Unitary States Research Articles

Integration Projects and Institutional Matrices

In this paper, an attempt is made to understand the reasons for the formation of a particular order in a region based on the institutional approach. The connection between regional order and regional regulation with the type of institutional matrices of integrating countries is shown. It is established that when integrating social systems in order to mitigate possible institutional imbalances, institutions complementary to those dominant in the institutional matrix are used: when integrating X-matrix countries – market institutions and vice versa. The factors blocking regionalism in integration projects involving countries with institutional matrices of the same type include: the presence of one clearly expressed hegemon and its support of supranational regulatory bodies, the presence of federal rather than unitary states in the region. It has been established that for countries with different types of institutional matrix, convergence is possible (for example, cooperation in the security sphere, participation in the Free Trade Zone), but integration in this case will be limited to only certain areas that are of exceptional importance for social systems, with the prevalence of regionalization processes (integration “from below” without the creation of any significant and effective supranational bodies). Factors that hinder the development of both regionalism and regionalization are increasing political differences between countries, polarization along religious lines, manifestations of nationalism and racism.

Tiled unitary product states for strongly correlated Hamiltonians.

Approximating the electronic wave function for strongly correlated systems remains a major theoretical challenge. Emerging quantum computers can enable new types of wave-function ansatz to be considered, with the potential to overcome the exponential memory storage for strong correlation. I have recently introduced the tiled Unitary Product States (tUPS) ansatz, which successfully combines the preservation of particle-number and spin symmetry with shallow quantum circuits and local qubit connectivity [H. G. A. Burton, Phys. Rev. Res., 2024, 6, 023300]. In this contribution, I investigate the accuracy of this tUPS hierarchy for strongly-correlated Hamiltonians. I consider the picket-fence pairing Hamiltonian and the two-dimensional Hubbard lattice, which collectively describe a range of strong correlation mechanisms found in molecules. Numerical results demonstrate that highly accurate energies can be achieved with a compact approximation for both weak and strong correlation in the Hubbard model, and the repulsive pairing regime. These data provide valuable insights into the applicability of the tUPS hierarchy for strong electron correlation.

A Brief Overview of Some Federal Systems and Restructuring in Nepal

Modern politics endorses various governing systems, with the unitary and federal systems being the primary forms. These systems can change in response to the immediate needs of a country, influenced by the will of the people and the interests of leadership. Some unitary states have transitioned to federal systems, while some federal systems have disintegrated, depending on the circumstances and necessities of the state. In the context of conflict management, Nepal has transitioned from a unitary system to federalism through state restructuring. The primary reason for this shift was the internal conflict within the state. This article focuses on the federalism adopted by Nepal, examining the experiences of major federal countries worldwide and discussing Nepal's approach to federalism. The study attempts to address and find solutions to several pertinent questions regarding this transition.

A realist interpretation of unitarity in quantum gravity

Unitarity is a difficult concept to implement in canonical quantum gravity because of state non-normalisability and the problem of time. We take a realist approach based on pilot-wave theory to address this issue in the Ashtekar formulation of the Wheeler–DeWitt equation. We use the postulate of a definite configuration in the theory to define a global time for the gravitational-fermionic system recently discussed in Alexander et al (2022 Phys. Rev. D 106 106012), by parameterising a variation of a Weyl-spinor that depends on the Kodama state. The total Hamiltonian constraint yields a time-dependent Schrodinger equation, without semi-classical approximations, which we use to derive a local continuity equation over the configuration space. We implement the reality conditions at the level of the guidance equation, and obtain a real spin-connection, extrinsic curvature and triad along the system trajectory. We obtain quantum corrections to deSitter spacetime from the guidance equation. The non-normalisable Kodama state is naturally factored out of the full quantum state in the conserved current density, opening the possibility for quantum-mechanical unitarity. We also give a pilot-wave generalisation of the notion of unitarity applicable to non-normalisable states, and show the existence of equilibrium density for our system. Lastly, we find unitary states in mini-superspace by finding an approximate solution to the Hamiltonian constraint.

