This Centre is
- a member centre of the prestigious international Association of Centers for Federal Studies (IACFS),
- an Area Studies Research Centre of the University Grants Commission of India
- Exclusively dedicated to the studies, researches and teaching on dimensionalities of federal nation building in multicultural comparative setting.
- over the years Federal Studies as an independent academic discipline has matured as a doctrine of
(i) State and nation building
(ii) Noncentralized/decentralized governance
(iii) Empowerment and welfarism
(iv) Rights and,
(v) Peace and conflict resolution
The contemporary focus of Federal Studies is on the promotion of interface and policy studies on ‘human capital and natural resource management from the perspective of Federalism. It is being planned and developed as a principal knowledge instrument for shaping the future of mankind in the 21st century. It is unconventional in nature and scientific in temperament. It bridges the traditional divide between natural sciences and social sciences.
Mandate:
(i) to develop as an exclusive knowledge resource centre and to grow as internationally acclaimed resource repository on various dimensions of federal nation-building in India and other multicultural and diverse polities of the world, particularly Euro-American and south Asian polities.
(ii) to convert academic studies into pragmatic policies i.e. to provide policy alternatives and
(iii) To popularize federalism as grand design of living together. Centre has unique knowledge repository on micro themes of Indian federation, democracy, polity and society Centre has also developed its own data bank on select themes of Indian polity and society Knowledge resource of the centre is being currently converted into online media for the access of national and international academia.
Since the year 2000, the Centre is regularly publishing its peer reviewed and internationally circulated bi-annual Journal Indian Journal of Federal Studies (ISSN No. 0976-8408)
Areas of Research:
- Comparative federalism
- Interstate comity
- Federal power sharing
- Working of coalition system
- Environmental management and ecological concerns of development
- Sectoral analysis of state policies
- Decentralization, development and empowerment
- Human rights, inclusive growth and development of socio-economically marginalized groups
- Federal accommodation of identities
- Globalization and global governance
- Indian Government and Politics
- Working of Indian Federalism
- Social/Regional Movements
- Public Finance and Economic Management of Taxes and Resources
- Environmental and Ecological Concerns
- Local Self-Government
- Election Studies
Methodologically the Centre promotes interdisciplinary and interface studies on abovementioned themes. It prefers case specific, simulated and guided modes of teaching and research.