Self-governance and power sharing
Territorial autonomy and political power-sharing schemes continue to be widely used instruments for resolving violent conflicts in divided societies. The scholarly literature features numerous studies as to why some confl ict-regulating autonomy arrangements work while others don't; how success can be measured empirically; and what lessons can be drawn for practical confl ict resolution. In our current day and age, a new variable has emerged that undermines many of these presuppositions. Democratic backsliding as well as outright autocratization has cast a shadow over the legitimacy and eff ectiveness of power-sharing arrangements. This has led in some cases to local confl icts in autonomous regions. How is the current global wave of autocratization aff ecting “minority nations”? Under what conditions does subnational autocracy result in new ethnic confl icts? What impact do various institutional designs have on these dangers? The Conflict and Security Cluster will address these issues mostly through special publications.
Ongoing Projects
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Territorial Self-Governance in Troubled Times. Autonomy in the Face of Cultural Polarization and Subnational Autocratization (TERRGO-DEM)
Autocratization is an ongoing and alarming trend affecting both democratic and authoritarian regimes worldwide. However, the processes of autocratization at the sub-national level, particularly in regions with significant territorial self-government, remain largely underexplored. This is especially relevant in minority regions within deeply divided societies. What drives the dynamics of autocratization in these contexts? How do polarization between ethnic groups, as well as tensions between minorities and majorities, contribute to this process, and what implications does this have for the risk of ethnic conflict? This research theme seeks to bridge the gap between studies on autonomy, autocratization, and ethnic conflict. - Autonomy Expert Survey
Events
- Workshop on “Navigating Change. The Resilience of Territorial Autonomy” (with Sia Spiliopoulou Åkermark)
Recent Publications
- Schulte, Felix. 2023. Frieden durch Selbstbestimmung: Erfolg und Scheitern territorialer Autonomie. Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-24343-1
- Schulte, Felix, and Gene Carolan. 2023. “What’s Law Got to Do with It? How the Degree of Legalization Affects the Durability of Post-Conflict Autonomy Agreements.” Ethnopolitics. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449057.2023.2207876
- Schulte, Felix. 2023. “Approaches to Researching Territorial Autonomy: Reflections on Methodology and Data.” IACL-IADC Blog.
- Schulte, Felix. 2023. “Soeren Keil and Sabine Kopp (Eds.), Emerging Federal Structures in the Post-Cold War Era, Palgrave Macmillan, 2022, 338 Pp, £109.99 (Hbk).” Nations and Nationalism 29(2): 784–85. https://doi.org/10.1111/nana.12939
- Schulte, Felix, and Christoph Trinn. 2022. “Self-Rule and Intrastate Conflict Risk in Divided Societies: A Configurational Analysis of Consociational Institutions.” Swiss Political Science Review 28(3): 413–32. https://doi.org/10.1111/spsr.12514
- Schulte, Felix. 2022. “Olgun Akbulut and Elçin Aktoprak (Eds.), Minority Self-Government in Europe and the Middle East. From Theory to Practice (Brill, Leiden, 2019), Isbn 978-90-04-40544-8.” In European Yearbook of Minority Issues, 19, Brill.
- Trinn, Christoph, and Felix Schulte. 2022. “Untangling Territorial Self-Governance – New Typology and Data.” Regional & Federal Studies 32(1): 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/13597566.2020.1795837. [Regional & Federal Studies co-winner of best article prize 2023]
Working Papers
- Schulte, Felix., Elena Cuijuclu, and Guido Panzano. 2025. "Do Power-Sharing Reforms Mitigate Sub-National Autocratization? Experimental Evidence from Gagauzia"
- Schulte, Felix., Matthias Scantamburlo, and Maria Ackrén. 2025. "Lost Autonomy Triggers and the Rise of Secessionism" [ECPR Best Paper Award in the Section “Advances in the Study of Statehood, Sovereignty, and Conflict]
Datasets
