MACMILLAN Territory, Democracy and Justice: Federalism and Regionalism in Western Democracies

Product Description 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. Review 'This is a bold, original, intellectually inspiring work. What difference does regionalism make to the modern state, in particular its key values of the democratic process, social justice and policy-making capacity? These leading social scientists from Europe and North America show that decentralization is no mere side effect of some strategic goal, but is itself a powerful variable. No less challenging, moreover, is their demonstration that at the same time, the effects of the institutions of territorial politics will be shaped by the institutional context, especially political parties, intergovernmental finance and interjurisdictional learning. Advocates of federalism trying to cope with skeptical behavioralists who deny the influence of federal institutions as structure or ideal will find this book a great help.' - Samuel H. Beer, Eaton Professor of the Science of Government Emeritus, Harvard University, USA 'This is amongst the most significant collection of essays on territorial politics to have been assembled in years. It poses difficult questions, challenges established assumptions and suggests a variety of explanations and outcomes. As well as its theoretical strengths, there is much in this volume to provoke interest amongst practitioners and the public. The authors come from a variety of intellectual as well as geographic backgrounds providing a formidable array of talent.' - James Mitchell, Professor of Government, University of Strathclyde, UK About the Author KEITH BANTING Professor in the School of Policy Studies, Queens University, Belfast, UK CLAIRE DUPUY Student in Politics at Science Po, Paris, France PATRICK LE GALES Directeur de Recherche au CNRS at CEVIPOF, Paris, France CHARLIE JEFFREY Professor of Politics, School of Social and Political Studies, University of Edinburgh, UK PAUL E. PETERSON The Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Government and Director of the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard University, USA RICHARD SIMEON Professor of Political Science, University of Toronto, Canada ROLAND STURM holds the chair and is Director of the University of Erlangen-Nurnberg's Regional Studies Centre, Germany JOAN SUBIRATS Professor of Political Science, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain ALAN TRENCH Honorary Senior Research Fellow, Constitution Unit, University College, London, UK RONALD L. WATTS Professor Emeritus of Political Studies and Fellow of the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations at Queen's University, Canada