LUISA DOMENICHELLI

Il  modello federale tra nascita e crisi dello stato nazione 

N. 178

Summary — The A. traces the historical evolution of the federal state and the parallel elaboration of constitutionalist doctrine. In the first part of the analysis, the federal state is shown to be a manifestation of the modern state and not, as is often said, an alternative to this form of political organization. In fact, during the formation of the nation state, federalism has been a unifying instrument in non-homogeneous societies: it has provided a further criterion of identification that goes beyond local criteria, thus allowing for the creation of states whose dimensions are adequate to the contemporary development of capitalism. During that historical period, which extends up to a few years ago, students of the federal state have dealt above all with the analysis of the instruments used by federal states in the national policy making process. At the present time, on the other hand, we are faced with a different use of federalism: that of emphasizing cultural, ethnic or economic differences among state elements. We speak of dissociative federalism in opposition to associative federalism, which was typical of the previous historical period. In light of this deep change, the A. considers the role of the federal state in contemporary societies: the growing need for autonomy on the part of substates, which accompanies the crisis of the nation state, must be taken as a deviation from a theoretical pattern, however out of date. According to the A., it is possible to foster the autonomy of territorially peripheric subjects without giving up state unity, and to this purpose she suggests thinking carefully about the idea of equality between the central state and its elements.