Родные языки в системе образования в этнических федерациях: сравнительный анализ

The initial and main thesis of the article is that the teaching and learning of native languages in ethnic federations differs in specifics in comparison with other federations and unitary states. Comparing the experience of a number of ethnic federations in the field of education seems relevant for all multinational and multilingual states. The article consists of three parts. The first one deals with the problem of the division of powers in the management of teaching of native languages in the education system between the federal center and subjects of a federation. There is a difference in the implementation of these powers in multinational ethnic federations with a dominant national language and federations where there is no single official national language, and the sphere of education, including teaching of native languages, falls within the competence of the subjects of a federation. The author argues that the most optimal model of the division of powers in the field of language policy in the education system consists in consolidation of the basic provisions and principles at the federal level and transfer of issues of operational management of education and the functioning of educational institutions to the regional level, taking into account the elements of autonomy of the subjects of a certain federation. The second part discusses the problem of the voluntary choice of language in the education process or the non-alternative legislative designation of the language of teaching and learning. Generalization of the experience of a number of ethnic federations leads to the conclusion that in these states teaching of both national official language and official language of a subject of a federation, as well as the native language, as a rule, is not established on the basis of a free choice of parents or students, but is in fact mandatory. The third part is devoted to comparing the experience of both ethnic multinational and bi-ethnic federations in the face of conflict-causing factors that hinder the study of native languages. Rarely do ethnic federations avoid disputes over the use of dominant and non-dominant languages in teaching and learning, and there has been a number of extremely contradictory or even conflict situations. One of the reasons is that it is not always possible to develop an optimal model of the distribution of powers between the federal center and subjects of a federation in the system of education in the field of language policy, while all countries possess institutional mechanisms that can prevent the existing contradictions from escalating into conflicts on ethno-linguistic grounds. In conclusion, the author attempts to identify common features that characterize the teaching and learning of native languages in ethnic federations.

Beyond the Unitary State: Multi-Level Governance, Politics, and Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Animal Welfare.

It is argued that extant cross-cultural research on animal welfare often overlooks or gives insufficient attention to new governance theory, civil society, politics, and the realities of devolved or (quasi-)federal, multi-level governance in the modern state. This paper synthesizes relevant social theory and draws on new empirical findings of civil society accounts of campaigning on animal welfare policies and law in the United Kingdom. It is presented as a corrective to arguably reductive, earlier unitary state-based analyses. Our core, evidence-based argument is that cognizance of civil society activism and the contrasting institutional governance structures and political cultures of constituent nations in unitary states-such as the UK-are providing opportunities for the territorialization of legally grounded animal welfare regimes, and culturally distinctive practices.

ДЕЦЕНТРАЛИЗАЦИЯ СИСТЕМЫ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОГО УПРАВЛЕНИЯ В УНИТАРНЫХ И ФЕДЕРАТИВНЫХ ГОСУДАРСТВАХ: СРАВНИТЕЛЬНО-ПРАВОВОЙ АНАЛИЗ

The article provides a comparative legal analysis of the process of decentralization of the public administration system in unitary and federal states and also reveals its role in increasing the efficiency of local government authorities. The concepts of a unitary and federal state are revealed, as well as the relationship between central government bodies and local executive authorities, taking into account the administrative-territorial division of the state. The development of the institution of decentralization in Anglo-Saxon and continental systems of law is analyzed. The economic and social factors that influence the effectiveness of decentralization of the public administration system in unitary and federal states are revealed. The principles of decentralization of the public administration system and the prerequisites and reasons for the transfer of powers to local government bodies are analyzed, taking into account the unitary and federal administrative-territorial divisions. The development of the institution of decentralization in countries such as France, Japan, Italy, the USA, Canada, and Germany is regulated in detail.

Categories of Normative Acts Object of the Control of Constitutional Courts

The Constitutional Court was constituted in a body that was suitable for ensuring the legality of legal norms. In this respect, the Constitutional Court is in fact an independent body that submits to constitutionality control a series of acts with legal effects. In this context, the legislator has developed in a constitutional aspect a control that is applied by notifying the Constitutional Court. In the respective work, we will try to present comparatively the acts that are subject to constitutional control, within the different constitutional courts in different states. The essential idea on which this construction is based is precisely the variety of acts that can be subject to constitutional control precisely to establish their legality. From the reports of the Constitutional Courts, it is found that the unitary treatment of the categories of acts on which the constitutionality control is exercised is a difficult problem, taking into account the particularities of regulating the competencies of the Constitutional Courts, as well as the existing differences regarding the legislative systems of the countries. The variations, among others, the structure of these - unitary or federative states and the difference of conception regarding the method of applying constitutionality control, demonstrate the existence of a conceptual difference in establishing the legality of normative acts in consensus with the fundamental law.

Functioning of regional banks in the modern regulatory environment: experience of the USA, Germany, India and China

The article analyzes the essence of the concept of "regional bank" and the principles of their functioning, examines the modern experience of foreign regional banks in federal countries (USA, Germany and India) and in unitary states (mainly on the example of China), taking into account the regulatory environment that has developed in these countries, including the institutional structure banking systems and the grounds for classifying banks as regional. The results of the assessment of the state of the banking systems of these countries and their development trends are disclosed. Special attention is paid to the state policy of the countries under consideration aimed at the development of regional banks in order to ensure the economic growth of the regions, improve the quality of banking services (including in remote regions) and the level of welfare of citizens, as well as the implementation by national (central) banks of the mechanism of proportional regulation of the activities of regional banks.

