Federalism

Federalism

Introduction

The main purpose of this paper is to make an analysis on federalism. Federalism is the biggest supporter of the politics in USA. Federalism is not only helpful in giving the powers to the executives, but it also provides the power to the states, as per the clarifications of Dillon's Law. Federalism is that system imposed by the government in which the power and authority gets distributed between regional and central government. In such a system, both the federal and regional government imposes their authorities on the officials and the laws. In such a system, both types of governments have the control on their authority (Forum Of Federations, 2008). For any changes in the constitution in the federalist system, there is a necessity of the consent of both governments. In America, the meaning of the term federal government is specific to the national government which is based on the Washington (Anastakis, 2009). The term federalism is used to retain the traditions, power and the pride of local area; at the same time it allows the central government to handle the common problems. The basic principle on which the American federalism is based is the Tenth Amendment which had been ratified in the Constitution.

Discussion

America is a country which is based on federalism. Each and every state in America has its own legal authority and power and importance in the politics of the country. Even though the states in America do not have the sovereign power, but still it has the authority to exercise its power and it has the power to conduct and impose the functions which are to be performed by the central authority and the governmental set-ups (Forum Of Federations, 2008). The setup of the constitution is used to create a differentiation between the states and the federal governments which is initially used in limiting the fields of foreign affairs, currency and the fields of defence between the states (Elazar, 1997).

Advantages of federalism

In federalism, any state or province can design a policy which may fulfill the needs and rights of citizens. Federalism makes the state more autonomous which helps them to overcome the political, social and economic issues (Forum Of Federations, 2008). In most cases, provincial government representative lives near the local people or they are from the same community which helps them to understand the problems of local citizens more clearly and to come up with a better solution.

Disadvantages of federalism

Sharing of power can also raise the conflict between the Central governing authority and the states. It creates confusion about the work responsibility for e.g. if any natural disaster occurs and it creates a delay in rescue work due to confusion between the state government and the federal government about the responsibility of the rescue management work. Federalism can lead to inequalities as well among the states (Forum Of Federations, 2008). If a state is rich then economic situation of the rich state will be better, as compared to the poor ...