Institute of Political Science

12.12.2023

New publications of the ECRF

With the year coming to an end, the ECRF is happy announce that the following titles have just been published:


Yearbook of Federalism 2023

Special issue: "Crisis Federalism – Competition for Solutions or Collective Crisis Management?"
2023, 1. edition, 502 pages, 104 Euro
ISBN: 978-3-7560-1348-7 (Print)
ISBN: 978-3-7489-1877-6 (E-Book)

Contents
Flyer
The Yearbook can be purchased here.

Book Series Vol. 53

Martin Große Hüttmann / Christine Probst-Dobler (eds.): "Europäische Union als Prozess. Festschrift für Rudolf Hrbek"

2023, 222 pages, 49 Euro
ISBN: 978-3-7560-1247-3 (Print)
ISBN: 978-3-7489-1788-5 (E-Book)

Contents
You can find more information and the possibility to order here.


11.12.2023

Annual Lecture/Celebration of the 30th anniversary of the ECRF

The European Centre for Research on Federalism (ECRF) was founded 30 years ago by Prof. Dr. em. Rudolf Hrbek as an interfaculty centre at the University of Tübingen, in which political science, law and geography are involved. On the occasion of this year's anniversary, the ECRF and the Institute of Political Science (IfP) hosted the Annual Lecture and the celebration "30 Years of ECRF".

After the welcome addresseses by the Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences and the IfP Director, Prof. Dr. Gabriele Abels, Spokesperson of the Executive Board, looked back on 30 years of ECRF. This was followed by the keynote speech by Prof. Dr. Ursula Münch, Director of the Academy for Political Education (Tutzing) on the topic "When 'Deutschlandtempo' meets federalism. Future perspectives of the German federal state". After an address by Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Peter-Christian Müller-Graff, President of the 'Arbeitskreis Europäische Integration e.V.', Dr. Martin Große Hüttmann, Executive Member of the Board, and Christine Probst-Dobler paid tribute to Prof. Hrbek's life's work and in particular his services to federalism and European research. They then presented him with the commemorative publication "European Union as a Process", which is also published by Nomos Publishing House as volume 53 of the ECRF Book Series. Prof. Hrbek gave the closing speech, in which he reviewed his scientific career and his work with the ECRF.


27.11.2023

Presentation of the Yearbook of Federalism 2023 – in cooperation with the State Representation of Baden-Württemberg

On November 22, 2023, the ECRF officially presented the Yearbook of Federalism 2023. This year's presentation was once again held at the State Representation of Baden-Württemberg in Berlin. You can find a recording of the event here.

After a pre-reception with delicious Swabian specialties, Mr. Rudi Hoogvliet, State Secretary for Media Policy and Plenipotentiary of the State of Baden-Württemberg to the Federal Government, welcomed the guests. Prof. Gabriele Abels, speaker of the ECRF executive board, then presented the topics of the 24th edition of the Yearbook, which this year focuses on the topic of "Crisis Federalism – Competition for Solutions or Collective Crisis Management?".

After brief introductory speeches, Prof. Abels discussed the topic of "German civil protection between noble aspirations and federal reality" with Dr. Anna-Lena Hollo, University of Hanover, and Leon Eckert, Member of the Bundestag. There was fundamental agreement that the "uncooperative federalism" in civil protection needs to be reformed. Cross-federal cooperation in the service of - as recent years have shown: urgently needed - better protection of the population from and in cross-border disaster and crisis situations was to be welcomed. However, Dr. Hollo pointed out that this would require a fundamental revision of the constitutional order of competencies for civil protection and the adoption of corresponding constitutional amendments or additions. Mr. Eckert also pleaded for a move away from a "scissors-spreader mentality" in the perception of problems: It must be avoided that the debate on civil protection is dominated by individual disputes, for example about technical equipment. Instead, more attention must be paid to crisis prevention and increasing resilience in the future.

The ECRF would like to thank Dr. Hollo and Mr. Eckert for the excellent panel discussion and all participants. We would also like to thank the State Representation for once again organizing the event so well, as well as Nomos-Publishing, which once again provided a book table with a selection of exciting publications.

Further information about the Yearbook of Federalism 2023, which also includes contributions by Dr. Hollo and Mr. Eckert, and how to order it can be found here.


16.11.2023

Register now: Celebration of the 30th anniversary of the ECRF

The European Centre for Research on Federalism (ECRF) was founded 30 years ago by Prof. Dr. em. Rudolf Hrbek as an interfaculty centre at the University of Tübingen, in which political science, law and geography are involved.

