Loyalty in Federal Systems: Notes toward a Theory of Autonomy and Cohesion

Is the principle of loyalty, the duty of governments to consult, cooperate, assist, and support one another, inherent to federal systems? Scholars disagree. This article aims to disentangle this debate by arguing that all federal systems are defined not by a principle of loyalty, but by a broader principle of cohesion, through which all tiers of government in a system are linked together. While the principle of cohesion is inherent in all federal systems, variations in cohesion and autonomy can produce different levels of loyalty. Systems with high levels of cohesion are also likely to provide a strong legal basis for a loyalty principle. Loyalty is, thus, a legal principle that follows from cohesion, but it is not an essential feature of federal systems.