Sections include: "Setting the scene: old questions or new?", "Drivers for change: new approaches to federalism and regionalism", and "New institutions? Approaching the challenge of reform."

Almost all states are either federal or regionalized in some sense. It is difficult to find a state that is entirely unitary and the Routledge Handbook of Regionalism and Federalism necessarily takes in almost the entire world. Both federalism and regionalism have been subjects of a vast academic literature mainly from political science but sometimes also from history, economics, and geography. This cutting edge examination seeks to evaluate the two types of state organization from the perspective of political science producing a work that is analytical rather than simply descriptive. The Handbook presents some of the latest theoretical reflections on regionalism and federalism and then moves on to discuss cases of both regionalism and federalism in key countries chosen from the world’s macro-regions. Assembling this wide range of case studies allows the book to present a general picture of current trends in territorial governance. The final chapters then examine failed federations such as Czechoslovakia and examples of transnational regionalism - the EU, NAFTA and the African Union. Covering evolving forms of federalism and regionalism in all parts of the world and featuring a comprehensive range of case studies by leading international scholars this work will be an essential reference source for all students and scholars of international politics, comparative politics and international relations.

The theory of comparative federalism asserts that federations require a second chamber for the representation of regional interests in central law-making. Yet there has been little systematic analysis of the contribution of second chambers in parliamentary federations to this task. The main purpose of this book is to demonstrate to what extent the two strongest parliamentary second chambers, the Australian Senate and the German Bundesrat are linked to the federal structures in which they are embedded. The study analyzes the contribution of the members of these second chambers in advancing interests that are linked to the regional constituents whom they represent or to the collective fiscal or administrative interests of a regional government with whom they are associated. The analysis underscores the largely 'executive' character of intergovernmental relations in parliamentary federations, a feature that corresponds with the composition of the German Bundesrat, but not of the Australian Senate. In the concluding chapter some preliminary observations are made as to whether our findings also generate interesting insights for the larger group of parliamentary second chambers in federal or quasi-federal states, such as the Belgian, Spanish and Canadian Senates, the UK House of Lords and the Indian Raiya Sabha.

Territory, Democracy and Justice brings together experts from six countries to ask what territorial decentralization does and what it means for democracy, policymaking and the welfare state. Integrated and international in a fragmented field, the chapters identify the importance and consequences of territorial decentralization. The authors analyze the successes, the generalizable ideas, and the international lessons in the study of comparative territorial politics as well as new directions for research.

Federalism: The Australian Experience offers readers a first-hand insight into one of the oldest federations in the world by an Australian expert, Prof Cheryl Saunders. The Australian Constitution is approaching its centenary and it is expected that students of political science, constitutional law, fiscal federalism and practitioners will in the years to come show a growing interest in how the constitution and practice are adapting to the demands of the 21st century. From a South African point of view, studies on Australian federalism have been somewhat neglected over the years. This is unfortunate and we hope that this publication will generate more interest in the subject. Some of the issues that could be of interest to South African researchers are for instance the treatment of indigenous people and efforts to accommodate their demands for land; the operation of the Commonwealth Grants Commission and its impact on policy, and the functioning of intergovernmental relations between the federal and state governments and also between state and local governments and between state governments themselves.

The Prime Minister has called for revision of the balance of power between the national and state governments in Australia. In Canada, in the wake of Meech Lake, the future of the country is under debate. In both, a re-arrangement of responsibilities of the two levels of government is firmly on the political agenda. In this book, the author examines the nature and effect of the federal systems of Australia and Canada. He does so by a detailed analysis of the conduct and outcome of one of the most significant intergovernmental disputes of the past 40 years - the battle for control of the offshore waters with their potential bonanza through petroleum exploration. Despite the parallels of size, economy, constitution and cultural and social mix, the federal systems of the two countries have produced divergent outcomes reached by different routes. In Canada, the power of regionalism has dominated the outcome so that there are a series of provincial regimes without any consistent national focus - a reflection of the relatively weak sense of Canadian national identity. In Australia, in contrast, the debate has been characterised by a national focus. The states have emphasised technical legal arguments rather than federal issues, and the dominance of the Commonwealth government in the dispute raises again the question: can or should federalism survive in Australia?