Future Research

The chapters in this volume highlight the complexity and nuance that is mod­ern federalism scholarship. Each author takes a relatively simple concept— shared power and the role of autonomy—and shows that the answers are far from simple.

A theme that emerges from all the chapters is the quest for a clear defini­tion of modern federalism. Just like those early writers—Riker, Wheare and Livingston—scholars today still struggle for conceptual clarity between ‘strict legalism' and more sociological or ‘federal spirit' approaches. I want to return to the useful distinction proposed by Watts (1999) as the way forward in think­ing about ‘federal political systems'. Recall that Watts tells us that federation is a subset of ‘federal political systems'; by using the more expansive definition, we can capture much of what concerns those who examine second- and third- generation federal systems. If this more expansive definition of federalism were to be adopted, it also answers some of the concerns expressed by Riker in his reply to Livingston: namely, the elite actors and the bargain they create and manage still matter, albeit with looser rules of the game.

A second lesson that emerges from the chapters is the idea that the clas­sic idea of ‘elites' as understood by Riker may be restricting our understand­ing of federal political systems. As Unikowski points out, it is the front-line managers—that is, the public servants—in a federal system who run the day- to-day operation of federal agreements. They are also at the front line of nego­tiating with their counterparts in other regions. Broadening the definition of elites and their role in federal political systems would also begin to capture those ngos which helped shape third-generation federations in Africa and South America.

Finally, more work needs to be undertaken on the question of autonomy. Again, Watts's definition of ‘federal political system' would allow a fuller understanding of what contemporary autonomy looks like. As Tracy Fenwick notes (Chapter 1), ‘the world is characterized by increasing interconnectedness and interdependence'. Scholars need to continue to push the boundaries of what that interconnectedness looks like, especially in the face of modern, non- geographical policy issues, like security, health and globalization.

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