The Winter School on Federalism and Governance is a shared cross-border project of the Institute for Comparative Federalism of Eurac Research, the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences of the University of Innsbruck. Since its first edition in 2010, it has taken place under the auspices of the Council of Europe.
The Winter School analyzes the phenomena of federalism, regionalism and multilevel governance from legal and political science perspectives. Each edition focuses on a specific topic, which is then approached in detail by legal scholars, political scientists and practitioners. The next edition of the Winter School will take place in from 3 to 14 February 2025.
The postgraduate program welcomes an international audience: young researchers and academics, post-docs and post-graduate students, civil servants from a local, regional or national government as well as employees of international organizations or NGOs.
WHAT IS THE WINTER SCHOOL ABOUT?
The Winter School is a two-week international postgraduate program on federalism, regionalism and multilevel governance. Through an interdisciplinary and comparative approach, it explores how federalism can contribute to multilevel, integrated and pluralistic decision-making.
A wide range of lectures give participants the opportunity to broaden their knowledge of multilevel governance and government, especially from the perspectives of law and political science. The Winter School provides a cutting-edge international learning environment with world class scholars of various academic disciplines from around the globe.
The 2025 Winter School will focus on federalism and the separation of powers. During the training program, participants will analyze the legal and political structures of distribution systems. Starting from an introduction on the origins of the separation of powers, experts will lecture on the vertical and horizontal separation of powers, the involvement of the subnational level as well as the role of constitutional courts and other checks and balances in federal systems. A focus will also examine the question of if and how the vertical separation of powers can be a useful tool in the prevention of authoritarianism.
The program will provide insights into different aspects of the separation of powers by offering a wide range of case-studies, such as the federal power-sharing system of the European Union, as well as examples from Africa, Asia and North America. Furthermore, topics such as asymmetric federalism and the impact of power-sharing on key policy fields, such as environment, migration, digitalization and health or fiscal relations, will be discussed.
Besides numerous opportunities for discussion with leading experts on multilevel governance throughout the lectures, a variety of interactive sessions will provide the chance to share knowledge and experience. Lectures, workshops, Q&A sessions, and a round table will take into account multilevel systems from different continents.
The Winter School will examine a series of issues
- How can federalism be used as a tool to divide and share powers?
- What is the role of constitutional courts and of other checks and balances for the separation of powers?
- What are the consequences of asymmetries for the separation of powers?
- Can a strict separation of powers be counterproductive in federal systems, and how can shared rule and intergovernmentalism be combined with the separation of powers?
- Does the vertical separation of powers prevent authoritarian systems?
- How do power relations change during emergencies?
- How does the separation of powers impact on policy fields such as migration, environment, fiscal relations and digitalization influenced by separation of powers?
- What lessons can be learned from comparative practice?
REGISTRATION AND PARTICIPATION
The Winter School is designed for those who wish to increase their knowledge of federalism through an interdisciplinary and comparative approach:
- young researchers and academics
- post-docs, postgraduate and graduate students
- civil servants from local, regional or national government
- employees of international organizations or NGOs
The two-week program will take place in an international learning environment in Austria (Innsbruck, Tyrol) and in Italy (Bolzano/Bozen, South Tyrol) and includes:
- lectures by distinguished academics;
- discussions and case studies with top experts in the field;
- interactive workshops;
- study visits to political institutions.
The participation fee for the Winter School on Federalism and Governance 2025 is € 300,00 (two weeks Winter School excluding accommodation).
Please note that the program requires previous basic knowledge of federalism. The Winter School will be held entirely in English
For more information and applications, visit: https://winterschool.eurac.edu/
