"The volume largely originates from papers presented at the international conference "Federalism as Decision-Making: Changes in Structures, Procedures and Policies" held between 11-13 September 2013 in the Italian Autonomous Province of Bolzano/Bozen (South Tyrol)."

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preliminary Material / Francesco Palermo and Elisabeth Alber -- Introduction: The Idea and the Aim of this Book / Francesco Palermo and Elisabeth Alber -- Multilevel Governance and the Reconfiguration of Political Space: Theoretical Considerations from a Multinational Perspective / Alain-G Gagnon -- The Interdependence of Federalism and Democracy in Australia / Cheryl Saunders -- Political Identity and American Federalism / G. Alan Tarr -- Policy Coercion and Administrative Cooperation in American Federalism / John Kincaid -- ‘Fragile Federations’ and the Dynamics of Devolution / Nico Steytler and Jaap de Visser -- The Unsettled Settlement: Scottish Independence or United Kingdom Devolution? / Michael Burgess -- Constitutional Semantics and Autonomy within Indian Federalism / Ajay Kumar Singh -- Genesis of Federalism, Regional Development and Regional Policy of Post–Soviet Russia / Viacheslav E. Seliverstov -- Can We Talk about Federalism and Federalization without Co-Governance? ‘Participation’ of the Autonomous Communities in Spanish Central Government Decision-Making / Mercè Corretja Torrens and Mireia Grau Creus -- Intergovernmental Relations in Australia: New Modes, Old Realities / Alan Fenna and John Phillimore -- Intergovernmental Decision-Making in Financial Affairs in Germany: Institutions, Formal and Informal Rules and Peculiarities / Gisela Färber -- Fiscal Federalism and Federal Decisions: The Case of Argentina and Its Evolution in the Last Two Decades / Miguel Angel Asensio -- Multilevel Governance of Immigration: An Emerging Trend for Europe to Follow? / Karl Kössler -- Challenging Institutional Models: The Case of Environmental Protection and Management / Mariachiara Alberton and Francesco Palermo -- ‘South Africa Incorporated’: The Rise of the Developmental State and the Corporatization of Intergovernmental Relations / Derek Powell and Phindile Ntliziywana -- Benchmarking as a New Mode of Coordination in Federal Systems / Alan Fenna and Felix Knüpling -- Federalism as Decision-Making: Security Structures, Procedures and Policies / Christian Leuprecht , Mario Kölling and Todd Hataley -- Regionalization in Central and Eastern Europe: Limits and Perspectives of an Externally Driven Process / Sara Parolari and Martina Trettel -- Varieties of Decentralization, Institutional Complementarities, and Economic Growth: Evidence in oecd Countries / Andrea Filippetti and Agnese Sacchi -- Participatory Initiatives and New Instruments of Direct Democracy in Austrian Federalism / Peter Bußjäger -- Theoretical Framework and Constitutional Implications: Participatory Democracy as Decision-Making in Multilayered Italy / Matteo Nicolini -- Framing Subnational ‘Institutional Innovation’ and ‘Participatory Democracy’ in Italy: Some Findings on Current Structures, Procedures and Dynamics / Elisabeth Alber and Alice Valdesalici -- Subnational Institutional Innovation and Participatory Democracy: The Case of Switzerland / Nicolas Schmitt -- Regulating Pluralism: Federalism as Decision-Making and New Challenges for Federal Studies / Francesco Palermo -- Index / Francesco Palermo and Elisabeth Alber.

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Accounting for participation, separation of powers and democratic accountability, federalism gains momentum in times when traditional democratic legitimacy of institutional decision-making is challenged. Its ability to include multiple interests makes federalism a means to ensure good governance. Based on a multidisciplinary analysis, the book tackles the question of whether federalism as a pragmatic governance tool provides answers to current challenges and what those answers are. Thirty-three leading experts critically examine to what extent federalism serves this purpose in compound states, looking at different countries and policies. The volume revolves around five sub-themes: ‘federalism, democracy and governance’, ‘participation mechanisms and procedures’, ‘policy areas compared’, ‘institutional innovation and participatory democracy’ and ‘federalism: from theory to governance’.