Abstract

Federalism and regionalism have opposed each other from a finalistic, diachronic and geographical point of view. However, the two experiences have been progressively brought closer thanks to important phenomena of legal circulation. Recently, both types of State have been changing, favouring forms of multi-national federalism and asymmetrical regionalism. The existence of effective mechanisms of integration and involvement of autonomies in decision-making processes is fundamental to ensure the functionality of federal and regional systems. However, if the integrating capacity of federal design is lacking, constitutional systems must provide for a political path to channel independent claims into the field of good faith negotiations.