibilities in modern federations cannot be cleanly divided between two orders of government; hence they have to work together – IGR
In some federations, powers and responsibilities are concurrent or shared in various ways – hence IGR
Involves both politicians and officials

4. WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT?
Federal constitutions are usually difficult to amend, fairly rigid
For this and other reasons, governments must work with and against one another as circumstances change
In all cases, intergovernmental relations are an inevitable, vital and omnipresent feature of functioning federations
They constitute one of the most important instruments of flexibility in a federal political system. Some others are:
The utilization of concurrent jurisdiction
The intergovernmental delegation of legislative powers and administrative responsibilities
‘Opting in’ and ‘opting out’ arrangements
Intergovernmental agreements and accords

5. PATTERNS IF INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS: I
Parliamentary federations:
Executive and legislature fused
Power concentrated in the executive within each government and dispersed among governments
‘Executive federalism’
Congressional federations:
Executive and legislature separated
Power dispersed both within and among governments
IGR dispersed

6. PATTERNS OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS: II
How formal? How institutionalized?
Intergovernmental cooperation as a constitutional principle
The role of the second chamber/upper house
Councils, committees and other intergovernmental bodies
Informal norms, practices and meetings

7. THE TASKS OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS: I
Primary functions:
Putting the provisions of the Constitution into action
Resolving conflicts between the federal partners
Adapting governing and policy arrangements to changing circumstances

8. TASKS OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS: II
Fiscal/financial issues: sorting out revenue and expenditure arrangements
Negotiating fiscal transfers, typically from the federal to provincial and regional governments
Regulating intergovernmental competition, policy overlap, policy coordination

9. SOME EXAMPLES
Germany and South Africa: IGR as a constitutional principle:
Germany – Bundestreue – cooperative governance and loyalty to the federation
South Africa – Chapter 3 Cooperative Government – governments to “cooperate with one another in mutual trust and good faith.”
Germany: the upper house as an IGR institution
India, Malaysia: financial commissions and councils
Canada: informal processes of executive federalism

10. IGR IN THE IRAQI FEDERATION
To be discussed by the group