Coconstitutionalism

Coconstitutionalism is where two institutional cultures exist in a complex semi-autonomous relationship to each other.^[1] The model of asymmetrical devolution that has emerged in democratic Spain has been called "coconstitutional" in that it is neither a federal nor a unitary model of government: autonomous nation-regions exist alongside and within the Spanish nation-state in a relatively dynamic relationship.^[2]

Similarities to federalism are marked although a key difference lies in the legal status of a federal-state versus a notionally unitary coconstitutional one: in a federation, it is the states who legally transfer powers to the federal government (bottom up) whereas in a unitary state power is devolved from the nation-state down to the regions (top down) and can in theory be revoked. Political conflict between Catalonia and Spain resulted in the 2017–2018 Spanish constitutional crisis.^[3]

Since 1997, the UK government has pursued a similar coconstitutional model of devolution with regard to its nation-regions.

Five regions in Italy, namely Aosta Valley, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Sardinia, Sicily, and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, have special forms of autonomy.^[4]