Regionalism & Federalism

Federalism, Decentralisation and Regionalism The drive for autonomy of sub-state units is creating a new challenge for academics, practitioners and politicians as new groups seek to take more control of their own affairs. Within this conceptual framing of the challenges to the classic state we are calling for papers and panels to examine the phenomenon from a number of theoretical perspectives and using a range of methodological approaches. We are concerned that we do not limit these perspectives to those of power-sharing alone; whilst we welcome discussions on federalism, confederalism and consociationalism we also consider that alternative approaches that maintain the integrity of the unitary state through devolution, decentralization, and regionalism (including EU regionalisation) need to be addressed as offering potential responses to the needs of political communities within and across states. Indeed, any solution that addresses the need to re-set power relationships between unitary states and sub-units would contribute to the overall debate. The aim of this section is therefore to examine all aspects of the ways in which needs of sub- units can be accommodated by unitary states, so that aspects of diversity, identity, good governance and democratization can be examined without restricting the conceptual framework to that of power-sharing. The normative connotations of such an approach are clear- there are numerous examples currently of states that are challenged by the needs of sub-state units within their borders, but who may be concerned that the power-sharing approaches of other states have proved sub-optimal, and who thus seek valid alternatives. Similarly, fully fledged power-sharing approaches may be inimical to political society in states challenged by the needs of sub-units, and these may seek alternative, valid accommodations either as an interim measure in the road towards full power-sharing, or as a solution in their own right that engages with and satisfies demands of sub-state units. Within these conceptual and normative frameworks we would welcome papers or panels from researchers working on topics/areas that might include: • Theoretical approaches to the state, in particular the identification and accommodation of sub-state units’ needs for diversity and identity • Empirical evidence for ‘good governance’ in political systems that have a range of approaches to accommodating sub-state units • Analysis of processes of democratization in unitary states that promotes/accommodates sub-units • Public policy studies- including the importance of local government in delivering public goods • Regionalism studies, both at the below the state level, and above the state- to include EU regionalisation • Political economy approaches- examining the role of financial transfers and fiscal autonomy in accommodating and fostering sub-state units’ autonomy • These suggested areas will offer scope for both the development of individual papers, and for panels themed around a particular topic. It is the objective of the section to create a vibrant discussion on the diverse options available to political elites in their responses to accommodating sub-state units’ needs, through an inclusive approach to methodologies and theories across the political science spectrum.