Understanding 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.