In federal political orders political authority is divided, often constitutionally, between at least two levels so that units at each level have final authority and can be self governing in some issue area

The Constitutional Treaty for Europe (CTE) strengthens federal features of the future European political order, and makes the federal tradition of political thought more salient. Stable and legitimate federal political orders require multiple forms of balancing, and many of the changes in the...

Federalism is the theory or advocacy of federal principles for dividing powers between member units and common institutions. Unlike in a unitary state, sovereignty in federal political orders is non-centralized, often constitutionally, between at least two levels so that units at each level have...

Federalism has received more philosophical attention recently, partly due to renewed political interest in federalism and its dilemmas and opportunities in Canada, Australia and Europe, where federal arrangements are seen as interesting solution to accommodating differences among populations...

How should the European Union express and promote human rights and solidarity? What is the scope of toleration towards states that violate human rights, within and beyond its borders? And what is the scope of permissible economic inequality across states in such a federation of democracies...

Federal political orders often exhibit a conflict between the ideals of equality and political autonomy, since individuals in different sub-units often enjoy systematically different standards of living conditions. While federal arrangements may be theoretically attractive to avoid despotism,...

The Amsterdam Treaty seeks to bring the European Union closer to the people of Europe by aligning the institutions closer to conceptions of subsidiarity and democracy. Subsidiarity is made operational in a Protocol to the Amsterdam Treaty. This "Amsterdam Subsidiarity" regards Community action...

What powers should small states hold in the European Union? Currently small states play important roles within the federal elements of the Union, but their future status is at stake. In a federation there are two tiers of government: a central unit and regional sub-units. Each tier enjoys final...

Appeals to a Principle of Subsidiarity has become popular due to its aspirations to address the allocation or use of authority within a political order, typically those where authority is dispersed between a centre and various member units. However, considerations of subsidiarity will seldom...