Federal Scholar

The concept and practice of federalism has existed for centuries. So have discussions on the issue of a universal agreement of what federalism means and why federalism could be a good governance option. Although well-entrenched in social, political, and legal sciences, federalism remains a contested term. [[read more]](https://www.eurac.edu/en/blogs/eureka/federalism-studies-and-federal-scholars-in-dialogue)

Elisabeth Alber, Institute for Comparative Federalism, Eurac Research, EUreka! blog, 12 February 2022

Why are some nationalist movements strongly secessionist? In other words, why is the predominant objective of some movements outright independence as opposed to increased autonomy within the state? [[read more]](https://www.eurac.edu/en/blogs/eureka/secessionism-and-autonomy)

André Lecours, School of Political Studies, University of Ottawa, EUreka! blog, 15 March 2022

Courts have fallen on hard times. At the turn of the century, courts and judicial review—in conjunction with the globalization of entrenched human rights—were considered core elements of national and transnational liberal constitutionalism, with particular aspirations for their rights-protective capacities. Perhaps expectations for courts in fragile or emerging democracies were overbroad or unrealistic. Perhaps democratic concerns about unelected judges in mature democracies were underappreciated. Regardless, in this era of democratic backsliding and rights retrenchment, courts are losing their shine.

[[read more]](https://www.eurac.edu/en/blogs/eureka/courts-rights-and-federal-constitutionalism)

Erin Delaney, Professor of Law with a courtesy appointment in the Department of Political Science, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA, EUreka! blog, 15 May 2022