Contemporary societies, from Catalonia to Kurdistan, from the European Union to India, have been marked in recent history by a lingering debate on the most desirable and practical levels of political sovereignty, legitimacy and institutions. This debate has found particularly strong echoes in times of crisis, when federal projects were discussed to reconfigure existing polities or create new ones. The aim of this conference is to foster a historical and multidisciplinary  reflection on the outcomes of federalism in periods of political transition.Â
The Center for Critical Democracy Studies fosters an interdisciplinary approach to questions of democracy. Purposely aligned with Â̾ÞÈËÊÓƵ's liberal arts curriculum, the Center encourages all fields from the natural and environmental sciences to the social sciences and humanities to explore democracy as a social state, a political regime or a form of agency. Center-sponsored research is global, inter- and trans-disciplinary.Â