Putting Federalism in Its Place
The Territorial Politics of Social Policy Revisited
Published on 17. January 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
252 pages
978-0-472-05554-8 (ISBN)
Description
What does federalism do to welfare states? This question arises in scholarly debates about policy design as well as in discussions about the right political institutions for a country. It has frustrated many, with federalism seeming to matter in all sorts of combinations with all sorts of issues, from nationalism to racism to intergovernmental competition. The diffuse federalism literature has not come to compelling answers for very basic questions.
Scott L. Greer, Daniel Beland, Andre Lecours, and Kenneth A. Dubin argue for a new approach-one methodologically focused on configurations of variables within cases rather than a fruitless attempt to isolate "the" effect of federalism; and one that is substantively engaged with identifying key elements in configurations as well as with when and how their interactions matter. Born out of their work on a multi-year, eleven-country project (published as Federalism and Social Policy: Patterns of Redistribution in Eleven Countries, University of Michigan Press, 2019), this book comprises a methodological and substantive agenda. Methodologically, the authors shift to studies that embraced and understood the complexity within which federal political institutions operate. Substantively, they make an argument for the importance of plurinationalism, changing economic interests, and institutional legacies.
Scott L. Greer, Daniel Beland, Andre Lecours, and Kenneth A. Dubin argue for a new approach-one methodologically focused on configurations of variables within cases rather than a fruitless attempt to isolate "the" effect of federalism; and one that is substantively engaged with identifying key elements in configurations as well as with when and how their interactions matter. Born out of their work on a multi-year, eleven-country project (published as Federalism and Social Policy: Patterns of Redistribution in Eleven Countries, University of Michigan Press, 2019), this book comprises a methodological and substantive agenda. Methodologically, the authors shift to studies that embraced and understood the complexity within which federal political institutions operate. Substantively, they make an argument for the importance of plurinationalism, changing economic interests, and institutional legacies.
Reviews / Votes
". . . handily dispenses with approaches treating federalism as an independent variable with relative constant causal effects."-Gerard W. Boychuk, University of Waterloo * Gerard W. Boychuk * "This book presents an innovative explanation on how federalism impacts on the development of welfare states. By combining institutionalist and society-centered approaches, the authors challenge widely accepted assumptions. Anyone interested in comparative federalism and social policy will find their study inspiring."
-Arthur Benz, Technische Universitaet Darmstadt * Arthur Benz * "This is a challenging book. It lays down a methodological challenge to studies that see federalism-or any other political institution-as a variable with an average effect across cases. The authors advocate an alternative approach, configurational analysis, which they illuminate in examining four federations. Substantively, the book presents a fascinating analysis of the difference between federations with stateless nations and those without. A must-read for anyone interested in institutional analysis."
-Keith G. Banting, Queens University -- Keith G. Banting "It represents a challenging and highly important contribution to federalism scholarship, though equally to a wider variety of social science research strands. Indeed, one may hope that the authors and other scholars take this approach in analyzing additional federal cases as well as their nexus with other policies."
--Publius: The Journal of Federalism -- Jared Sonnicksen * Publius: The Journal of Federalism *
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Ann Arbor
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
4 figures, 1 table
Dimensions
Height: 151 mm
Width: 228 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
408 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-472-05554-8 (9780472055548)
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.12237580
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Scott L. Greer is Professor of Health Management and Policy, Global Public Health, and Political Science at the University of Michigan.
Daniel Beland is a James McGill Professor in the Department of Political Science at McGill University and Director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada.
Andre Lecours is Professor in the School of Political Studies at the University of Ottawa.
Kenneth A. Dubin is Adjunct Professor of Strategy and Human Resources at IE Business School in Madrid.
Daniel Beland is a James McGill Professor in the Department of Political Science at McGill University and Director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada.
Andre Lecours is Professor in the School of Political Studies at the University of Ottawa.
Kenneth A. Dubin is Adjunct Professor of Strategy and Human Resources at IE Business School in Madrid.
Content
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: Why should we care about federalism?
Chapter 2: Federalism, Territorial Politics, and Identities
Chapter 3: Interests, nationalism, regionalism, and jurisdictionalism
Chapter 4: How policies and legacies matter
Chapter 5: Federalism, institutions, and parties
Chapter Six: How to analyze federalism
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: Why should we care about federalism?
Chapter 2: Federalism, Territorial Politics, and Identities
Chapter 3: Interests, nationalism, regionalism, and jurisdictionalism
Chapter 4: How policies and legacies matter
Chapter 5: Federalism, institutions, and parties
Chapter Six: How to analyze federalism
Bibliography