Aims and scope

From European integration to processes of decentralisation in the Global South, from post-conflict federal power-sharing arrangements to minority nationalist movements and the spatial rescaling of public policy,the study of federalism and territorial politics now covers a wide variety of topics dealing with divided political authority and levels of government. From Argentina to China to Greenland, issues of (de)centralisation and multi-level territorial politics are of great importance.

Regional and Federal Studies is a refereed social science journal which provides an academic forum for the publication of leading international research on these issues. The journal carefully reviews, selects and publishes high-quality articles dealing with various aspects of comparative territorial politics, regionalism, federalism, subnational research, and multi-level governance crossing substantive, thematic, geographical, theoretical, and methodological boundaries. The journal is also open to publishing material on supra-national or inter-governmental cooperation where this is substantially informed by, or seeks to contribute to, literature on federalism and territorial politics.

When the journal was first created in 1991, as Regional Politics and Policy: An International Journal, its primary focus was on regionalism in Western Europe. Today, Regional and Federal Studies is a journal of global reference. The thirtieth anniversary issue of Regional and Federal Studies provides an overview of the development of the journal’s aims and scopes within the context of the wider field.

Peer Review

All research articles in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymized refereeing by at least two anonymous referees.

Election articles are sent out for double anonymized peer review to at least two reviewers. Election reports are reviewed by the annual review editors.Special Issue Introductions are reviewed by members of the editorial board.

Authors can choose to publish gold open access in this journal.

Read the Instructions for Authors for information on how to submit your article.