CONTENT AND OBJECTIVE
The 2024 Winter School will focus on federalism and sustainability.
During the two-week training program, participants will analyze the relation between multilevel systems and the concept of sustainability. Experts will address the questions and challenges of sustainability from a legal and political science perspective and discuss the various dimensions of sustainability with regard to federalism and regionalism. One key focus of the program will be on the question how federalism can contribute to sustainability.
The program will also provide insights on different aspects of sustainability in connection to multilevel governance such as environment, social issues and democracy. Furthermore, participants will learn from the sustainability challenges that different countries and regions, such as in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, are currently facing. The United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals will provide a focal point to be referenced throughout the duration of the Winter School.
The 2024 edition will also offer in-depth sessions on sustainability in relation to climate change, fiscal relations, democratic participation, and institutions in multilevel systems.
The Winter School will examine the following issues:
- Are federal and regional states more sustainable than unitary states?
- How do federal constitutions at national and regional level entrench sustainability in its various dimensions?
- How are the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals implemented in multilevel systems?
- Do regional and local autonomies foster or hinder sustainability?
- In which fields of policy-making can multilevel systems address sustainability issues?
- How do institutional, economic, social and other asymmetries affect sustainability?
- How relevant are issues of legal and political sustainability in different federal systems?
- What are the main sustainability challenges in various regions of the world?
The 2024 Winter School examines these and other topics by combining theoretical expertise and relevant case studies. As such, the program is a unique opportunity for young academics, postgraduate students, civil servants and practitioners to receive enhanced training on the theoretical and practical aspects of federalism and multilevel governance.