On the occasion of this year's anniversary, the ECRF and the Institute of Political Science (IfP) invite you to the Annual Lecture and the celebration "30 Years of ECRF". As part of the ceremony, the commemorative publication "European Union as a Process" will be presented to Prof. Dr. Hrbek on the occasion of his 85th birthday and in recognition of his services to European and federalism research.

The ceremony will take place on Friday, 8 December 2023, 4-6 p.m. c.t. (Großer Senat in the Neue Aula, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz, 72074 Tübingen) with a review and outlook on 30 years of ECRF by Prof. Dr. Gabriele Abels, Spokesperson of the ECRF Executive Board, and a keynote speech by Prof. Dr. Ursula Münch, Director of the Academy for Political Education, Tutzing, on the topic "When German speed meets federalism. Future perspectives of the German federal state". This will be followed by a reception. Please note that the event will be held in German.

Please register by 1 December 2023 to: antje.niesspam prevention@uni-tuebingen.de. We look forward to your participation!

Invitation
Registration


02.11.2023

Call for Papers: Yearbook of Federalism 2024

For the Yearbook of Federalism 2024, in addition to our established sections (Research topics, German federalism, European country reports, Global country reports, Regional and municipal cooperation in Europe, European Union / European Integration), we want to focus on the topic of "Climate change – federal responses to a global challenge?"

We invite proposals for papers dealing with these topics. You can find the official Call for Papers here. We invite you to send 1–2 page abstracts (incl. a short biographical note) by 15 December 2023 to the following email address: ezff@uni-tuebingen.de. We are looking forward to your contributions.


30.10.2023

Presentation of the Yearbook of Federalism 2023

The European Centre for Research on Federalism (ECRF) and the State Representative of Baden-Württemberg to the Federal Government, State Secretary Rudi Hoogvliet, cordially invite you to the presentation of the Yearbook of Federalism 2023.

The event will take place on Wednesday, 22 November 2023, 5 p.m. (the presentation will begin at 6 p.m.) at the Landesvertretung Baden-Württemberg, Tiergartenstraße 15, 10785 Berlin. Please note that the event will be held in German.

The topic "German civil protection between noble aspirations and federal reality" will be discussed by Leon Eckert MdB and Dr. Anna-Lena Hollo, University of Hannover, under the moderation of Prof. Dr. Gabriele Abels.

Further information on the event and the possibility to register can be found here.


13.03.2023

New publication: Book Series Vol. 52

Gabriele Abels (ed.): "The Conference on the Future of Europe. National and Regional Participation in an Innovative Reform Process"

The one-year ‘Conference on the Future of Europe’ came to an end in May 2022. CoFoE is an unprecedented experiment in democracy at EU level. At its heart is the engagement of citizens in deliberative consultations on the future of European integration. This volume includes eleven contributions which examine the process and the results of this innovative dialogue process in select EU member states; the contributions analyse the involvement of national and regional actors as well as EU institutions. Many of the authors from politics, administration and academia personally partook in the conference.
With a preface by the President of the European Committee of the Regions.

You can find more information and the possibility to order here.

2023, 177 pages, 44,-€
ISBN: 978-3-7560-0435-5 (Print)
ISBN: 978-3-7489-3797-5 (ePDF)
Contents
Flyer


21.12.2022

Call for Papers: Yearbook of Federalism 2023

For the Yearbook of Federalism 2023, in addition to our established sections (Research topics, German federalism, European country reports, Global country reports, Regional and municipal cooperation in Europe, European Union / European Integration), we want to focus on the topic of "Crisis Federalism – Competition for Solutions or Collective Crisis Management?". 

We invite proposals for papers dealing with these topics. You can find the official Call for Papers here. Please send your abstracts by 31 January 2023 to the following address: ezffspam prevention@uni-tuebingen.de. We are looking forward to your proposals.


21.11.2022

Presentation of the Yearbook of Federalism 2022 - in cooperation with the State Representation of Baden-Württemberg in Berlin

On 16 November 2022, the ECRF, together with the Representation of the State of Baden-Württemberg to the Federation in Berlin, presented the Yearbook of Federalism 2022 - after a two-year break due to the pandemic, finally again in the context of a live event.

The presentation began with a welcome to the guests by the Head of Service of the Representation, Mr. Andreas Schulze, and a greeting from Ms. Muhterem Aras, President of the State Parliament of Baden-Württemberg, who had connected virtually from Stuttgart for the event. After she presented the range of topics of this year's Yearbook and gave a basic introduction to one of the main topics - the "Conference on the Future of Europe" - Prof. Dr. Gabriele Abels, Spokesperson of the Executive Board of the ECRF, discussed with Ms. Aras and Dr. Mark Speich, State Secretary for Federal and European Affairs, International Affairs and Media of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and Representative of the State to the Federation, about their experiences from the conference, in which they had actively participated as part of the delegation of the European Committee of the Regions. The discussion also addressed the question of how to ensure a stronger involvement of citizens and regions in political processes at the European level and what the concrete follow-up should look like. Both discussants saw the Member States and the Council as being primarily responsible for this. The audience also participated actively in the discussion with questions and comments.

