The Center for the Study of Federalism is a nonpartisan, interdisciplinary research and education institution dedicated to supporting and advancing scholarship and public understanding of federal theories, principles, institutions, and processes as practical means of organizing power in free societies.
COVID-19
COVID-19 & Federalism
Publications on COVID-19 from CSF fellows:
John Kincaid, "U.S. Federalism and the Covid-19 Pandemic" UACES Territorial Politics
John Kincaid and Wes Leckrone, "Federalism and the Covid Crisis in the United States," Forum of Federations
John Kincaid "Episode 1 - Federalism and Coronavirus in North America" podcast with Forum FedCast.
CSF Fellow John Kincaid Participates in Brazil Workshop on De/Centralization in Federations
CSF Fellow John Kincaid of Lafayette College co-directed with Paolo Dardanelli of the University of Kent, UK, a workshop in Brazil on De/Centralization in Federations Subject to Periods of Authoritarian Rule. The workshop, held on June 20-24, 2018, was hosted by the Centro de Estudos da Metrópole of the University of Sao Paulo. Other participants included Katherine Adeney, University of Nottingham, UK; Jorge P. Gordin, Universidad Diego Portales, Chile; Juan C. Olmeda, El Colegio de México; and Rogerio Schlegel of the host center.
The workshop was intended to advance implementation of the second phase of a comparative project entitled “Why De/Centralization in Federations?” The project aims to measure by decades de-/centralization trends in federations since their founding. The first phase examined Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Switzerland, and the United States. The results are expected to be published in Publius: The Journal of Federalismin early 2019. The second phase is examining Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria, and Pakistan.
Federalism in America: An Encyclopedia
Federalism in America: An Encyclopedia is a comprehensive reference explaining the major concepts, institutions, court cases, evolution, epochs, personalities, and policies that have shaped, or been shaped by, American federalism. Originally published by Greenwood Press in 2005, the encyclopedia is now online with new entries being added and old ones updated.
Sample entries: Self-Government and Federalism; Coercive Federalism; Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare); Bill of Rights; Baker v. Carr
United States of America
- Founded: 1789
- 50 states and federal district
- No official languages, although many languages are recognized for various government purposes.
James Madison (1751-1836)
"[T]he proposed government cannot be deemed a national one; since its jurisdiction extends to certain enumerated objects only, and leaves to the several States a residuary and inviolable sovereignty over all other objects . . . in controversies relating to the boundary between the two jurisdictions, the tribunal which is ultimately to decide [i.e., the U.S. Supreme Court], is to be established under the general government." (Federalist #39)
Germany
- Founded: 1948
- 16 Länder
- Official languages: German and four minority languages
Canada
- Founded: 1867
- 10 provinces and 3 territories
- Official languages: English and French
India
- Founded: 1950
- 29 states and 7 union territories
- Official National Languages: Hindi and English; 21 recognized subnational languages
Argentina
- Independence: 1816
- First Federal Constitution: 1853
- Population: 43,590,400
- Constituent Governments: 23 provinces and autonomous city of Buenos Aires
- Official Languages: None for the federation
- Form of Government: Presidential republic
Australia
- First Federal Constitution: 1901
- Population: 24,167,700
- Constituent Governments: 6 states, Australian Capital Territory, and Northern Territory
- Official Languages: None
- Form of Government: Parliamentary under a constitutional monarchy
Brazil
- Independence: 1822
- First Federal Constitution: 1899
- Population: 206,553,000
- Constituent Governments: 26 states and the Federal District
- Official Languages: Portuguese
- Form of Government: Presidential republic
Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804)
"This balance between the National and State governments ought to be dwelt on with peculiar attention, as it is of the utmost importance. It forms a double security to the people. If one encroaches on their rights they will find a powerful protection in the other. Indeed, they will both be prevented from overpassing their constitutional limits by a certain rivalship, which will ever subsist between them." (New York Ratifying Convention, First Speech of June 21)
Switzerland
- Founded: 1848
- 26 cantons
