Analysing changes in federalism: the dynamics of re-ordering governance

Federalism has long been a major political, institutional and constitutional response to reconciling conflicts that arise from aims of effective policy making and gaining legitimacy from citizens. In recent years, it has returned as a central issue politically in many areas of the world, Federalism is inherently dynamic, as powers are allocated and reallocated across different levels of government. But too little is said about which dynamic processes operate, what are the forces driving them, and which are the actors that steer them. Even less systematized are the outcomes of these processes, and why some of them stop short of creating new federations but rather lead to other forms of reconciliation between self-rule and shared-rule, unity and diversity, effectiveness and legitimacy. The paper will therefore discuss how to study the processes of federalization in which powers are defined and (re)allocated between different levels of governance, their effects on the political system and their implications for legitimacy and democracy.