Сomparative study of territorial ethnic autonomies

The article discusses the approaches and methods of territorial ethnic autonomies comparative research that are part of both federal and unitary states. The statement on the dual role that these autonomies play is substantiated. The analysis of autonomous communities to assess positive and negative practices is possible only on the basis of comparison. The general features of autonomies are shown depending on the form of government. The influence of the ethnic factor on the autonomy and state institutions is revealed. The research focused on comparative analysis of ethnic autonomies, including the definition of the main comparison options for studying the distribution of power between the autonomy and the state, the selection of indicators that reveal them. The article reveals the possibilities of processing the obtained data for each group of indicators using quantitative and qualitative research methods.

The Scope of City Autonomy in the Constitutions of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom: Informality, Subsidiarity, Identity

One of the main issues in the debate on urban constitutionalism is how constitutions can recognize the increasingly important role of cities in relation to the nation-state. This paper examines what we talk about when we talk about city autonomy. This is a pressing question, particularly in the context of European unitary states. This paper pays special attention to the context of two of such states, namely the Netherlands and the United Kingdom (especially England). First, it explores the notion of subsidiarity, which implies that consideration should be given to the distinctiveness of the city as regards the allocation of power to the central and regional levels respectively. However, this idea in itself cannot justify the case for city autonomy, as the claim that the attribution of autonomous powers to cities may improve the quality of decision-making in the state as a whole needs additional empirical evidence. Second, it investigates the concept of city autonomy by exploring the fuzziness of the notion of the city. In addition, it introduces the concept of ‘spatial identities’ in order to explain the interdependence of (large) cities and their surrounding (rural) areas. Lastly, it concludes that if the importance of cities as constitutional actors is to be increased, it should be done so in an informal way rather than by the introduction of formal constitutional arrangements both from a pragmatic and a normative perspective.

Non-state actors, extractive industries, and the investment regime: What can be learned from six Amazonian investor-state disputes?

The international investment regime was designed to reduce political risks—risks created by government action or inaction—faced by enterprises venturing abroad. It assumes that political risks are due to unitary host states, who, guided by national interests, would confiscate profitable foreign enterprises when opportune. This article argues, however, that political risks can have a different origin. In ecologically vulnerable areas, extractive projects can be polarizing, as some groups benefit from their existence while others suffer their consequences. In this setting, non-state actors may fight legally and politically to attract or expel extractive industries, generating policy uncertainties and political risk. To check this argument, the article examines five investor-state disputes coming from extractive projects located in the Amazon and which were caused, in part or completely, by the actions of non-state actors. The cases studied provide insights into the importance of non-state actors in the investment realm as well as the inadequacies of the current investment regime.

PRESENT-DAY POLICIES CONCERNING INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES IN THE AMERICAS: A GEOGRAPHICAL APPROACH

Global changes in policies regarding Indigenous people, observed in the last decades, have had a strong impact on language policies in the Americas. They are aimed at increasing protection of Indigenous languages, especially in countries with a higher number and percentage of Native people and Indigenous language speakers (ILS). However, it is argued in the paper that the scope of these policies is often not adapted to changes in spatial distribution of Autochthonous populations, while their effective implementation in many cases seems outright impossible. The first part of the paper sums up an analysis concerning the number and spatial distribution of Indigenous people and ILS in countries and dependent territories of the Americas. The second part shows the evolution of policies towards Indigenous languages in the Americas from the colonial era to our times. The last part studies spatial aspects of the situation of Indigenous languages in Mexico City, based primarily on qualitative data obtained from interviews and observations carried out during field research. The paper concludes: that a clear progress has been made in language policies in the last decades in the analysed region, especially in Latin America; that there is no obvious difference in the implementation of these policies between unitary and federal states; and that, based on the case of Mexico City, the implementation of a relevant language policy may be seriously hindered by such factors as insufficient financing, political disputes, and a deeply embedded discrimination against Indigenous languages.

Federalism as an institutional doctrine

Federalism as an institutional doctrine

Do Fiscal Transfers Affect Local Democracy? Lessons from Chilean Municipalities

ABSTRACTExtant literature concurs that fiscal transfers affect local democracy when they grant subnational governments nontax revenue. Yet there is nonetheless a mismatch between this concept and existing measures, which consider the whole transfers local governments receive, including both tax and nontax revenue. This article studies the Fondo Común Municipal (FCM), the most important intergovernmental grant in Chile, and provides a novel measure of nontax revenue. It uses this measure alongside the whole FCM transfer to test the rentier hypothesis. On the one hand, it shows that both measures increase the incumbent party vote share, although the effect of our measure is smaller. On the other hand, it finds that the FCM transfer has an impact on the probability of reelection and the competitiveness of elections, but this effect disappears when using our measure. Overall, the findings suggest that rents from transfers do not lead to strong electoral dominance in unitary states.

