Federalism is undergoing a remarkable revival on several levels. From the United Kingdom to Iraq, from Germany to South Africa, we witness new and continuing efforts to re-imagine federalism within traditional state structures. At the supranational level in Europe, we observe the emergence of a new kind of political entity that invokes the idea of federalism and that has come to serve as the touchstone for debate about federalism and regional integration in other parts of the world. And at the level of global governance, the quest for a normative paradigm for international relations is being discussed against the backdrop of the Kantian concept of international federation.

Along with the renewed concern for federalism has also come a resurgent interest in the separation of powers. Here we move from the traditional administrative state of the twentieth century—with its challenge to classic understandings of democracy—to novel, pressing questions of the role of supranational agencies and the problem of "fragmentation" in global administrative governance.

This ambitious Summer Institute proposes to examine federalism and separation of powers across a variety of contexts. With a strong emphasis on the European Union, the United States, and Germany, the seminar will draw on a host of cases to develop more fine-tuned, comparative, and interdisciplinary tools of analysis. The aim is to gain a deeper understanding of the theory and practice of federalism and separation of powers and of how they relate to ideas of legitimacy and justice in national, supranational, and global governance.

The workshops will comprise a carefully selected group of post-graduate scholars and junior professors in law, the political and social sciences, and the humanities. The purpose is to shape significantly the current scholarship of all participants as well as to promote the creation of original scholarly works. One objective will be each participant's creation of a fresh or significantly altered work of publishable quality by the close of the second workshop. The broader objective is the creation of a long term transatlantic interdisciplinary community of leading scholars to tackle problems of pluralism in national, supranational, and global governance.

Tentative outline of first seminar:

• The Origins and Structures of Federations
• Federal Powers and Individual Rights
• Federalism and Citizenship
• The Free Movement of Goods
• The Idea of Democratic Legitimacy
• Parliament and the Executive
• The Role of Administrative Agencies
• Global Administrative Law & Global Constitutionalism
• The Way Ahead

Professor Daniel Halberstam, The University of Michigan Law School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

Professor Christoph Möllers, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Germany

To apply, send the following, in English, to the appropriate address below:

1. A completed application (»forms available online)
2. A curriculum vitae
3. A statement of up to 1,000 words (not counting cited references) detailing current research interests and past research and writing related to the institute topic
4. A list of not more than five background readings potentially relevant to all participants of the summer institute
5. One letter of recommendation

Applications should be postmarked by February 27, 2009. Candidates selected will be notified by early April 2009.

Candidates should note that they are applying for two summer workshops: one in Berlin, and another in the United States and that successful applicants will be expected to attend both workshops. The working language of the institute is English.