Federalism and Civil Societies

"Federalism and Civil Societies", a subject of central importance for constitutional development in numerous countries, contains papers presented at an international symposium. In many countries efforts are being made to achieve more democracy by means of decentralization, the division of powers and subsidiarity. The main focus of the symposium was on the preconditions required in the different social sectors in order to bring the peace-making and peace-keeping function of federalism into effect.
Through a comparative and interdisciplinary approach, a historical perspective on the subject is provided, an analysis of the effects and repercussions of different federal structures upon societies is made, and a direct comparison of the various social sectors in different federations is presented. The collection of papers provides an interesting cross-sectional view enabling readers to gain a clear insight into the civil society in each federation.
The book will be of special interest to those who are interested in questions of democracy, constitutionalism, and comparisons between different countries such as Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and the United States.