- National languages: German, French, Italian, and Romansh
Venezuela
- Founded: 1830
- 23 states, capital district, and federal dependencies
- Official languages: Spanish and more than 26 indigenous languages
Mexico
- Founded: 1824
- 31 states and federal district
- No official languages, but Spanish is national language and government recognizes 68 indigenous languages
Nepal
- Independence: 1768
- First Federal Constitution: 2007/2015
- Population: 28,431,500
- Constituent Governments: 7 provinces
- Official Languages: Nepali
- Form of Government: Parliamentary republic
South Africa
- Independence: 1910
- First Federal Constitution: 1997
- Population: 55,653,654
- Constituent Governments: 9 provinces
- Official Languages: 11
- Form of Government: Parliamentary republic
Malaysia
- Independence: 1957
- First Federal Constitution: 1963
- Population: 31,730,700
- Constituent Governments: 13 states
- Official Languages: Malay
- Form of Government: Parliamentary under elective constitutional monarchy
Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Independence: 1992
- First Federal Constitution: 1992
- Population: 3,531,159
- Constituent Governments: Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska, and Brčko District
- Official Languages: None
- Form of Government: Parliamentary republic
Belgium
- Independence: 1830
- First Federal Constitution: 1993
- Population: 11,322,674
- Constituent Governments: 3 regions and 3 language communities
- Official Languages: Dutch, French, German
- Form of Government: Parliamentary under a constitutional monarchy
Austria
- First Federal Constitution: 1920
- Population: 8,741,753
- Constituent Governments: 9 Länder
- Official Languages: German
- Form of Government: Premier-presidential republic
John Jay (1745-1829)
- Author of five of the Federalist Papers
- First Chief Justice of the United States
The states are subject to judicial review.
(John Jay voting with the majority in Chisholm v. Georgia (1793))
Iraq
- Independence 1932
- First Federal Constitution: 2005
- Population: 37,883,543
- Constituent Governments: 19 governorates
- Official Languages: Arabic and Kurdish
- Form of Government: Parliamentary republic
Ethiopia
- Independence: First century BCE
- First Federal Constitution: 1995
- Population: 92,206,005
- Constituent Governments: 9 regional states and two chartered cities
- Official Languages: Amharic for the federal government and other regional languages
- Form of Government: Parliamentary republic
The Comoros
- Independence: 1975
- First Federal Constitution: 1996
- Population: 806,153
- Constituent Governments: 3 island states
- Official Languages: Comorian, Arabic, French
- Form of Government: Presidential republic
Federated States of Micronesia
- Independence: 1986
- First Federal Constitution: 1979
- Population: 106,104
- Constituent Governments: 4 island states
- Official Languages: English for the federation and 4 recognized regional languages
- Form of Government: Presidential with a Compact of Free Association with the USA
Nigeria
- Independence: 1960
- First Federal Constitution: 1963
- Population: 186,988,000
- Constituent Governments: 36 states and Federal Capital Territory
- Official Languages: English for the federation
- Form of Government: Presidential republic
Pakistan
- Independence: 1947
- First Federal Constitution: 1973
- Population: 194,059,000
- Constituent Governments: 4 provinces, 1 semi-province, and 3 territories
- Official Languages: English and Urdu for the federation
- Form of Government: Parliamentary republic
Russia
- Independence: 1547
- First Federal Constitution: 1993
- Population: 146,640,000
- Constituent Governments: 85 federal subjects of various types
- Official Languages: Russian
- Form of Government: Semi-presidential republic
St. Kitts and Nevis
- First Federal Constitution: 1983
- Population: 54,961
- Constituent Governments: 14 parishes
- Official Languages: English
- Form of Government: Parliamentary under a constitutional monarchy
Spain
- Independence: 1491
- First Federal Constitution: 1978
- Population: 46,438,422
- Constituent Governments: 17 autonomous communities and 2 autonomous cities
- Official Languages: Spanish for the country and 7 recognized regional languages
- Form of Government: Parliamentary under constitutional monarchy
United Arab Emirates
- Independence: 1971
- First Federal Constitution: 1971/1996
- Population: 9,856,000
- Constituent Governments: 7 emirates
- Official Languages: Arabic
- Form of Government: Hereditary monarchies
Johannes Althusius (c. 1563-1638)
- Father of modern federalism and subsidiarity
- Defended local autonomy against the modern absolutist sovereign state (developed by Bodin, Grotius, and Hobbes)