The (re)making of local boundaries in African and European federal systems: Arguments and intergovernmental dynamics

Changes to the boundaries of local governments are a frequent site of political conflict in federal systems. Supporters of these changes employ a range of arguments to advance both mergers and splits of municipalities. Yet to date, there has been little research on how these arguments shape the process of local boundary changes. Drawing on case studies from both the Global North (Italy and Spain) and the Global South (South Africa and Ethiopia), we find that the effectiveness of efficiency- and identity-based arguments varies significantly across conflicts. For example, we show that deeply rooted local identities can render efficiency-based arguments ineffective in supporting mergers. By contrast, identity-based claims can drive fragmentation. By offering a comparative perspective, this study contributes to a broader theoretical understanding of the political tensions underlying local boundary reforms.