Constitutional Asymmetry in Multinational Federalism - Managing Multinationalism in Multi-tiered Systems

This edited volume examines the link between constitutional asymmetry and multinationalism in multi-tiered systems through a comprehensive and rigorous comparative analysis, covering countries in Europe, Africa and Asia. Constitutional asymmetry means that the component units of a federation do not have equal relationships with each other and with the federal authority. In traditional federal theories, this is considered an anomaly. The degree of symmetry and asymmetry is seen as an indicator of the degree of harmony or conflict within each system. Therefore symmetrisation processes tend to be encouraged to secure the stability of the political system. However, scholars have linked asymmetry with multinational federalism, presenting federalism and asymmetry as forms of ethnical conflict management. This book offers insights into the different types of constitutional asymmetry, the factors that stimulate symmetrisation and asymmetrisation processes, and the ways in which constitutional asymmetry is linked with multinationalism.


Patricia Popelier is Full Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Antwerp, Belgium. Her research focuses on federalism and multilevel governance, constitutional review, legislative studies, and issues of legitimacy and legal certainty. She is co-Promoter of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence ACTORE, Vice President of the International Association of Legislation, President of the Flemish Interuniversity Centre of Legislation, and Convenor of the standing research group on subnational constitutions in federal and quasi-federal systems of the International Association of Constitutional Law.

Maja Sahadži? is a researcher, lecturer, and expert legal advisor. She currently works as Researcher at the Government and Law Research Group at the Faculty of Law, University of Antwerp, Belgium. Her research focuses on constitutional asymmetry, multinationalism, and multi-tiered systems. She previously held academic positions at universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the USA, and also worked as a lawyer and journalist. She has published widely in the field of asymmetrical federalism, multinational societies, extreme constitutionalism, diplomacy, and security. In 2018 she received the Ronald Watts Award for the best article in federalism.