Presses de l´Université du Quebec has publised Cinquante Déclinaisons de Fédéralisme. Théorie, Enjeux et Études de Cas. The book, released in French and edited by Mathieu, Guénette and Gagnon, includes 714 pages of research on federalism written by some of the best-known researchers and practitioners in the field.
According to the editors, at a time when more than 40% of the world’s population lives in federal states this issue is more important than ever. They argue that there is the need to better understand the multiple varieties of federalism and their impact on the way in which democracies and people experience political modernity. Adopting a wide multidisciplinary approach (political science, law, philosophy, history, sociology, economics), this scientific work brings together fifty contributions from international specialists shedding new light on the state of federalism and federations. Among them, it is possible to find the Catalan researchers Sanjaume-Calvet, Cetrà or Requejo.
Fifty Variations of Federalism: Theories, Issues and Case Studies, as the title is translated into English, offers a large-scale contribution, while being as exhaustive as possible. It is a reference work that sets out the concepts that researchers in federal studies mobilize, the analytical frameworks they employ, as well as the socio-political specificities observed in the various existing federal structures. This book also includes a glossary made up of fifty key concepts, all defined in a simple and usual way. Thus, taking stock of contemporary debates, its vocation is to introduce students, decision-makers and the general public to this booming field of study.
To summarize, the book is structured as follows: theoretical principles of federalism, decentralization and plurinational democracies on federal systems, case studies from Western and Emerging Democracies, and Canadian contemporary federalism from a comparative perspective.