A Research Agenda for Federalism Studies , edited by John Kincaid

Abstract

Federalism is a relatively sophisticated concept that can be observed and scrutinized through a variety of epistemological lenses. Usually intended to reconcile diversity and social cohesion (especially in societies divided along ethnic, linguistic, socio-economic, or religious lines) by balancing "self-rule" and "shared-rule" (Elazar 1987), federalism fuses social, historical, philosophical, economic, political, and legal/constitutional elements that intersect with each other, and all together contribute to sculpt an elaborate system of government and nurture a rich debate around it.