Comparative Federalism : A Systematic Inquiry

Comparative Federalism: A Systematic Inquiry is a uniquely comprehensive, analytic, genuinely comparative, and detailed introduction to the study of federalism in theory and practice. Thomas Hueglin and Alan Fenna draw from their diverse research on federal systems to argue that federalism is increasingly important for democratic governance and conflict management in a globalizing world. They discuss the meaning of federal principles and institutional compromise in the organization of federal systems and then introduce four main model federal systems: America, Canada, Germany, and the European Union. But they don’t stop there—they also offer an exploration of federal systems that vary from the four main models, including Switzerland, Australia, Belgium, South Africa, and Spain.

The book also compares federal systems through an examination of the differing European and North American traditions in the history of federal thought. Institutional features of federal systems are evaluated, as are the crucial role that constitutional amendment and judicial review play for the stability and evolutionary dynamic of federal systems. This book serves the dual role of helping the reader understand federalism and providing a comparative framework from which to assess the record of federal systems.

Thomas O. Hueglin is Professor of Political Science at Wilfrid Laurier University.


Alan Fenna is Professor of Politics at Curtin University in Western Australia.