Political identity is the foundation of federalism, says LSE president

Free Malaysia Today

Larry Kramer of the London School of Economics says federations can only survive if citizens share a common political identity, while the loss of this unity is behind many current political crises.   *The footage in this video is sourced from various social media platforms for educational and non-commercial purposes only, with all rights remaining with their respective owners.   Read More:  https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2025/09/17/political-identity-is-the-foundation-of-federalism-says-lse-president   Laporan Lanjut:  https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/bahasa/tempatan/2025/09/17/identiti-politik-asas-utama-persekutuan-kata-presiden-lse   Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com  Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5  Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM  Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h  Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp  Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX  Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb  Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj  Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Download FMT News App:  Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46  App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ  Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP   #FMTExclusive #PoliticalIdentity #Federalism #Unity

Transcript

00:00For any federation to endure, one thing is essential, a shared political identity.

00:07This can take shape in many ways, through security, culture or religion,

00:12but it is the common thread that allows citizens to see themselves as part of the same whole.

00:18That's the view of Larry Kramer, President and Vice-Chancellor of the London School of Economics.

00:24Speaking in an exclusive interview with FMT, he warned that without unity,

00:30federal structures are bound to collapse.

00:33There are tensions between, let's say, a federal government and its state components,

00:39and perhaps the challenges persist.

00:43Could you explain a little bit about how you think these ought to be resolved,

00:48or how, as people, we can contribute towards, you know, softening the challenges?

00:53Before you even think about whether it's going to be federated or not,

00:55you need a sense of shared political identity.

00:57And if the differences get too deep so that people no longer see that,

01:02then it's not going to work, no matter what structure you use.

01:05Kramer says many of today's crises can be traced back to this erosion of identity.

01:11But federations can still succeed if power is carefully shared between the centre and the states.

01:17Some kinds of decisions are best made at a large national level because they affect everybody.

01:23Some decisions are better made locally because they're going to affect people differently.

01:27He said that in the U.S., this balance was struck by giving federal law supremacy,

01:32while still embedding state voices in the system.

01:35In the United States, the way they did it was they gave the national government a lot of power,

01:42and they made a decision that the decisions that it made, its law would be supreme.

01:46It would trump local law when they conflicted.

01:50But then it constituted the national government in ways that had the states directly represented within it.

01:55So, you know, the elected representatives came from the states and perceived themselves as there also to represent their state in choice.

02:03Congress reflects that compromise.

02:06One chamber, the House of Representatives, based on population,

02:10and the other, the Senate, giving every state equal weight.

02:15Across the Atlantic, Kramer pointed to Europe's principle of subsidiarity,

02:20written into EU treaties, which keeps decisions on schools, hospitals, and policing close to home,

02:27while trade, the environment, and cross-border security are handled collectively.

02:33You know, in Europe, they talk about the principle of subsidiarity,

02:36which is to say, what level is the decision best made at?

02:39Let's try and make it as close to the ground as possible.

02:42And being close to the ground always makes sense,

02:45because the closer people are to the decisions that are made that affect them,

02:48the more likely they are to accept the decision,

02:51even if they don't necessarily agree with it.

02:54Hanacom FMT

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