Identities, Trust, and Cohesion in Federal Systems: Public Perspectives

by Jack Jedwab (Editor), John Kincaid (Editor)

Overview

To what extent do federal systems promote multiple identities and attachments? How do their identities affect the trust that is assigned to various orders of government and contribute to cohesion in federalist systems? Do cohesive federations depend on public trust and strong attachment to the national or central government? Are attachments and identification with the various orders of government in conflict or are they compatible? Identities, Trust, and Cohesion in Federal Systems offers eight comparative essays that provide key insights into identity debates in federalist countries. The findings are drawn from extensive analyses of public opinion data in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States. The editors seek to improve our understanding of how identity, trust, and cohesion correlate with centralized, decentralized, and asymmetrical models of federalism in order to gain insight into the diverse governance challenges that various nations encounter. Making effective use of empirical data to draw evidence-based conclusions about federalist governance, Identities, Trust, and Cohesion in Federal Systems breaks new ground in public policy studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781553395362
Publisher:	McGill-Queens University Press
Publication date:	02/22/2019
Series:	Queen's Policy Studies Series , #197
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Jack Jedwab is president of the Association for Canadian Studies and the Canadian Institute for Identities and Migration.

John Kincaid is the Robert B. and Helen S. Meyner Professor of Government and Public Service and director of the Meyner Center for the Study of State and Local Government at Lafayette College.

Jack Jedwab is executive vice-president of the Canadian Institute for Identities and Migration and the Association for Canadian Studies.

Table of Contents

Contributors v

1 Introduction and Comparative Observations Jack Jedwab John Kincaid 1

2 Federalist Governance, Provincial Grievances, and Attachment to Canada Jack Jedwab 25

3 Checkmate to the Spanish Decentralization? The Decline of Public Support for Spain's Autonomous Communities Mireia Grau Creus 57

4 Federalism and Solidarity in Belgium: Insights from Public Opinion Peter Thijssen Sarah Arras Dave Sinardet 85

5 Political Trust in Switzerland: Again a Special Case? Paul C. Bauer Markus Freitag Pascal Sciarini 115

6 Attachments to Multiple Communities, Trust in Governments, Political Polarization, and Public Attitudes Toward Immigration in the United States John Kincaid Richard L. Cole 147

7 Democracy, Public Safety, and Low Public Trust in Governments in Mexico María Fernanda Somuano Laura Flamand 181

8 Challenging the Irrevocable Decline: Democratic Satisfaction, National Cohesion, and Federal Political Culture in Australia (2008-2014) A. J. Brown Jacob Deem 223

9 German Federalism: On the Way to a "Cooperative Centralism"? Henrik Scheller 255

Index 281