Dynamics of Change and Continuity: Federation Building in Democratic Brazil, South Africa and Spain

In light of existing theories of institutional change, this article seeks to advance a common framework for understanding the way in which decentralization and federalization have unfolded in three countries: Brazil, Spain, and South Africa. Although in different continents, these three countries have each experienced institutional change after their respective transitions to democracy that transferred administrative and fiscal authority to their regions (decentralization), and vertically distributed political and institutional capacity (federalization). This article attempts to explain how over time institutional changes prompted a shift in power and authority towards regional governments by looking at internal sources of change within the intergovernmental arena. The sequence, duration and speed of key decentralization and federalization events, as well as the party coalition behind these events, led to a gradual and bargained transformation of intergovernmental relations in democratizing Brazil, Spain and South Africa.