"At a moment when the nation-state is trying to both reassert itself and resist challenges to undermine it, this edited collection is timely. It offers a holistic assessment of the political, legal and social aspects of territorial autonomy, and a new and positive direction of scholarship that establishes a strong theoretical framework, effectively complemented by a diverse and rich range of case studies. It is an important work that should be read and used as a springboard for further inquiry." Peter Clegg, University of the West of England, UK "Eschewing the usual methodological nationalism, this Handbook combines comparative law and comparative politics approaches to present an original theoretical and conceptual framework and several engaging case studies of territorial autonomies. The volume nicely succeeds in providing a rich panoply of current debates and comparative information on all these specific political entities at the substate level. The Handbook will certainly promote an emerging research agenda and will be a worthwhile read for academics and researchers interested in the fields of regional government and nationalism and self-determination, but also for practitioners and decision-makers concerned with issues of diversity management and substate institution-building." César Colino , The National University of Distance Education, Spain "By addressing the key concepts and drawing on such a rich store of material, this original work will be a valuable resource for scholars of constitutional law and politics, federalism and the management of territorial diversity." Michael Keating, University of Aberdeen, UK.