Competitive federalism

Federal contributions to the construction of democratic intimate citizenship

Authors

  • Blanca Rodríguez Ruiz Universidad de Sevilla

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18042/cepc/rep.201.02

Abstract

Although vocationally a federal state, Spain’s territorial structure is not anchored in its Constitution, a fact that proves to be dysfunctional. Nor is there an apparent will to address the matter. All this seems to stem from our own national anti-federalist myths. Yet federalism is closely connected to democracy, the more so the richer a territory is in diversity. This paper aims to expose the role that federalism plays in the democratization of citizenship, particularly the role played by its competitive dynamics in the recognition of diversities both in Spain and within the European Union. It is, more specifically, to expose its role in the democratization of what has been named intimate citizenship, i.e. the recognition of one’s personal status based on self-determination, especially in terms of gender and SOGIE rights, as instrumental to democracy.

Published

2023-09-21

Issue

Section

ARTICLES