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What is federalism mean
Essay on what is federalism
What is federalism mean
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Introduction
Before discussing the notion that the European Union (EU) possesses a federal character, one has to define federalism (federal system).
A Federal system is a system of government where power and sovereignty are shared constitutionally between a central authority and subunits. The central authority retains primary sovereignty while the subunits (state, province etc.) retain a degree of autonomy. Examples of federal countries include Ethiopia, Germany, and USA etc.
The following paragraphs will discuss features that make the EU have a federal character in comparison to the USA, which is seen as the exemplar federal system before concluding that the EU is a unique supranational entity with both federal and confederal character
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Division of political authority/shared sovereignty.
Division of authority/shared sovereignty is the core of what makes an entity federal.
The EU is a union of sovereign European states who share sovereignty based on treaty. The union also possesses competences in policy sectors with exclusive jurisdiction in the area of Economic and Monetary Union while others are shared with Member States (MS), the other powers belong to MS as derived from the conferral of powers art 5(2) TEU, 2(1) TFEU art.3 & 4 TFEU additionally other powers have been offered by the decisions of the European Court for direct effect on citizens
On the other hand the USA is a federal republic characterised by division of sovereignty between national government and states and share responsibilities for almost all functions. Notably its system is focused on institutional autonomy with clear vertical separation of powers.
Competences are allocated according to policy sectors rather than policy functions as derived from the constitution Art. I (8) where enumeration of explicit powers belongs to federal government and all other powers are vested with the state (case
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For e.g. EUs confederation traits include:
1. Formation type: A Union of pre-existing unitary entities.
2. Limited express powers of central authority (Foreign Affairs/Defence).
1. A Union of pre-existing unitary entities.
EU s formation mirrors that of a typical confederation as it was formed by pre-existing sovereign states and established a central authority (EU) that remains a junior partner to units (MS). The EU thus being state centric and acting supranational resembles a confederacy.
On the other hand the USA mirrors a federation where federal government and states are equal partners but when need arises the central authority is stronger.
2. Limited express powers of the Central authority (foreign affairs/defence)
The central authority in a confederation usually has narrower powers compared to the subunits. This is also applies to the EU because its central authority has limited powers while it’s the MS control their individual foreign and defence policies.
On the other hand in a federal system the central authority has broad powers on matters that concern the nation. For example in the USA the central authority controls foreign affairs and defense
Federalism is the federal principle or system of government. In the compound republic of America, the power surrendered the people is first divided between two distances government (states and federal), and the portion allotted to each subdivided among distance and separate departments. In their attempt to balance order with liberty, the founders
The European Union has a common “government” called the Parliament. In the background essay it stated, “The role of the parliament is to debate and pass laws, make sure all EU institutions work democratically, and debate, and adopt the EU budget”. This means that the parliament has control over the laws, and controls the European Union budget. In Document B it mentions, “Whatever institution governs the trade of a nation or group of nations whether monarchy, dictator or parliament essentially rules that nation”. This means that the parliament has control over the European Union.
Federalism plays an integral part in the growth and development of the United States of America and is a key factor in determining the basis of power in this country. Clearly, the term federalism can be understood in many different ways pertaining to each person's view, but it can be more broadly defined in terms of the separation between the state and federal government. Thomas E. Patterson defines federalism as, “the division of sovereignty, or ultimate governing authority, between a national government and regional (that is, state) governments. Each directly governs the people and derives its authority from them” (Patterson 74). He then goes on to give a more basic definition with, “American Federalism is basically a system of divided powers” (Patterson 74). But federalism is more than just a word with a definition. It is hard wired into the constitution because the framers knew how important this division of power would be for the development of America and to ensure power would ultimately reside with the people.
In the Constitution, central and state governments received power that was shared and split in a federalist system, preventing tyranny of one over the other. Madison put forward his idea of federalism in Federalist Paper #51. “...the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments...The different governments will each control each other, at the same time each will be controlled by itself” (Doc. A). A Venn diagram derived from the Constitution shows that the central government controlled national affairs such as war, foreign trade, and foreign relations, and states controlled internal affairs such as establishing public services and regulating in-state businesses. The shared powers included taxes, loans, and laws. Despite Madison’s bias towards the federalist system (rarely does one truly attack one’s own political treatise within it) in his quote, the apportioning of powers shows that neither the central or st...
Even though there are pros and cons of federalism, this system of government makes America a free nation and separates us from many our nations.
PRINCIPLES Federalism: "A political system in which ultimate authority is shared between a central government and state or regional governments. "1 The first and foremost principality addresses the power of the federal and state governments. The framers of the Constitution never meant for the federal government to grow to today's tremendous size.
The national government is often though to be the sole sovereign authority of a territory, however, governmental authority is not so often clearly delineated or concentrated. Large, regionalized identity groups within an existing state may call for greater autonomy, or existing states may see unity with another as politically or economically advantageous, either development leading to multiple governmental levels within the same territory. Differentiated models of constitutional organization amongst regional governments and centralized national or super-national structures developed from this tension between autonomy and unity, namely the unitary state, the federation, and the confederate models. Each of these systems seeks to accommodate regionalized
National, Local, and State governments work together cooperatively to solve common problems rather than making separate polices. They work more on an equal level to get things fixed. This type of federalism is hard to tell where one type of government ends and the next one begins. National and state governments are independent and interdependent with an overlap of functions and financial resources. It is difficult for one to accumulate absolute power with this type of federalism.
structure. The application of federalism has varied over time and that is evident by the
Federalism is the power of a country, divided between the state and federal government. Federalism was not included in the articles of confederation, which left the states with all of the power. Federalism was chosen in the United States because the U.S. wanted there to be more control in the National Government. The U.S. State government wanted to keep some of the power, so federalism was a good system of government to choose from because they got to split the powers between them. Federalism has many benefits in California.
The federal system is a very complex because it allocates responsibility to state and federal government. Our federal system is one which powers are divided by the central government and state government. They both act directly upon the citizens and must agree with constitutional changes. The division of power among the states and federal government is called federalism. In the past there have been smart president and leader that gave the federal government more power than the states. We have view our country shift powers among the states and central government.
Federalism or “federal” ties around a system of government. It controls armies, declares wars, coins money, and regulate trade between states and foreign nations, and treaties (Mrs, Crouse’s powerpoint pg:3 num:9). Specifically this was created to organize the powers that exist in the system of government so everything can be organized. It also divides the power among a central government and several regional governments (Mrs, Crouse’s powerpoint pg:2 num:8). More ever Since everything passes through one system it had to be divided into 3 sections: delegated powers, implied powers, and inherited powers.
I will firstly look at each one individually and how it is organised then analyse its powers and responsibilities before comparing them and drawing up my conclusions. However I would like to note that there are many different interpretations and parameters of ‘powerful’ which make it difficult to answer the question. The EU was established in 1992 by the Maastricht Treaty. It comprises what are known as three ‘pillars’.
Federalism, by definition, is the division of government authority between at least two levels of government. In the United States, authority is divided between the state and national government. “Advocates of a strong federal system believe that the state and local governments do not have the sophistication to deal with the major problems facing the country” (Encarta.com).
Federalism is a legal concept that is centered around the concept that law is best handled as a two layered responsibility. Federalism is also built on a belief that sharing power with the local government is key to a successful governance. According to the text book, “the United States was the first nation to adopt federalism as its governing framework” (pg83). The following are a few examples of some advantages, as well as disadvantages of Federalism.