PRE-PRINT Brando, N. and De Schutter, H. (2018). ‘Federal Commons.’ In S. Cogolati and J. Wouters (eds.) The Commons and a New Global Governance: Democratic, Institutional and Legal Perspectives. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp. 37-56. 1 Chapter 3—Federal Commons Nicolás Brando & Helder De Schutter ∗ RIPPLE (Research in Political Philosophy Leuven), University of Leuven 1. Introduction <a> Dealing with the commons as both a local and a global concern can raise many issues in an attempt to develop a political structure that can manage these various levels of authority. In this response to Pierre Dardot’s proposal (see Chapter 2 in this volume), we focus on his account of how the commons are to be institutionalized in our present world. He presents his proposal as a federal system for managing the commons at both the local and global level. Through the use of the federalist theory literature, we will assess the credentials of his federalist programme, arguing that his refusal to grant salient competences and authority to central institutions makes his proposal more of a confederal or treaty-based argument, rather than a federal system. Based on this assessment, we present three connected concerns with his proposed system of governance of the commons, arguing that it is not fully able to deal with the global problems that it intends to tackle. We consider that solidarity at higher levels is currently not stable enough to protect global commons; that the absence of shared rule (through state-like authorities) in Dardot’s federal proposal cannot fully protect common concerns more broadly than at the local level; and that the exclusive focus on the practices of commoning, disregarding seeing commons as goods, may enable unsustainable, inefficient, and potentially oppressive practices. We close by recommending a series of amendments to his proposal, in order for it to, first, be a truly federal political system; and, second, to ensure the protection of and access to the commons as both local and global goods. 2. Dardot’s Federal Proposal <a> 2.1 From Local to Global <b> Dealing with the commons as both a local and a global issue, can have its difficulties when devising political structures to govern it. On the one hand, we see in Dardot a concern for preserving and empowering the autonomy and self-management of local commons; while, on the other, the aim of dealing with the inevitable globalization of ecological problems. An attempt to deal with the commons in both its local and global dimensions requires devising alternative forms of governance that can, at the same time, ensure the protection and preservation of local communities and their social practices, while effectively tackling the ecological concerns that have a global impact. Pierre Dardot is aware of this issue: in his work with Christian Laval (2014: pp. 498-519) and in the piece to which this chapter responds (see Chapter 2 in this volume), he proposes instituting a global federation of the commons as a way to deal with the potential dangers of globalization through both local and global initiatives. It may be that, in an ideal world, local communities could be left to their whims, but the forces of globalization demand a shift in perspective that allow us to understand our global common realities and deal with them as such (Dardot: p. 9). 1 This requires, according to Dardot, stepping away from the state-centric