European Federalism: Pitfalls and Possibilities

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to show that federalism provides a better understanding of what the EU is, the nature of the challenges facing it, and the realm of possible solutions than do alternative conceptions such as multilevel governance. First, some important distortions about the EU and federalism in the EU studies literature need to be cleared up, before developing a new federal conception of the EU, that of a ‘poly-cephalous’ or multi-headed federation. A poly-cephalous federation is not only deeply contested; it is a highly unstable system, in particular when facing the types of challenges that the EU has faced since the global economic crisis of 2008. In the final section, the article looks at a full-fledged pluralistic federation with poly-cephalous traits, namely Canada that, since the 1980s, has greatly modified its poly-cephalous features with democratic effects. The article identifies a set of lessons for the EU from Canada's experience.