Federal politics and Government

This perceptive book raises some important issues in the context of comparative federalism, analyses the various stresses and strains involved and explains how demands confronting the federal system of government vary between countries according to the degrees of differentiation in their social, cultural, and political environments. Professor Ray has analysed the fluidity and complexity of the federal process in the USA, Canada, India, Malaysia and Nigeria by focussing on the politics of inter governmental relations. The discussions are further enriched by specific case studies of the relations of Orissa and West Bengal with New Delhi, of Western Nigeria with Lagos, and of Sarawak with Kuala Lumpur. A paper included in this book dealing with federal-regional relations in the USA in the context of urban and regional developments is intended to provide an appropriate perspective on the new directions in American

federalism. In the epilogue the author weaves the main threads of the foregoing discussions and seeks to unravel the contours of the evolving federalism in the new states. He concludes that in the case of India the newly generated demand for greater devolution of powers and resources is meaningful to the extent that it is necessary for the regional governments to implement effectively a programme of social change.