Multinational Democratic Federations: Comparing India with Multi-level Systems from the Global North
| Published date | 01 December 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/23210230241291357 |
| Author | Katharine Adeney,Wilfried Swenden |
| Date | 01 December 2024 |
Multinational Democratic
Federations: Comparing India
with Multi-level Systems from
the Global North
Katharine Adeney1 and Wilfried Swenden2
Abstract
In this article, we compare the Indian experience with that of some of the multinational and multi-level
polities from the Global North, namely Belgium, Canada, Spain and the United Kingdom. We first sum-
marize the essence of multinationalism. Drawing from our comparative examples of the Global North
we then show how dominant narratives of state nationalism condition the extent to which the state
can accommodate plurinational difference through self-rule, shared rule and ethno-symbolic recognition
within these states, and then compare and contrast this with the Indian experience. Despite the stickiness
of elite narratives on the meaning of the state during state formation and democratization, we highlight
the ability of electoral competition to push multi-level politics into a more accommodative or majoritarian
direction. We illustrate this with reference to India including the 2024 General Election Outcome.
Keywords
Federalism, nationalism, party competition, ethno-territorial difference, accommodation, majoritarianism
Introduction
India has undergone many changes to its federal system since independence. In this article, we compare
the Indian experience with four multi-level and multinational states from the Global North. While the US
is often held up as the yardstick of federalism in the Global North, it is not a multinational federation. It
is more appropriate to compare the Indian experience with that of Belgium, Canada, Spain and the
United Kingdom, not all of which are ‘constitutionally federal’.
In contrast to the US, Belgium, Canada, Spain, and the United Kingdom are multinational, even
though acknowledging this fact may be problematic for many politicians in some of these countries
Original Article
Studies in Indian Politics
12(2) 164–182, 2024
© 2024 The Auhtor(s)
Article reuse guidelines:
in.sagepub.com/journals-permissions-india
DOI: 10.1177/23210230241291357
journals.sagepub.com/home/inp
1 School of Politics and International Relations, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
2 Politics and International Relations, School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Corresponding author:
Wilfried Swenden, Politics and International Relations, School of Social and Political Science, University of
Edinburgh, 15a George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9LD, Scotland, UK.
E-mail: w.swenden@ed.ac.uk
Adeney and Swenden 165
(Basta, 2021; Burgess & Gagnon, 2010). We argue that India merits inclusion as a multinational state,
but that, as in other multinational states, there may be powerful state narratives that seek to undermine
such an understanding, attempting to centre the state around an overarching Indian or, more recently,
Hindu majoritarian nation. This has implications for how federalism operates in practice and the
recognition of multinational diversity therein.
In what follows, we first summarize the essence of multinationalism. Drawing from examples of the
Global North we demonstrate how dominant narratives of state nationalism condition the extent to which
the state can accommodate sub-national difference through ethno-symbolic recognition, self-rule and
shared rule. We also demonstrate the dynamic nature of these narratives in light of party system change.
With reference to India, we pay attention to how the displacement of the Congress with the BJP has
altered the main narratives and practices underpinning Indian federalism and reflect on the extent to
which the return to coalition government following the 2024 general elections may create space for a
more decentralizing narrative.
Multinational Democracies and the State: State Narratives and Dynamics
Democracy famously means the will of the people, typically expressed in the modern world through
elections. But, as Ivor Jennings famously said, ‘the people cannot decide until someone decides who are
the people’ (1956: 56). In a multinational state, the answer to ‘who are the people’ may take different
forms. A multinational state is distinguishable from a nation-state in that large sections of the population
see themselves as ‘stateless nations’ who at the very least seek a degree of internal self-determination and
a right of veto in key aspects of central decision-making. Sometimes members of these sub-state nations
also seek external self-determination (sovereignty). By and large, citizens within such multinational
states either identify with the nation-state (e.g., Belgian, Canadian, British, Indian), with a substate (and
therefore stateless) nation (e.g., Flanders, Quebec, Scotland, Punjab) or with both. The strength of sub-
state identities, their concurrence with a demarcated (though possibly contested) sub-state territory and
the desire of many of their members to govern themselves and to receive recognition as ‘distinct nations’
sets multinational states apart from ‘mono’ national states. As Basta (2021: 5) puts it, ‘for communities
whose members consider themselves to be politically distinct, the state is legitimate only insofar as it
allows them to govern themselves as they see fit and only as long as it recognizes them as full-fledged
nations’. In a democratic multinational state, sub-state nationalist voices are often expressed through
sub-state nationalist parties, such as the Parti Québecois in Canada.
We argue that state narratives embody deeply held beliefs on the ontology of the state. These narratives
are rooted in different interpretations of the process of state formation and the significance of sub-state
entities therein (coming together, putting together or holding together; Stepan, 1999). How state elites
‘narrate’ or interpret the process of state formation cannot just be read from how national history is
taught in schools or interrogated—for instance in entrance exams to the civil service. It is also reflected
in the choice of state symbols (flag, stamps, anthem, constitutional preamble). It is also important to
consider the chosen configuration of self-rule and shared rule in the constitutional set-up and the
justifications given for these, for instance in constituent assembly debates or in discussions preceding
subsequent constitutional change. Typically, such choices and the normative justifications underpinning
them are made explicit during founding moments (Khosla, 2020), or during subsequent alterations in the
balance of power between the centre and the sub-state entities.
However, although state narratives may be deeply rooted, they are not immune to change. Modification
often occurs through the pressure which sub-state nationalist actors can wield in the political system, or
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