Institutional Patterns of Autonomy Arrangements: Introducing the Territorial Self-Governance Dataset (TSG), 1950-2016

This article introduces a new global dataset on territorial self-governance arrangements for the period from 1950 to 2016. The dataset contains more than 75,000 region-year assessments of the degree of autonomy by applying the conceptual distinction between ‘self-rule’ and ‘shared-rule’ to all countries globally. In addition, four specific types of arrangements (federalism, devolution, special autonomy, and de facto autonomy) are identified based on the conceptual distinction between symmetrical vs. asymmetrical and constitutionally entrenched vs. non-entrenched arrangements, thus adding substantially to both coverage and institutional depth of existing data collection efforts. With this data, it is now possible to move beyond the analysis of mere aggregated information on territorial self-governance and investigate instead both origins and impact of specific institutional constellations. The data has further the potential to be used to study the change of self-governance arrangements over time and provide possible answers to questions regarding the impact of such arrangements on major political outcomes such as self-determination conflicts, democracy and development.