The Law and Politics of Intervention in Federal Systems: Corrective or Coercive?

Author: Yonatan T. Fessha; Karl Koessler
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 9781035348251
Published In: June 2026
Format: Hardback
Jurisdiction: U.K. ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

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This interdisciplinary book explores the tension in federal systems between higher government level intervention and the autonomy of subnational and local governments. International experts examine a variety of jurisdictions across Africa, Asia, Europe and South America, illustrating how federal intervention can become a coercive tool for control rather than serving as a genuine corrective mechanism.

Adopting an international comparative approach, the contributing authors address how federal systems can undermine the self-governance rights of a territory and harm democracy, when they allow a senior level of government to intervene in the affairs of subnational and local authorities. Chapters cover vital questions about the extent of intervention that can and should be allowed and the conditions that justify and regulate these interventions. They examine the procedural safeguards available against unwarranted intervention, as well as how political dynamics influence the use, abuse and frequency of interventions.

The Law and Politics of Intervention in Federal Systems is an essential resource for students and academics in law and political science, particularly those interested in comparative constitutional law, comparative politics and, more specifically, comparative federalism.

The law and politics of intervention in federal systems: framing the debate 1

Yonatan T. Fessha and Karl Kössler

Argentina: federal interventions as a constitutional way of doing politics 13

Lara Goyburu

Brazil: federal intervention as a paradox of unity and autonomy 35

Marcelo Labanca Corrêa de Araújo

Ethiopia: the use and abuse of intervention powers 59

Zemelak Ayele and Gosaye Berhanu

India: President’s Rule and permissive interventionism 87

Louise Tillin

Italy: federalism and intervention 115

Alice Valdesalici