International Association of Centres for Federal Studies
(iacfs)
An Introduction
Prepared by John Kincaid
Past IACFS President Robert B. & Helen S. Meyner
Center for the Study of State and Local Government Lafayette College
2. Federal Countries
3. IACFS Association of centers and institutes around
the world conducting
Independent research, teaching, and consultations on Political Constitutional and legal Administrative Fiscal and economic Historical and philosophic
Issues of federal political systems
4. History
The IACFS was established on
21 June 1977
in Basel, Switzerland
5. Principal Purpose
Advance the study and understanding of federal principles and patterns in all their variety.
6. IACFS Goals Exchange ideas and information through Annual Conference
Publications
Newsletter
Translations
Faculty and student exchanges
7. IACFS Goals Stimulate and sponsor research on theories
and practices of federalism
Conduct education activities to promote public awareness of federal ideas
Encourage formation of centers for federal studies
Expand federal studies among academic communities worldwide
8. Annual Meeting Most important is the annual meeting of the
directors of the member centers to Present research papers
Share federal-country reports
Exchange views
Oversee ongoing projects and programs
Report on member centers’ activities
9. Annual Meeting
Each annual meeting is hosted by a member center,
Which pays the ground costs (e.g., hotel
and meals) for up to two representatives from each member center
10. IACFS Officers President: Professor Cheryl Saunders, University of
Melbourne, Australia
Vice President: Professor Nico Steytler, University of the Western Cape, South Africa
Vice President: Enric Fossas, Institut de Ciencies Politiques I Socials, Spain
Secretary-Treasurer: Professor G. Alan Tarr, Rutgers University-Camden, United States
Past President: Professor John Kincaid, Lafayette College, United States
11. Membership Criteria Scholarly study of federalism must be the
major purpose of a member center
Center must be independent of any political or government agency
Center must select, study, publish, and disseminate its research independently
Center must have record of on-going work, especially research publications
12. Secondary Membership Criteria
Record of education activities Record of advising governments and others
Readiness to participate in the work of the
IACFS, contribute to conferences, host meetings, and pay annual dues of $100 U.S. each year
13. Global Dialogue on Federalism
A joint IACFS program with the Forum of Federations to
Promote comparative dialogue about core themes
of federalism Exchange knowledge and ideas among
practitioners and scholars Disseminate publications and other resources
about federalism
14. Global Dialogue Books
John Kincaid and G. Alan Tarr, eds., Constitutional Origins, Structure, and Change in Federal Countries. Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2005, 467 pp.
Akhtar Majeed, Ronald L. Watts, and Douglas M. Brown, eds., Distribution of Powers and Responsibilities in Federal Countries. Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2006, 373 pp.
Katy Le Roy and Cheryl Saunders, eds., Legislative Executive and Judicial Governance in Federal Countries. Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2006, 403 pp.
Anwar Shah, ed., The Practice of Fiscal Federalism: Comparative Perspectives. Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2007, 438 pp.
15. Forthcoming Global Dialogue Books
Federalism and Foreign Relations
Local Governments and Metropolitan Areas in Federal Countries
Unity and Diversity in Federal Countries
Intergovernmental Relations in Federal Systems
16. iacfs member organizations
2008 - 2009
ARGENTINA Institute of Federalism (Córdoba)
AUSTRALIA Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies (Melbourne)
AUSTRIA Institute for Research on Federalism (Innsbruck)
BRAZIL Instituto Pimenta Bueno (Sao Paulo)
CANADA Institute for Public Economics (Alberta)
Institute of Intergovernmental Relations (Ontario)
FRANCE International Centre for European Studies (Nice)
17. iacfs members
GERMANY European Centre for Research on Federalism (Tübingen)
German Institute for Federal Studies (Hannover) German Research Institute for Public Administration (Speyer)
INDIA Centre for Federal Studies (New Delhi)
ITALY Associazione Osservatorio sul Federalismo e I Processi Di Governo (Rome)
Inter-University Center for Regional and Local Finance (Ferrara) Instituto de Studi suis Sistemi Regionali Federali (Rome)
NIGERIA Institute of Governance and Social Research (Jos)
RUSSIA Siberian International Centre for Regional Studies (Novosibirsk)
18. iacfs members
SOUTH AFRICA Community Law Centre (Bellville)
SPAIN Institute for Political and Social Science (Barcelona)
Institute for Autonomous Studies (Barcelona)
SWITZERLAND Institute of Federalism (Fribourg)
UNITED KINGDOM The Centre for Federal Studies (Kent)
The Constitution Unit (London)
UNITED STATES Center for State Constitutional Studies (New Jersey) Center for the Study of Federalism (Pennsylvania)
Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis (Indiana)
19. iacfs members
