Scottish Independence

[Valmy]

I know of one significant precedent for a "lopsided" federation structure: the State of Prussia in the Weimar Republic had about 2/3 of the population and land.
So, really nothing to worry about. 

Indeed look how long it lasted under such considerable ideological and economic pressure.

[Viking]

I know of one significant precedent for a "lopsided" federation structure: the State of Prussia in the Weimar Republic had about 2/3 of the population and land.
So, really nothing to worry about. 

I mentioned this before and you forget Russia in the Soviet Union.

[Admiral Yi]

The Soviet Union is totally irrelevant, since we're talking about the effect of outsize states in democratic federations.  The Soviet Union could have rearranged its constituent states a million different ways and it would have made no difference to how decisions were made.

[Zanza]

The Soviet Union is totally irrelevant, since we're talking about the effect of outsize states in democratic federations.  The Soviet Union could have rearranged its constituent states a million different ways and it would have made no difference to how decisions were made.

So what's your argument that the size of Prussia mattered much for the Weimar Republic so that it would be valid example? There was comparatively little power for the upper chamber that represented the states. And Prussia was limited to 40% of the votes despite having a larger population share. And it was further limited by having half of its upper chamber members not nominated directly by the state government, but rather by its provinces. Prussia itself was organized as a federal state too.

[Admiral Yi]

I don't have one.  I think it's bullshit.  You should be talking to the Jude.

[The Minsky Moment]

I mentioned this before

Great minds think alike??

[The Minsky Moment]

The existence of Prussia as the biggest federal state was hardly the reason why the Weimar Republic failed though. It was a bastion of the democratic forces in Germany. The "Preußenschlag" was one of the first measures of the Gleichschaltung that happened even before the election of Hitler as chancellor.

Which suggests there there is at least some smoke there, if not fire.
The Preussenschlag was significant, because among other things, the Nazis secured the post of Minister of Interior, thus allowing Goering to secure control of the formidable Prussian police force.  That was one of the key steps in the Nazi rise to power and it would not have had the same significance if were just say Thuringia.

[garbon]

The existence of Prussia as the biggest federal state was hardly the reason why the Weimar Republic failed though. It was a bastion of the democratic forces in Germany. The "Preußenschlag" was one of the first measures of the Gleichschaltung that happened even before the election of Hitler as chancellor.

Which suggests there there is at least some smoke there, if not fire.
The Preussenschlag was significant, because among other things, the Nazis secured the post of Minister of Interior, thus allowing Goering to secure control of the formidable Prussian police force.  That was one of the key steps in the Nazi rise to power and it would not have had the same significance if were just say Thuringia.

So is making this Prussia-Germany comparison to the England-UK some sort of intellectual joke?

[Valmy]

The English Police are known for their ruthless formidability.

[mongers]

The English Police are known for their ruthless formidability.

Save of course there is no English police force, it's organised at a county/metropolitan level. Thought there is now a unified Scotland police force. 

[garbon]

The English Police are known for their ruthless formidability.

Is there a version of The Police that isn't English?

[Valmy]

The English Police are known for their ruthless formidability.

Is there a version of The Police that isn't English?

During a Stewart Copeland drum solo?

[garbon]

The English Police are known for their ruthless formidability.

Is there a version of The Police that isn't English?

During a Stewart Copeland drum solo?

Does that qualify as a different version?

[Valmy]

The version that consists of nothing but Stewart Copeland drum solos?

[Gups]

The Soviet Union is totally irrelevant, since we're talking about the effect of outsize states in democratic federations.  The Soviet Union could have rearranged its constituent states a million different ways and it would have made no difference to how decisions were made.

How about at the end, where we have a Soviet Union led by Gobrachev and a Russia led by Yeltsin (pre-attempted coup) and competing power structures.