The Winter School is a two-week international postgraduate program on federalism, regionalism and multilevel governance. Drawing on an interdisciplinary and comparative perspective, it examines how federalism can contribute to multilevel, integrated and pluralistic decision-making.

The 2027 Winter School will focus on federalism and the changing world order. From 1 to 12 February 2027 in Innbruck and Bolzano, respectively, participants of the Winter School will analyse the role that federalism and multilevel governance can play in a changing world order.

Additionally, participants will explore key topics such as asymmetric federalism and the impact of multilevel governance on policy areas —natural resources, minority and indigenous rights, peacebuilding, digitalization, and fiscal relations—. They will also have the opportunity to discuss with leading experts on multilevel governance throughout the lectures, a variety of interactive sessions will provide the chance to share knowledge and experiences.

Lectures, workshops, Q&A sessions, and a round table will take into account multilevel systems from different continents, including Africa, Asia, and North America, among others.

The Winter School will examine: 

• To which extent do federal systems come under pressure in times of geopolitical uncertainty?
• How do alliances of states and geopolitical regions position themselves globally when balances of power shift?
• Does the international order require federal principles to remain stable in the long term?
• To what extent do geopolitical conflicts promote tendencies toward centralization in multilevel systems?
• What impact does the crisis of the liberal international order have on federal democracies?
• How do transnational crises alter the distribution of powers between central governments and constituent states?
• What role do federal states play in stabilizing the international order?
• What tensions arise between global governance and federal sovereignty?
• What impact does the crisis of the liberal international order have on federal democracies?
• Can federalism contribute to stabilizing a fragmented world order?
• What lessons can be learned from comparative practice?

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?

The Winter School is designed for those who wish to upgrade their knowledge of federalism and regionalism through an interdisciplinary and comparative approach:

• young researchers and academics (at least 18 years of age)
• Post-docs, postgraduate and graduate students
• Civil servants from local, regional or national government
• Employees of international organizations or NGOs

WHAT TO EXPECT OF THE WINTER SCHOOL?

The two-week program will take place in an international learning environment in Austria (Innsbruck, Tyrol) and in Italy (Bolzano/Bozen, South Tyrol) and includes:

• Lectures by distinguished academics
• Discussions and case studies with experts
• Study visits to political institutions
• Interactive workshops and a public lecture

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE :

• Univ.-Prof. Anna Gamper
  • Professor at the Department of Public Law, State and Administrative Theory, Faculty of Law, University of Innsbruck and Substitute Judge of the Constitutional Court of Liechtenstein
• Prof. Dr. Francesco Palermo
  • Head of the Institute for Comparative Federalism of Eurac Research in Bolzano/Bozen and Professor of Comparative Public Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Verona.
• Em. Univ.-Prof. Günther Pallaver
  • Emeritus Professor at the Department of Political Science, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Innsbruck and Senior Researcher at the Institute for Comparative Federalism of Eurac Research in Bolzano/Bozen.

LECTURERS :

• Prof. Pejman Abdolmohammadi
  • University of Trento, Italy
• Dr. Elisabeth Alber
  • Eurac Research, Italy
• Prof. Antonia Baraggia
  • Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy
• Prof. Eva Maria Belser
  • University of Fribourg, Switzerland
• Prof. Joshua Castellino
  • Brunel University of London, United Kingdom
• Dr. Federica Cittadino
  • Eurac Research, Italy
• Prof. Erin Delaney
  • University College London, United Kingdom
• Prof. Anna Gamper
  • University of Innsbruck, Austria
• Dr. Georg Grote
  • Eurac Research, Italy
• Prof. Heinz Gärtner
  • University of Vienna, Austria
• Dr. Jonas Kaschka
  • University of Innsbruck, Austria
• Dr. Andreas Kiefer
  • Former Secretary General of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe
• Dr. Karl Kössler
  • Eurac Research, Italy
• Mag. Petra Malfertheiner
  • Eurac Research, Italy
• Dr. Roberta Medda-Windischer
  • Eurac Research, Italy
• Mag. Marina Ohanjanyan
  • Clingendael Institute, The Netherlands
• Prof. Francesco Palermo
  • Eurac Research and University of Verona, Italy
• Prof. Johanne Poirier
  • McGill University, Canada
• Dr. Francisco Javier Romero Caro
  • Eurac Research, Italy
• Dr. Alice Valdesalici
  • Eurac Research, Italy
• Prof. Jens Woelk
  • University of Trento, Italy
• Ass. iur. Carolin Zwilling
  • Eurac Research, Italy

The Winter School will be conducted entirely in English.

Application deadline: 12 October 2026.

The School’s first week will takes place at the Faculty of Law and the Department Political Sciences, Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck, Austria. The second week will be held at the Institute for Comparative Federalism, Eurac Research, Bolzano/Bozen, Italy. 

For further information, please visit: https://winterschool.eurac.edu/en