Unitary form of the state structure: concept and main features

This article is devoted to the theoretical and legal analysis of various approaches to the definition of the unitary form of government and its main features. The study of unitary states is very relevant, this is primarily due to the fact that most states in the world are similar in terms of the form of government, but at the same time they differ greatly from each other. In addition, the study of unitary states is interesting in the context of the trend of regionalization processes taking place in various countries of the world. The study of the unitary form of government is of particular importance today, since it is determined by national, state-territorial factors, as well as specific socio-cultural conditions in different regions of the world. The article characterizes approaches to the definition of the concept of a unitary state by the criterion of inclusion in its composition (structure) autonomy. Common features characterizing unitary states are revealed. It contains general features that characterize unitary states. In conclusion, a definition is formulated, a definition of unitary states is formulated and a conclusion is made about the structure of unitary states.

Policy‐making, policy‐taking, and policy‐shaping: Local government responses to the COVID‐19 pandemic

AbstractThe COVID‐19 pandemic has challenged nations states across the world. They have implemented lockdown and social distancing and with the development of vaccines have gone to great lengths to build herd immunity for their populations. As place managers, local government has played a variety of roles supporting central government edicts related to social distancing and supporting local businesses impacted by lockdowns. The research reported here comparing the role local government has played in Australia, Canada, Italy, and New Zealand shows that they have at different times and for different issues been policy takers from central government, policy shapers, and policy makers adapting national strategies. Local government plays an important complementary role with central governments in both unitary and federal systems of government. The paper contributes to the literature on multi‐level governance, place‐based decision‐making, and disaster and emergency management by offering a framework for analysing municipal roles in crises management both in their relationship with higher layers of government and in their acting as locally placed organisations.Points for practitioners Cross‐national study: Australia, Canada, Italy, and New Zealand. Examination of local government responses to COVID‐19 pandemic as policy makers, takers, or shapers. Comparison of federal and unitary states.

Can e-government reduce local governments' financial deficits?——Analysis based on county-level data from China

Research has shown that the centralization of financial power in unitary states is not conducive to local governments' promotion of e-government, resulting in the expansion of local fiscal deficits. The fundamental reason for this problem lies in the contradiction between the information disclosure required for effective e-government and the information concentration characteristic of unitary countries. To identify the impact of e-government on fiscal deficits in this context, we take two e-government pilot projects in China as quasi-natural experiments and conduct difference-in-differences analysis of county-level data from 1997 to 2018. Through a common trend test, a placebo test, a lagged outcome variable design and the difference-in-differences with propensity score matching method, we validate our finding that e-government can effectively reduce the fiscal deficit of local governments. This function is mainly realized through the application of media tools and expansion of the scale of local enterprises. However, the impact of e-government on fiscal deficit differs significantly between regions with different levels of economic development. The effect is more obvious in regions with a poorer economic foundation. Our findings indicate the importance of e-government construction in unitary developing countries.

Two paths towards the exceptional extension of national voting rights to non-citizen residents

ABSTRACT Only five countries have extended universal voting rights to non-citizen residents for all political spheres (local, intermediate and national): Uruguay in 1934, New Zealand in 1975, Chile in 1980, Malawi in 1994, and Ecuador in 2008. These cases constitute a unique intercontinental medley and an opportunity to study the conditions behind such revolutionary change. Through a calibrated comparative strategy based on most similar system designs (inspired by Mill’s method of difference) using QCA, this paper finds that the extension of national voting rights to non-citizen residents transpired in two distinct scenarios. The first setting (Chile, New Zealand, and Uruguay) took place within unitary states with already-existing local voting rights for non-citizen residents and settler trajectories, but that were not undergoing a liberalisation process. On the other hand, the second configuration (Ecuador and Malawi) developed within unitary states that recognised nationality by ius soli and were going through a process of liberalisation, but without previous local voting rights for non-citizen residents or a settler trajectory. To our best knowledge, this paper offers the first cross-national explanation that involves all cases that have broadened their respective political communities (demoi) to include national voting rights to all non-citizen residents.

Frameworks of Paradiplomacy. Cases of Selected Unitary States: France, the Netherlands and Czechia

Paradiplomacy literature focuses on federations. This paper is dedicated to selected unitary states. The aim was to identify the achievement of those states in terms of cooperation between central and local governments with respect to foreign policy. The principal research method was a semi-structured direct interview. In the light of the examined examples, the French model of paradiplomacy for a unitary state appears to be the best solution. It respects both the authority of the sub-state governments to engage in foreign cooperation and the constitutional prerogative of the government as the body responsible for pursuing foreign policy of the state.