Federalism and Compliance with International Agreements: Belgium and Canada Compared
Stéphane Paquin, The Hague Journal of Diplomacy.
This article aims to assess the eff ectiveness of two systems of governance with respect to the making of international treaties: the Canadian system, where the decision-making process is more centralized and where intergovernmental mechanisms are poorly institutionalized; and the Belgian system, where substate actors have the role of co-decision and where intergovernmental mechanisms are highly institutionalized. The central question to be discussed is: is the fact that one gives an important role to sub-state actors in the making of a country’s treaty by means of institutionalized intergovernmental mechanisms something that negatively or positively aff ects the foreign policy of a state? And is this a positive- or a negative-sum game at the level of the conclusion and implementation of treaties? Th e article concludes that the Belgian system is more eff ective, largely because its sub-state actors have an important role at every step of the conclusion of a treaty.
Stéphane Paquin
Professeur, École nationale d'administration publique
Directeur exécutif du GÉRIQ
