Intergovernmental financial relations in an age of austerity: implications for the future of federalism

The financial crisis that first disrupted global markets in 2008 may have been the defining global socio-economic event of the last decade, but the analysis in this volume suggests that the crisis and its aftermath is but one factor, albeit a significant one, shaping the evolution of federal systems. In this sense, this volume affirms existing research on comparative federalism that highlights the complex and particularistic nature of many federal settlements and their evolution over time (see, för example, Benz and Broschek 2013; Fenna 2014; Riker 1964; Stepan 1999). Indeed, the cases within this volume will disappoint those anticipating that the impact of the financial crisis on federal systems over time can be explained in terms of a handful of key variables. However, it accords with the growing recognition in federalism scholarship and institutional analysis more generally of the complex nature of social change and the way in which it is influenced by the socio-economic interdependence between states as well as the cultural, political and economic forces within national borders. This growing recognition of the complexity of federal dynamics has resulted in a research environment in which formal, deductive methods are losing favour (Hueglin 2011).