This volume explains and evaluates Australia's federal system and the options for reform from various comparative and disciplinary perspectives.

1. Australian federalism: past, present and future tense Gabrielle Appleby, Nicholas Aroney and Thomas John; Part I. The Federal-State Balance: 2. The federal balance Stephen Gageler; 3. The incredible shrinking Federation: voyage to a singular state? The Hon. Chief Justice Robert French AC; 4. A sketch of the modern Australian Federation The Hon. Chief Justice Paul de Jersey AC; 5. The still reluctant state: Western Australia and the conceptual foundations of Australian federalism Augusto Zimmermann; 6. The division of powers in federal systems: comparative lessons for Australia Greg Taylor; Part II. Instituting Structural Reform: Comparative Perspectives: 7. Reforming German federalism Arthur B. Gunlicks; 8. Polyphonic federalism: the United States experience Robert A. Schapiro; 9. The rise of coercive federalism in the United States: dynamic change with little formal reform John Kincaid; 10. The bargaining game: Canada as a new model of federal governance Thomas O. Hueglin; 11. 'Bis hierher sollst du kommen und nicht weiter': the German constitutional court and the boundaries of the European integration process Cornelia Koch; Part III. Federalism and Multi-ethnic Societies: 12. Dynamics of federalism: a comparative analysis of recent developments in federations and countries in transition to federalism Thomas Fleiner; 13. Religious identities: testing the underlying preconceptions of Canadian federalism? Jean-François Gaudreault-DesBiens; 14. Foedus pacificum: a response to ethnic regionalism within nation states Suri Ratnapala; 15. Federal diversity in Australia: a counter narrative Nicholas Aroney, Scott Prasser and Alison Taylor; Part IV. Fiscal Federalism: 16. Fiscal federalism in Canada: principles, practices, problems Robin Boadway; 17. Fiscal federalism: then and now Brian Galligan; 18. Fiscal decentralisation and macroeconomic performance in Australia Philip Bodman; Part V. Reforming Australia's Federal System: 19. Escaping purgatory: public opinion and the future of Australia's federal system A. J. Brown; 20. The Rudd reforms and the future of Australian federalism Alan Fenna and Geoff Anderson; 21. Co-operative arrangements in comparative perspective Cheryl Saunders; 22. Federalism and the Australian judicial system - back to the future: the autochthonous expedient and other devices The Hon. Justice Margaret White; 23. Federalism in Australia: gazing in the crystal ball of constitutional reform Anne Twomey.