Federalism Political Identity and Tragic Compromise

Federalism is one of the most influential concepts in modern political discourse: a building block of modern governance, but also the focus of immense controversy. As esteemed scholars Malcolm M. Feeley and Edward Rubin show, much of this controversy stems from theoretical vagueness inherent in contemporary definitions of the term. The multiethnic states that emerged from the imperial collapses at the turn of the twentieth century - and which generally moved toward stable, democratic governments in the ensuing decades - have given rise to almost limitless variations on the basic federalist premise of a coordinated central government sharing power with subnational units.This proliferation has eroded hopes for a single, coherent definition of federalism. Instead, ambiguity has left the concept susceptible to use as an instrument of rhetoric and ideology. Feeley and Rubin expose the ambiguities of modern federalism, offering a powerful but generous treatise on the modern salience of the term.This book provides a new analysis of a fundamental concept in politics and law, by a pair of influential and respected scholars.