The political geography of Federalism : an inquiry into origins and stability

Although the relevance of geographical inquiry to the study of federalism is now recognized by most political geographers, systematic research on the subject has badly lagged behind. There has been singularly little discussion (among geographers) of the concept of modern federalism. A close study of the existing literature on the subject would reveal the prevailing confusion among geographers regarding the nature of this polity. Many still cling to the old concept of federalism as a "three layer cake" of government. In fact, despite a general agreement that federalism is "the most geographically expressive of all political systems", little effort has so far been made to explain the essential geographical basis of this polity