Foderalismen

What is federalism, and how can we think about federal political orders beyond the paradigm of modern statehood? This volume re-opens the debate on the implications and the potentials of federalism by examining competing ideas: The contributions highlight the theoretical and normative content of the diverse concepts of federation, discuss historical moments of contestation from the late 18th century onwards, and offer new ideas on how to think about shared political power. From the point of view of political theory, intellectual history and constitutional theory, dominant concepts of Bundesstaat and Staatenbund are critiqued - and complemented by alternative approaches. The volume thus offers a new perspecive on the rich potential of federal ideas for describing and shaping political arrangements of pluralism and shared power - in the European Union and beyond.