International Conference on India-Myanmar Relations: Federalism at Work

Date: 18-19 October 2016
Venue: Inya Lake Hotel (Ruby Room), Yangon, Myanmar

Federalism is experiencing a new renaissance today. Over the past two decades or so there has been a revival, so to say, of federal political solutions. Federalism’s growing appeal is linked to movements advocating deeper democracy and decentralised governance. For countries like Myanmar that are multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-lingual and multi-cultural, federal formula is even more attractive. Since modern federal idea is first and foremost a democratic idea, it has become an idea whose time has come.

Federalism implies respect for people’s identities and their political choices. It engages citizens in the task of governance. And it creates a system where citizens have voice but also choice. The new found appeal of federalism stems from the values it brings out. It provides opportunity for citizens to live their diversity in unity. It also allows ethnic, linguistic or religious minorities to develop their own identity.

Federalism provides better opportunities for grassroots involvement in political processes. Another reason for federalism’s growing appeal is its flexibility. It adapts itself to new needs and circumstances. The 25-odd federal countries have certain similarities. But they are often very different with regard to distribution of powers, financial federalism and federal institutions.

The success or failure of federalism doesn’t ultimately depend on federal institutions or decision-making processes. It depends on the particular country’s political culture. There is no single model to follow. Federalism grows differently on different soils. Federalism’s success in one country may not be replicable in another. But there is a lot to learn from each other’s experiences. Myanmar too stands to benefit from the experiences of other federal countries.
Federalism is a principle of government which defines the relationship between the central government and its constituent units at the regional, state and local levels. The allocation of power and authority is made in a way that each unit is delegated a sphere that only it can exercise whereas the others can be shared.

A well designed, and more important, well-functioning system of federal governance, by virtue of its manifold benefits, plays a key role in promoting the stability and prosperity of federal nations like the  US, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Germany and India. On the other hand, unless carefully crafted, federal systems do not endure as evidenced by the disintegration of many of the federal formations that came into being in the last century, such as Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia.

Cooperative federalism is another class of a federal structure. This concept originated in the Australian Constitution as, there existed a felt need for a change from competitive to cooperative relationship in the working of the federal constitution. This modern view of federation regards federation as a functional arrangement rather than mere division of powers between Centre and States. Cooperative federalism suggests that the Centre and the States share a horizontal relationship and not the one in which one is over and above the other.

Given the multifaceted diversities of Myanmar, its need for devolving power to states and local governments and to create a mechanism for resource sharing, the proposed meeting in Myanmar would focus on the three key areas of federalism-diversities, decentralised governance and resource management. Federalism is not static. As policy responsibilities between the national and sub-national governments have evolved and devolved, governing authority has overlapped across levels to a point where all actors are involved simultaneously to varying degrees.

Myanmar faces multiple challenges. Given the complexity of its ethnic problems, long civil war and authoritarian rule, federalism creates a lot of optimism for accountable and decentralised governance. In order to make peace sustainable, ethnic groups will have to be given a measure of socio-economic progress and a degree of self-rule. But self-rule without resources and devolution of power will make little sense. Myanmar is resource-rich but it must create mechanism of revenue sharing and resource management. A true federal state is known by how it creates these instruments of resource sharing.

Ownership of natural resources is very vital in federations. To whom do natural resources belong? Some countries treat these resources as part of national wealth. Others say these belong to the states. Revenues that arise from resources consist of income from both sales and state and federal taxes on the income and sales. Not all states or regions are equally endowed with resources. Equalisation formula is a measure which is a federal transfer payment programme designed to reduce the differences in revenue-generating capacity of different states. Equalisation ensures that people residing in any part of the country will have access to government services at reasonable levels of taxation.

Large disparities represent serious threats to federal states. Inability to deal with inequities creates potential for disunity. However, federal states do better in restraining regional inequalities. They know how regional disparities pose a great political risk. It often does two things: It removes barriers to trade and creates a level playing field through fiscal equalisation. Such grants work as the glue that holds federations together.

The question of managing diversities is equally important. Federalism is a key to preservation of multiplicity and plurality of a diverse society. Respect for plurality and accommodation of diverse demands are the essential features of a federal polity. Federal countries provide better frameworks in which to articulate the aspirations of diverse religious, cultural and linguistic groups.

For Myanmar the experiences of countries who are moving towards empowered local governance will be quite important. Effective local governments alone can ensure better access to citizen’s rights, inclusion of women and ethnic groups. Devolution of power and responsibilities assigns autonomy of action to sub-national governments and administrative units in all spheres of government. Decentralised governance is another way of federalising power. It is a transfer of decision-making power and allocation of resources.

Proposed Seminar

The proposed seminar in Yangon will be held in partnership with the Heinrich Boell Stiftung Indian office, Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi and Burma Centre Delhi. Participants will be from both India and Myanmar including former diplomats, government officials, think tank, civil society, media and other stakeholders. Main focus of this conference will be the federal governance. It will have three key aspects of federalism—managing diversities, devolution of power sharing and management of resources. The conference will draw from the experiences of other federal countries. Other aspects of India-Myanmar relations including connectivity, people-to-people relations too will be discussed.

Outcome

In view of aforementioned objectives, the organisers will circulate a feedback form for all participants for our future directions on India-Myanmar relations.

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Information:

Chok Tsering
Program Co-ordinator, Democracy & Dialogue Programme
E: chok.tsering@in.boell.org