Dialogues on Political Parties and Civil Society in Federal Countries

Booklet 9 explores the patterns of mutual interaction between political parties and federal institutions in the following twelve federal countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Spain, South Africa, Switzerland, and the United States. Contributors examine the multi-level structures of electoral competition and the vertical linkages of state-wide party organizations in their country, as well as processes of government formation and the coordination of public policies across territorial levels via party channels. Preface Comparative Reflections: Parties and Civil Society in Federal Systems Australia: The Decline of Party Allegiance Political Parties and Civil Society in Belgium Political Parties and Civil Society in Canada Germany: A Federal Party Democracy in Transition Political Parties and Civil Society Organizations in the Federal Democratic Process in India Recent Social and Political Changes Augurs Well for the Restructuring of Malaysia's Federalism Federalism, Political Parties and Civil Society in Mexico How Relevant Are Political Parties and Civil Society to the Evolution of Federalism in Nigeria? The Development of Democracy in South Africa - A Journey without a Roadmap Spain: Decentralization as a Contentious Issue in Party Competition and Public Discourse The Swiss party system: Party federalism and no language-based party organizations Political Parties, Civil Society and American Federalism. Glossary Contributors Participating Experts The first booklet featured constitutional origins, structure, and change; the second explored the distribution of powers and responsibilities; the third examined legislative, executive, and judicial governance; the fourth considered fiscal federalism; the fifth focused on foreign relations; the sixth delved into local government and metropolitan regions, the seventh analyzed diversity and unity; the eight compared intergovernmental relations. This ninth booklet in the series features 12 federal countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States The booklet and book series emerged from the Global Dialogue on Federalism, a joint program of the Forum of Federations and the International Association of Centers for Federal Studies (IACFS). The program creates forums around the world through which experts exchange experiences, ideas, and academic research to identify emerging challenges and inspire new solutions --Book Jacket This booklet is the ninth in a series created to provide accessible and comparative information on federal systems. The corresponding book series offers a comprehensive exploration of selected themes while the booklets provide the reader with highlights of each topic, serving as an entry point to the books