Historical Institutionalism and Comparative Federalism

Abstract

Abstract With some exceptions, efforts to systematically apply a historical-institutionalist framework to the study of federalism have been few and far between. This paper argues, however, that historical institutionalism lends itself particularly well for addressing two important research questions in the field of comparative federalism: the origins of federal systems and their dynamics. It is suggested that a historical-institutionalist framework can significantly contribute to encourage theoretical cross-fertilization within the field of comparative federalism.