RETURNING TO WILLIAM RIKER: problems and perspectives for thinking federalism

Abstract

This article reexamines some of William Riker’s
main contributions to federalism studies, aiming
to discuss their validity for contemporary political
science. In it, we specifically analyze his arguments
on: (i) the origin; (ii) the maintenance of federations;
and (iii) their significance for the production of
political results, including public policies. For this
analysis, we begin by presenting each argument and
then identify subsequent theoretical contributions
that focus on the criticisms formulated against each
of them. From there, we discuss their applicability
and, in the end, we propose an assessment of
this author’s contributions to thinking about
contemporary federalism.