Global Federalism: A Solution for the Global Economic Crisis?

Chapter
First Online:

Abstract

Nowadays, all the states of the world are facing a new reality that they are not capable to cope with or even to understand properly: globalization. The concept of nation-state that was first configured during the Peace of Westphalia in the seventeenth century no longer has answers to the globalized problems such as environmental or economic problems. For instance, the high degree of degradation of the global environment cannot be solved by any nation-state or even by a great group of them. It is necessary that all of them, or at least the majority, work on the same direction in order to reduce the global pollution levels.

Globalization is an ongoing process where there is no turning back. That means that there is no real possibility of a “deglobalization process”. Globalization demands a new way of thinking that could overcome the limitations of the nation-state. The global economic crisis is a perfect example of global problems that we must face. No nation-state, not even the superpower that is USA, is capable of dealing with the consequences of this global crisis. Moreover, the European Union, a nation-states association of political integration, shows its debilities to face the global economic problems, and the G-formations are even unable to find out global solutions. The crisis shows clearly that there are some global powers, like “the markets”, that had overflowed the power of the nation-state and the continental associations of nation-states, like the EU, within the framework of a new global capitalism.

This paper analyses the global federalism as a possible theoretical solution for the global economic crisis and other global problems. If federalism has made possible along the history to resolve some problems that could not be solved by the lower levels of political organization, maybe it could also be a formula that helps the nation-state to control the global powers and the global capitalism that are even menacing the viability of the nation-state. The nation-states of the world would need to work together to establish a new global federal organization system, following the constitutionalism theory, that could be capable of dealing with global matters, regulating the global economy and, more importantly, keeping the world peace.

Keywords

Economical Power Political Organization Global Economic Crisis European Citizen Global Crisis 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access

References

  1. Balibar, E. and Collins, F. (2003), Europe, an "Unimagined" Frontier of Democracy in Diacritics, Vol. 33, No. 3/4, New Coordinates: Spatial Mappings, National Trajectories (Autumn - Winter, 2003).Google Scholar
  2. de Cabo Martín, C. (2010). Dialéctica del Sujeto, dialéctica de la Constitución, Trotta, Madrid, Spain.Google Scholar
  3. de Cabo, A. and Pissarello, G. (Eds.), (2010), Constitucionalismo, mundialización y crisis del concepto de soberanía, Ed. Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, Spain.Google Scholar
  4. González Encinar, J.J. (1985), El Estado Unitario-Federal, Ed. Tecnos, Madrid, Spain.Google Scholar
  5. Galbraith, J.K. (1979), The Great Crash 1929, Ed. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, United States.Google Scholar
  6. Häberle, P. (2009), La regresiva Sentencia Lisboa como Maatricht II anquilosada. In Revista Española de Derecho Constitucional Europeo, núm. 12, julio-diciembre 2009, pp. 404 and pp. 421.Google Scholar
  7. Habermars, J. (1994), Faktizität und Geltung, Ed. Suhrkamp. Frankfut am Main, Germany.Google Scholar
  8. Hamilton, A., Madison, J. y Jay, J. (1889), The Federalist, Ed. G.P. Putnam´s Sons, New York, United States.Google Scholar
  9. Harmes, A. (2006), Neoliberalism and Multilevel Governance. In Review of International Political Economy, Vol. 13, No. 5 (Dec., 2006).Google Scholar
  10. Huntington, S.P. (2000). Culture, power and democracy. In Platter F. and Smolar (Eds.) Globalization, power and democracy, Ed. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, United States.Google Scholar
  11. Iglesias Buiges, J.L. (1976), “Federalismo y soberanía en la historia de la Unión Europea” in Revista de Instituciones Europeas, n° 3, pp. 657–667.Google Scholar
  12. Lassalle, F. (1975). ¿Qué es una constitución?, Ediciones Siglo Veinte, Buenos Aires, Argentina.Google Scholar
  13. Mongardini, C. (2002), Ripensare la democrazia. La politica in regime di massa, Ed. Franco Angeli, Milan, Italy.Google Scholar
  14. Negri, A. (2005); Europa y el Imperio. Reflexiones sobre un proceso constituyente, Ed. Akal, Madrid, Spain.Google Scholar
  15. Prandini. R. (2010). The morphogeneisis of constitutionalism. In P. Dobner and M. Loughlin (eds.). The twilight of Constitutionalism, Oxford University Press, Oxford, United Kingdom,Google Scholar
  16. Singer, P. (2004). One World. The ethics of globalization, Yale University Press, Yale, United States.Google Scholar
  17. United Nation Millennium Declaration (2000) Available at: http://www.un.org/millennium/declaration/ares552e.htm
  18. de Vega García, P. (1998), Mundialización y Derecho Constitucional: una palingenesia de la realidad constitucional, Ed. Instituto de Estudios Constitucionales Carlos Restrepo Piedrahita, Bogotá, Colombia.Google Scholar
  19. Venter, F. (2010), Global features of Constitutional Law, Ed. Wolf Legal Publishers, Potchefstroo, South Africa.Google Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Área de Derecho Constitucional, Dpto. de Derecho PúblicoFacultad de Derecho, Universidad de ExtremaduraCáceres (Extremadura)Spain

Personalised recommendations