Based on a variety of contemporary debates on federal theory Understanding Federalism and Federation honours Michael Burgess' contribution to the study of these topics through a selection of approaches, theories, debates and interpretations. Gathering contributors from diverse subfields to synthesize current debates it offers a snapshot of the immense range of current research on federalism and federation. Different theoretical and empirical fields and perspectives are brought together, synthesizing major findings and addressing emerging issues and these topics are analysed through multiple lenses to provide new insights, original approaches and much-needed theoretical and empirical data on federalism and federation.

Alain-G. Gagnon is Canada Research Chair in Quebec and Canadian Studies and Professor of Political Science, Université du Québec à Montréal. Member of the Royal Society of Canada, Gagnon's research and writing has concentrated on Quebec and Canadian politics, with a special emphasis on multinational federalism, nationalism, identity politics, and party politics. Soeren Keil received a Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Kent in Canterbury and is Senior Lecturer in International Relations at Canterbury Christ Church University. His main research focuses on institutional design in post-conflict societies with a particular focus on the Western Balkans, particularly Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is especially interested in power-sharing models in divided societies, as well as forms of territorial and non-territorial autonomy for minority nations. Sean Mueller is the Editorial Assistant of the Swiss Political Science Review and Lecturer at the Institute of Political Science of the University of Berne. He is also co-convenor of the standing group on 'Federalism & Territorial Politics' of the Swiss Political Science Association (since 2011) and in the editorial board of 'Fédéralisme-Régionalisme' (since 2013). He defended his PhD thesis on explaining intra-cantonal decentralisation in Switzerland at the University of Kent in Canterbury, UK, in May 2013, and was awarded his doctorate in November 2013.

1: Introduction; I: Evolving Federal Traditions and Federal Systems; I 2: Comparing Federal Political Systems; I 3: Federalism; II: Charting Federalism and Federations; 4: George W. Bush and the Spirit of Coercive Federalism; 5: In Search of Constitutional Federalism; 6: Still in Search of the Federal Spirit; 7: Switzerland; 8: Ideology, Political Economy and Federalism; 9: Constitutionalism, Empowerment and Multinational Federalism; 10: National Pluralism, Recognition, Federalism and Secession (or Hegel Was a Clever Guy); 11: Why No Federalism in the United Kingdom?; 12: Poland's German Minority; III: The European Union; 13: The European Union as a Federal Project; 14: Federalism in the EU and Canada; 15: 'Federal Europe'; III: Conclusion