The idea of territorial dynamics suggests that institutionalized authority relationships between central and sub-national political units are never fixed once and for all. The paper suggests an analytical framework for the study of territorial dynamics understood as combination of change and continuity by applying a comparative historical perspective. We investigate the patterns of continuity and change that occur over time across different territorial regimes. Territorial regimes encompass a variety of different political systems – unitary, regional, federal, semi-federal, con-federal or supranational alike– which are composed of spatially delimited political entities exercising some form of political authority within their own respective jurisdiction. Our main questions are: How do the origins of territorial regimes influence their subsequent development? How do episodes of change and continuity relate to one another? What is the effect of time on preferences and actions of central and sub-national governments regarding the territorial distribution of authority?
