About the Journal

"It is the leading journal for the study of federalism"
Elinor Ostrom
Indiana University

"It is the first place to look if you want to read scholarship on the subject of federalism"
Martha Derthick
University of Virginia

"I am a very big fan of Publius as a quality international journal."
Michael Burgess
University of Kent

Publius: The Journal of Federalism is the world's leading journal devoted to federalism. It is required reading for scholars of many disciplines who want the latest developments, trends, and empirical and theoretical work on federalism and intergovernmental relations.

Publius is an international journal and is interested in publishing work on federalist systems throughout the world. Its goal is to publish the latest research from around the world on federalism theory and practice; the dynamics of federal systems; intergovernmental relations and administration; regional, state and provincial governance; and comparative federalism.

Publius encourages submission of manuscripts from many disciplines and a variety of methodological approaches to the study of federalism. Federalism is a dynamic, timely topic in the world today, and the scholarship in Publius aims to reflect core debates underway with theoretical and analytical research and to analyze intergovernmental implications of policy changes. Young scholars are particularly encouraged to submit manuscripts.

Publius was the pen name used by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison in 1787-1788 when they published 85 articles entitled The Federalist in defense of the federal republic created by the new Constitution of the United States of America. It is an appropriate name for a journal devoted to the increase and diffusion of knowledge about federalism and intergovernmental relations. Publius: The Journal of Federalism was founded in 1973 by the late Daniel Elazar, a preeminent scholar of federalism.

Publius is sponsored by the Section on Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations of the American Political Science Association.

Publius receives financial support from the College of Social Science at Florida State University, and is published on behalf of CSF: Publius, Inc. housed at the Robert B. and Helen S. Meyner Center for the Study of State and Local Government at Lafayette College, Easton, PA.

The journal is ranked 34/93 in the Political Science category of the 2006 ISI Social Science Citation index with an impact factor of 0.722.

Special Issues of Publius: The Journal of Federalism

Each year, Publius issues an annual review of American Federalism which highlights and analyzes federalism and intergovernmental issues in the preceding year. This issue is popular required reading for classes in federalism and intergovernmental relations.

In addition, Publius publishes special issues on timely and significant events and trends. Recent and forthcoming special issues cover topics including Implementation of the Help American Vote Act (HAVA), Devolution in the United Kingdom, Conservatism and Federalism, Federalism and Formal Theory, and US Federalism and the Bush Administration.

• Site Map
• Privacy Policy
• Frequently Asked Questions