Editor’s Note: Publius at 50 Years

Abstract

With this issue, Publius begins its 50th year of publication. I take this opportunity to reflect on the journal’s mission, as set out by founding editor Daniel J. Elazar in the inaugural issue and continued by editors John Kincaid and Carol S. Weissert and maintained today in the journal’s 50th year. In his essay, “The Themes of a Journal of Federalism,” that led off the journal’s first issue, Elazar explained that Publius would focus specifically on “the exploration of federal systems and societies and inquiry into the application of federal principles to political and social problems,” but “paradoxically, the very focus of federalism gives Publius a range of interests as broad as any academic periodical,” because it engages “the whole problem of the concentration, diffusion and, most particularly, the sharing of power in political and social systems.” He proceeded to identify eight general topics that would be addressed in the pages of the journal: “1) federal systems; 2) the use of federal principles; 3) intergovernmental relations; 4) the concentration or diffusion of power; 5) decentralization; 6) political integration; 7) federalism as a social phenomenon; and 8) federal theory.”