Multiple tiers of government are a typical feature of many
countries worldwide for very practical reasons relating to efficient and
effective governance. Nonetheless, the significance, status, functions,
organizational frameworks, and authority of different governmental levels and
tiers differ greatly throughout countries. In practice, some systems are highly
centralized while others are decentralized. Intergovernmental relations (IGR)
are an essential component of modern governance in federal systems that serve
as a fulcrum in managing conflicts of competence; dealing with overlaps and externalities;
coordinating policies; and responding to new policy challenges. The study
carries out a comparative analysis of IGR between states and local governments
in various federal systems with the aim of presenting the dynamics of such
relations in different countries over time. Findings of the study revealed
that, in contrast to the ideal paradigm of cooperative federalism, state and
local government relations in majority of federal systems reflect tendencies of
"opportunistic federalism." “Opportunistic federalism” in federalist
IGR portrays a situation where higher jurisdictions take advantage of lower
jurisdictions, exploiting opportunities to control or co-opt relationships
across governments rather than pursue shared administrative strategies.
Author(s) Details:
Andrew Aondohemba Chenge,
Department of Public Administration, Federal University Wukari,
Nigeria.
Christopher
Linus Gadzama,
Department
of Public Law, Federal University Wukari, Nigeria.
Please see the link here: https://stm.bookpi.org/RRAASS-V6/article/view/13721
