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Federalism

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Encyclopedia of Contemporary Constitutionalism

Abstract

The entry illustrates theories and practice of federalism, its historical evolution, institutions, procedures, manifestations, and trends. The first part looks at origins and evolution of the concept, from the classical, coming-together federations to more recent devolutionary federal and regional states and other related expressions, including hybrid forms such as the European Union. It then moves to the most significant constitutional features of federal states, with special regards to constitutional safeguards, rules on the division of powers, and institutions for participation and cooperation among the levels of government. The last part deals with contemporary and future trends of federalism and with the challenges for federal studies in the years to come.

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Essential Readings

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  • Elazar, Daniel. 1991. Exploring federalism. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press.

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  • Watts, Ronald L. 2008. Comparing federal systems. 3rd ed. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Verona and Institute for Comparative Federalism, Eurac Research, Bolzano/Bozen, Italy

    Francesco Palermo

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  1. Francesco Palermo
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Correspondence to Francesco Palermo .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Cremades & Calvo-Sotelo Abogados, Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Javier Cremades

  2. Public Law II & Philology, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Cristina Hermida

Section Editor information

  1. Institute for Comparative Federalism, University of Verona and Eurac Research, Bolzano/Bozen, Italy

    Francesco Palermo

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Palermo, F. (2021). Federalism. In: Cremades, J., Hermida, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Contemporary Constitutionalism. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31739-7_81-1

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