Political Parties and Federalism

Political parties are key actors in the political process of democratic political systems. The role parties play and how they perform is influenced by special features of the respective political system. The focus of this volume is on political parties in federal systems. The contributions deal with different aspects of the interaction between institutions of federal systems and political parties or the party systems. The articles intend to analyze the role and operations of political parties not only within established federal systems (Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, South Africa), but also in countries like Great Britain (with its devolution project), the Czech Republic and Slovakia (with steps towards a regionalized territorial structure) and in the European Union.
The book is for academics and actors in politics and administration interested in the mechanisms within federal or multi-level political systems and in the role and activities of political parties.