Giganter och miniatyrer:

Arkitektoniska beröringspunkter?

Authors

• Dag Anckar

Abstract

The large size in terms of area and population of big countries creates problems of gigantism, problems that are related to physical as well as mental distance. Even very small countries may, however, confront similar problems: if they are non-contiguous units they must handle problems of physical distance, and if they are heterogeneous units in terms of ethnicity and religion, they must handle problems of mental distance. The methods of political architecture used by big countries to overcome distance problems include in many instances federalism and bicameralism. An inspection of the political architectures of a population of 31 small island states reveals that these states do not make use of such methods to any noticeable degree. However, functions necessary to the management of distance are served in other ways. Firstly, those miniatures which have non-contiguous territories have in a great majority of the cases resorted to patterns of decentralization and local government which, in fact, upon closer inspection, resemble a federal arrangement. Secondly, almost all miniatures that experience distance problems have resorted to arrangements for legislature recruitment which resemble a bicameral strategy. Thirdly, in some miniatures bodies have been created on the national level which are designed to accommodate chiefly authority with responsibility largely for matters relating to land, customs and tradition. The constitutional and governmental systems of the small island states are therefore more than sheer reflections of the constitutions of former colonial powers. The systems are transformations rather than transfers, as they incorporate and frame many peculiarities of the political life of miniatures