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The States, Federalism and Political Science: A Fifty‐Year Appraisal
Author(s) -
Parkin Andrew
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
australian journal of public administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1467-8500
pISSN - 0313-6647
DOI - 10.1111/1467-8497.00329
Subject(s) - federalism , politics , the renaissance , interpretation (philosophy) , political science , public administration , political authority , political economy , law , sociology , history , programming language , computer science , art history
The role of the states within the Australian federation has evolved significantly over the past 50 years. So has the interpretation of that role by political scientists. Until the early 1970s, the states seemed to be declining into financial and policy subservience notwithstanding their continuing primary responsibility for the delivery of public services. They then experienced a political and policy renaissance, accompanied by a more balanced political‐science appreciation of the virtues of federalism. Since the early 1990s, the states' trajectory has become more uncertain.