Federalism in the United States
Introduction
Federalism in the United States has gone through several changes over the years. According to most scholars that have conducted studies on federalism, regarding it as one of the three major features that define the constitutionalism of America. The subject of federalism has gathered great international interest, and this is as a result of its ability in defusing political disparities. For American federalism, there is a lot of borrowing from David Hume. Besides, the legislative functions of the federal union have a great transatlantic history within its features. Federalism was very crucial in helping the Americans in adapting to specific conditions of globalization in the 19th century. This term paper focuses on federalism in America, presenting its main concepts and competing arguments on the same. It will also give my opinions on the policy issue of federalism, some of the recommended improvements on the policy and significant conclusions on the subject.
Background Information
Federalism refers to a constitutional mechanism used to divide power among the various government levels. Federalism aims to ensure that the federated units can have substantial autonomy on specific aspects within the sharing of power. This policy incorporates self-government and shared government. There is a close relation of federal systems and large countries that are culturally diversified. The institution of federalism has seen to benefit the people in significant ways, including allowing them to be part of their preferences such as schooling, which in turn improves the educational levels. Other aspects that benefit from federalism include agriculture and other cultural activities.
Several scholars have conducted studies on federalism, each of them presenting various aspects of the policy and how the issue has changed over the years, including some of the consequences of the policy.
Competing arguments
Federalism holds a great significance on liberty and the constitutional aspect of America. It’s a means of promoting peace and stability in countries that have territories of vast differences in identity, ethnicity and language. For large countries, especially those that are very diverse, federalism helps improve the delivery of service as well as promoting democratic resilience. It ensures that decisions are made at the appropriate levels, and at the same time protecting against the over-concentration of power and resources. For both large and small countries, federalism helps in creating increased opportunities that allow for democratic participation. Those in support of federalism and promote its inclusion in the democratic processes of a nation. It has enabled several states to settle several conflicts and also improve governance.
Federalism allows
for diversity by providing a framework that allows for the recognition of ethnic, linguistic or other cultural communities. By doing this, it reflects the communities’ desires of being recognized as people with identity and specific interests. Such groups are guaranteed substantial autonomy, allowing them to exercise self-government in part through state and regional institutions. In doing this, the communities are still able to share particular functions with other cities through federal institutions. A federal constitution can protect minorities by meeting the demands of autonomy and recognition. It also helps prevent conflict and increase the levels of legitimacy for democratic institutions. In the same breathe of the concept of diversity, federalism tends only to be appropriate where there is a territorial concentration of communities. This means that when such communities are concentrated in specific geographical areas, there will be a need for combining self-rule with the shared rule. This presents the argument against federalism, stating that its only suitable for certain countries. This means that for small and homogenous countries that are considered independent, they have very little reason to consider incorporating federalism. For a vast country that has distinct, concentrated minorities, then federalism tops their list.
Federalism calls for power-sharing between federal institutions and the institutions at lower levels. This ensures that no level of the government has absolute power. The advantage of federalism is the fact that it’s based on discussion and requires negotiation between the centres of power as well as recognizing the minorities under the guidance of constitutional rules. Besides, federalism allows and promotes innovative approaches to policy development.
This is achieved through the allowance of sub-units to develop their policies in meeting their specific needs. Federalism promotes innovation in policymaking, enabling states to foster innovative strategies that would be politically appropriate. It also reduces the burden on central authorities, by freeing them from having to deal with most of the administration of the local units as well as the delivery of services. Those that argue for federalism also mention that it allows for the development of democratic responsibilities. In a federal country, more people are allowed the opportunity to take part in the public sphere. Resources are also shared across geographical spaces through federalism. Those arguing for federalism mention that it is a way of making sure that a wide distribution of public funds is achieved, mainly through revenue sharing.
Federalism also exhibits certain disadvantages which are presented by those that argue against it. One of the arguments presented includes the lack of coherence and aspects of duplication. Federalism tends to duplicate governmental functions, and this results in the delivery of contradictory policies. By doing this, it becomes challenging to the citizens in understanding where the responsibilities are, and how to use this information to hold public officials accountable for their actions. Federalism also leads to increased operational costs. This comes about through the maintenance of several levels of government, which is very expensive. With more public institutions, there are more costs incurred through their offices, salaries, allowances and staff. An attempt to meet these costs tend to place a significant burden on the treasury, especially for countries that are not well developed.
Those arguing against federalism also state that this policy tends to cause economic competition between subnational units. This competition may be very harmful to these units by undermining solidarity, making it hard to strive for economically progressive policies. In case of lack of an effective mechanism for revenue sharing, federalism can lead to inequalities between the subnational units. This is mainly fostered due to the difference in development levels and natural resources. 0In addition, with a distinct constitutional division of power between various government levels, the judiciary’s political role tends to increase. This follows the increased disputes that arise in the competencies of these units. Another con of federalism is that it tends to accord more strength to the local elites who tend to misuse the power. These powerful interests may take advantage of the subunits to make private gains for themselves. This is an excellent example of corruption which is very hard to eradicate from the picture. Besides, the lack of capacity may result in ineffective governance, on the side of the subnational levels of the government.
Observations and Recommended Policy Changes
From the presented information on federalism, it is evident that federalism is both a tremendous and problematic policy, for several reasons provided in the competing arguments on federalism. Being a critical policy issues, the performance of federalism is one of the aspects that can be changed to improve the policy. To ensure the performance of federations, there is a need for the federal actors to seek solutions that are specific to the problem of production. Federal conflicts are among the factors that undermine the performance of federalism. It’s essential to find appropriate policy solutions to achieve a robust return. Conflicts within the federations greatly hinder the performance of federalism; therefore, it is crucial to avoid conflicts at all times.
There is also a need for more accountability within federalism to ensure that the powerful elites don’t take advantage of the situation for their private gains. With accountability in place, it will be difficult for these powerful interests to take advantage of the resources for their own benefit. By doing this, all the minority communities will enjoy equal access to the resources. Extending these resources to the communities of the minorities, the communities will enjoy equality in the funds.
Conclusion
Federalism is a crucial aspect for any country as described above. The policy of federalism needs to be embraced and be included in governance. The issues around the federalism policy can be solved by ensuring that any conflicts in federalism are resolved to ensure that performance is improved. Its also important to note that federalism doesn’t apply for all states, especially the small ones.