Presented by the author during the lecture series on federalism at the House of Representatives on Aug. 2, 2016. The four-part lecture series is a partnership of IAG and the Congressional Policy Budget and Research Department of the House. Dr. Edrisinha is senior constitutional advisor for the United Nations in New York.

This paper attempts to capture many of  the issues, challenges and design choices that constitution makers have to confront when  exploring federal arrangements particularly in the Asian context.