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Researcher

Erika Arban

  • Research Expertise:My main research activities are in the areas of comparative federalism, comparative constitutional law and legal methodology. At the moment, my academic research focuses on the following three main areas: 1- Federalism and economic inequalities This strand of research explores how federal constitutions can balance their unifying role while fostering economic diversity, and whether federalism could be regarded as a proper institutional and constitutional mechanism to foster the reconciliation between unity (or social cohesion) and economic diversity in territories marked by a sharp divide between richer, wealthier and more developed regions, and territories that are poorer and less advanced. 2- Aspirational elements of federal constitutions Federal and non-federal constitutions are often regarded as sources of shared values, as they contain fundamental principles that guide public and private behaviours and to which citizens aspire: they can be found in constitutional preambles but also in the constitutional text. Federal constitutions may also contain values clearly marked by an aspirational nature: for example, principles such as subsidiarity, (federal) loyalty or (federal) solidarity help identify the overall ideals to which a given federal system strives for. When entrenched in a (federal) constitution, these principles become aspirational as they may direct policies to foster equality and eliminate obstacles, or require the different tiers of government to collaborate harmoniously in the performance of their respective functions. The second research strand thus investigates aspirational values linked to federalism found in federal and quasi-federal constitutions: this aspect bears a close connection to the previous objective considering that economic asymmetries are often studied in relation to subsidiarity- and solidarity-based values. 3- Federalism and (metropolitan) cities: a novel way to address balancing issues of diversity and social cohesion Differently than older federations that granted constitutional recognition only to two levels of government (federal and sub-federal), more recent federal constitutions tend to recognise additional tiers of government, such as metropolitan cities, municipalities, or both, thus creating a more articulated structure of governance. This is partially a reflection of the increasing importance of larger cities in the current context as unique socio-economic spaces where people of different wealth, culture, ethnic origins, language or religious backgrounds cohabit. Creating a constitutionally protected legal space for larger cities in federal and quasi-federal states would allow to better address the need to respond more effectively to the specific pressures of densely populated areas; at the same time, in a more globalised and connected world, this testifies to a return to the bottom, to the local dimension, to the very basic core of the social community, in compliance with the principle of subsidiarity. This limb of research also aims at exploring the role of cities as new key players in the management of public services and in the protection of rights.
  • Keywords:FEDERALISM, REGIONALISM, FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, FEDERAL SYSTEM, Language and literature (incl. information, documentation, library and archive sciences)
  • Disciplines:Comparative law, Constitutional law
  • Research techniques:My research is normally carried out using a variety of methodologies, including the theoretical, empirical, doctrinal, comparative, analytical, and interdisciplinary methods, depending on the specific research question I am exploring.
  • Users of research expertise:My research mainly targets other comparative constitutional scholars, especially academics working on federal constitutional theory and comparative constitutional law and theory. Furthermore, because of my scholarly interest in research methodologies in the field of public law, the research also targets scholars with a specific focus on research methodologies. Finally, my research also targets constitutional drafters and experts involved in constitution reform processes, especially in countries undergoing such a process.