Centre-Region Conflicts

The Fight for Control

Residents of a region with Regional Government-L4 also elect the politicians in Central Government-L5. So central and regional politicians must fight for the same electors.

In the absence of communalist values, endemic central/regional conflicts must be expected. Wherever there is a regional legislature, the central government will seek to gain more and more control over it.

Some Methods of Central Control

• Enforcing/altering the constitution to prevent unacceptable behaviour—e.g. racial segregation in USA.
  
• Attempting to induce altered behaviour or legislation at the regional level through resource allocation.
  
• Directly funding services that are more properly handled regionally.
  
• Providing a centralized national service—especially if the matter is nationwide in scope, extremely expensive, or highly specialized e.g. Centre for Disease Control in Atlanta (USA).
  
• Reducing money-raising powers of regional government.
  
• Bureaucratic—e.g. insisting on centrally-appointed officials to decide or monitor regional activities.

Assertion of Identity

• If there is only a national legislature and no L4-territories or regional government, there may still be sub-cultures in society. The national government should recognize cultural differences within the country, and pass laws that take cognizance of those differences. If cognizance of genuine cultural differences does not occur, then agitation is likely and violence may emerge. 
• Any L4-region wishing to exert any sovereign power is, in effect, desiring to secede so as to set up a separate L5-nation-state. Nation-states typically resist such separatist claims, despite the agitation and violence. Wikipedia lists a large number of secessionist and separatist movements. US states have recently started introducing bills and resolutions “declaring sovereignty under the 10^th Amendment”.
• Should a sub-regional territory within a country feel itself culturally distinct, then it will naturally strive to obtain L4-regional legislative powers for itself. If the country has, or could have, constituent-states, then the L5-nation-state may agree; if not, then it won’t. The nation-state then tries to handle the resulting pressures in various ways.
  Examples

• ethnic cleansing and genocide (e.g. Sudan)
• flooding of the cultural area with members of the regime's primary culture (e.g. Han Chinese sent to Tibet).
• organizing a puppet government that appears to represent and protect the local culture (e.g. former USSR control over Poland).
• permitting a degree of autonomy (e.g. Cataloniain Spain).

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• Continue to Local government-L3.

Originally posted: August-2009; Last updated: 15-Nov-2010