ABSTRACT
As part of growing global interest in federalism in the post-Cold War and post-global era, federalism as an idea and institutions has rekindled greater interest in countries in Asia, where it is an ascendant political currency. While Nepal (2015) and Myanmar (2008) have adopted federal constitutions, many non-federal countries in Asia adopted federal institutional measures for granting regional autonomy. Others are reconsidering the relative merits of federalism. Simultaneously the old postcolonial federations in Asia have introduced further changes. The Introduction offers a critical outline of the rationale for federalism in multi-ethnic countries in Asia for the purpose of accommodation of diversity; updates the existing literature; highlights the appropriateness of such measures; explains briefly the approach taken in the study; and introduces a conceptual distinction between the diversity-claims and the equality-claims as a new methodological tool for assessing the efficacy of federalism in not just accommodating diversity but also for generating more equality for endurable political order and legitimacy. In conclusion, the need for going beyond the diversity-problematic is defended.
