25 years ago, the Swiss Political Science Association (SVPW/ASSP) dedicated one entire volume of its four-volume Political Science Handbook to federalism. In its latest version (2006), the Handbook relegates federalism to a sub-heading within the chapter on institutions; “cantons and communes” are treated separately. On the positive side, this may be an expression of the smooth working of Switzerland’s federal framework, and the cantonal and communal (=local) governments within it. On the negative side, this has reinforced the tendency – prevalent since long – to disregard “the political” within federalism and federations, and territorial politics broadly speaking. This working group has the overall goal to attenuate that situation, and to bring “the territorial” back into (Swiss) political science. We very much encourage comparative methods. With decision of 10 June 2011, the executive board of the SVPW/ASSP has accepted this new working group into its network.