This panel approaches the analysis of territorial dynamics – the development of regionalised and federal systems over time – from a comparative-historical perspective. Recent works in the field of historical institutionalism and comparative historical analysis have refined our understanding of path-dependency, modes of gradual change, and the concept of critical junctures and causal mechanisms driving institutional developments (Mahoney/Thelen 2010; Pierson 2004; Capoccia/Kelemen 2007; Falleti/Lynch 2009). Federal dynamics are considered to be a permanent feature of federal regimes consisting of multiple layers established at different points in time. Applying historical institutionalist approaches to the evolution of regionalised and federal regimes serves to explain moments of contingency, the causes and consequences of stability and processes of institutional adaptation. This task has become all the more pertinent in the context of the economic and financial crisis afflicting Europe, which can be conceived as an external shock that opens a window for significant institutional change unfolding alongside established pathways of European integration or decentralisation in multinational contexts. The papers in this panel focus on countries in Europe and beyond and examine the determinants and consequences of territorial dynamics based on questions like: What mechanisms are producing or reproducing territorial dynamics over time? What role do critical junctures play for the unfolding of territorial dynamics? How can the relation between change at critical junctures and change over time be formulated conceptually? How does the timing and sequencing of events affect territorial dynamics?