28. Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations

Jocelyn Johnston, American University, johnston@american.edu

The Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations Section is especially well positioned to address the theme of the 2008 APSA conference: “Categories and the Politics of Global Inequities.” One of the key challenges of this year’s theme is to engage in a “close examination of the construction, interpretation, and maintenance of categorical boundaries.” The 2008 program also asks us to examine inequalities based on “distinctions in social status, class, race, and gender,” and the sources and characteristics of “structural inequalities in institutions, culture, and the practice of politics that result in unjust outcomes.” The chairs of the conference invite us to address these thematic elements through domestic and/or global frameworks.

Because scholars of federalism and intergovernmental relations frequently explore issues related to jurisdictional, legal, trade and policy boundaries in federal systems, and the structural inequities that may result,  our section can make important contributions to the 2008 conference discussions. Panels and papers that directly engage the conference theme are of course strongly recommended, but we also invite those that indirectly treat distinctive elements of the topic. We especially encourage proposals that rely on legal, political, fiscal and administrative frameworks. In addition, we are interested in papers and panels that investigate these issues from a policy perspective. Social welfare policy scholarship seems clearly relevant, but many other policy areas – including environmental policy, urban policy, health policy, education policy, security policy, and others - can also offer important insights. Appealing theoretical frameworks include network theory, spatial analysis, institutional theory, and other theories that inform the concepts of structural and social inequality.