Autonomy Arrangements in the World

The Åland Islands Peace Institute has developed an online college course on territorial self-governance using the Åland Islands as an example and case study. This is an interdisciplinary course that takes a broad perspective on discussions of self-governance, self-determination, multi-level governance and the rights of minorities. It addresses Åland’s self-governance, demilitarisation and adoption of neutrality, as well as the culture and language guarantees necessary for any language and culture. Additionally, it discusses the importance of territorial autonomy as a possible tool for conflict resolution, e.g. as a possible solution to ethnopolitical conflicts. The deadline for application is 2 September 2022. More information here.

By looking at various cases of autonomous and minority regions in Europe, the webinar aims to provide a comparative insight into processes of empowerment and securitization in minority contexts and to understand the extent to which these processes intersect with inter-state relations and sub-state cross-border cooperation activities. Insights from the Baltic states, Romania, Catalonia and the Basque Country will be discussed and compared, while also taking into account past and recent developments in South Tyrol.  The speakers are Noe Cornago (University of the Basque Country), Kristina Kallas (University of Tartu) and Andreea Udrea (University of Glasgow). You can watch here the recording of the webinar. 

This Handbook affords a comprehensive, pioneering and interdisciplinary survey of this emerging field. Moving beyond traditionally narrower engagements with the subject, it combines approaches to comparative law and comparative politics to provide an authoritative guide to the principal theoretical and empirical topics in the area. Bringing together a team of cutting-edge scholars from different disciplines and continents, the volume illuminates the latest thinking and scholarship on comparative territorial autonomies. This Handbook is an authoritative, essential reference text for students, academics and researchers in its field. It will also be of key interest to those in the fields of comparative politics, comparative law, local/regional government, federalism, decentralisation and nationalism, as well as practitioners in think tanks, NGOs and international governmental organisations. Read more...

This open-access volume comprises a selection of peer-reviewed chapters originally presented at the Second ENTAN conference held in Budapest on 24–25 September 2021. ENTAN is the European Non-Territorial Autonomy Network and the main purpose of the conference was to examine how the various non-territorial autonomy (NTA) models have been implemented and contribute to the effective representation and participation of minorities in public life. It focused on various activities, policies and institutional structures
in diverse contexts that can be considered as forms of NTA. The contributions offered a critical eye not only on the decision of states to opt for and even constitutionally entrench NTA arrangements but also on the extent to which such arrangements meet minority demands and mitigate territorial and separatist aspirations, ethnic conflict, discrimination and socioeconomic exclusion. Read more...