Innovative Forms of Autonomy and the Role of Federalism: A Comparative and Theoretical Perspective

The chapter aims to show how variegate and evolving the law of diversity is in contemporary times. In particular, the focus is on emerging and innovative forms of autonomy, whose distinctive feature is the divergence from the consolidated autonomous models that stem from the liberal-democratic tradition. These innovations appear to lack comprehensive recognition or conceptual framing. This chapter intends to address this deficiency. It will do this firstly by recognizing these instruments as some of the most innovative tendencies of the law of diversity. Secondly, it will propose to frame these developments as part of a broad federal phenomenon, which provides solid theoretical tools to better understand them and explain their functioning.