The ECRF would like to thank Ms. Aras and Dr. Speich for the excellent hybrid discussion, all participants and especially the Representation of Baden-Württemberg to the Federation for the successful event.


15.11.2022

Event notice: Conference "How much federalism can a pandemic take? Dealing with the coronavirus and its consequences" (01./02.12.2022)

Federalism has come under pressure in the Covid 19 pandemic. Everywhere, the "patchwork" of regulation in dealing with the pandemic was criticised. What was allowed in one federal state was forbidden in another. At the same time, the federal states certainly switched back and forth between "Team Vorsicht" (Team Caution) and "Team Freiheit" (Team Freedom). The abbreviation MPK was previously familiar only to insiders, but since then it has become the talk of the town. For the eye was always fixed on the conferences of the Minister Presidents with the then Chancellor.
It is not the first time that the structures of German federalism have come under criticism in times of crisis. The need for reforms to improve the federal state's ability to act was also discussed during security policy crises (for example, in the aftermath of terrorist attacks). In the Covid 19 pandemic, personal concern about state regulation was clearly felt, not least in view of the unprecedented depth of encroachment on citizens' civil liberties.
Against the backdrop of the debates, the question arises as to the capacity to act and the need for reform of federalism in crises, specifically in the pandemic. How can the handling of the coronavirus and its consequences be explained? How efficient were the federal structures in Germany - not least in comparison with other states? Are unitary systems more capable of acting in crises? Are democratic states possibly even too slow in their decision-making processes in crises? What need is there for reform of German federalism and how can it be implemented?

These questions will be discussed at a multidisciplinary symposium organised by the ECRF and the Akademie für Politische Bildung (Scholarship - Education - Public Services) in Tutzing.
You can find the program here. Sign up for the conference with this form.


11.11.2022

New publication: Yearbook of Federalism 2022

The 23rd edition of the Yearbook of Federalism has been published!
The Yearbook is designed as a compendium that offers readers an up-to-date overview of various aspects of federal and regional structure and policy in 34 contributions.
In addition to German federalism, current research topics, regional cooperation, EU/European integration and state reports, two topics are the focus this year: The English-language section "Conference on the Future of Europe" deals with the question of how individual member states and their regions have participated in this unique discussion process with citizen participation. On the other hand, "70 Years of Baden-Württemberg" looks at topics that were less central in the official commemorative events.

2022, 516 pages, hard cover, 104,– €
ISBN 978-3-7560-0422-5 
E-Book 978-3-7489-3673-2 

Contents
The Yearbook can be purchased here.


27.10.2022

Presentation of the "Yearbook of Federalism 2022"

After two years of hiatus due to the pandemic, the official presentation of the "Yearbook of Federalism 2022" will again take place at the State Representation of Baden-Württemberg in Berlin. This year's main topics of the Yearbook are "The Conference on the Future of Europe - National and Regional Participation" and "70 Years of Baden-Württemberg".

We are pleased to welcome Mrs. Muhterem Aras; President of the State Parliament of Baden-Württemberg, and Mr. Mark Speich; State Secretary for Federal and European Affairs, International Affairs and Media of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Representative of the State to the Federation, for a discussion on "The Conference on the Future of Europe from the Perspective of the Regions - Review and Outlook".

Further information about the event and the possibility to register can be found here.


24.08.2022

We have moved!

The ECRF can now be found at Haußerstraße 43, 72076 Tübingen.


29.10.2021

New release: Yearbook of Federalism 2021

Vol. 22

In 2021, ECFF again presents a comprehensive compendium on federalism in Germany and Europe. This year's main topic is "Management of the Corona Pandemic in Federal and Quasi-Federal States".

Further information and ordering options can be found here.


06.10.2021

New release: Occasional Paper Nr. 43

Gabriele Abels (editor): From Takers to Shapers? Challenges for Regions in a Dynamic EU Polity

Summary: Since the 1990s the role of regions in the EU multi-level polity is under construction and has changed in many ways. The currently ongoing Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) provides another window of opportunity for regions to shape the dynamic EU polity.

The three articles put this timely development in a historical perspective by discussing parallels to previous treaty reforms, by analyzing the manifold activities of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) in relation to the CoFoE, and by discussing the role of regional parliaments and their potential contribution to the democratic legitimacy of the EU.

Free E-Book: Abels: From Takers to Shapers?