The Role of Subnational Constitutions in Accommodating Centrifugal Tendencies within European States: Flanders, Catalonia and Scotland Compared

• Autores: Dirk Hanschel
• Localización: Perspectives on Federalism, ISSN-e 2036-5438, Vol. 6, Nº. 2, 2014
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Looking at federalism (Belgium), quasi-federalism (Spain) and devolution (United Kingdom), this paper shows that regional autonomy of Flanders, Catalonia and Scotland may be strengthened through a strong empowerment to establish fully-fledged subnational constitutions and through the active use of that empowerment. The author argues that subnational constitutions, whilst not acting as a panacea, may serve as important focal points for regional identification and be part of suitable autonomy arrangements within the State. They may help accommodate centrifugal tendencies, as long as the empowerment stems from a coherent and transparent central constitutional framework which clearly defines and entrenches the subnational constitutional space and its inherent limitations.