Political 'federalism ' is a
political philosophy in which a ''group'' of members are bound together (Latin: ''foedus'',
covenant) with a governing representative head. The term ''federalism'' is also used to describe a system of the
government in which sovereignty is
constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and constituent political units (like states or provinces). Federalism is the system in which the power to govern is shared between the national & state governments, creating what is often called a
federation. Proponents are often called
federalists.
In Europe, "federalist" is often used to describe those who favor a stronger federal government (for example, with governance under the
European Union) and weaker provincial governments. In federal nations of Europe (such as
Germany,
Austria and
Switzerland) or South America (such as
Argentina or
Brazil), the term "strong federalism" means sub-national states having more power than the national government, in contrast with a centralist system. In
Canada, federalism means opposition to
sovereigntist movements (usually that of
Quebec).
The same is historically true in the
United States. Advocates of a weaker
federal government and stronger state government are those that generally favor
confederation, often related to "
anti-federalists". The state or regional governments strive to cooperate with all the nations. The old statement of this position can be found in ''
The Federalist'', which argued federalism helps enshrine the principle of
due process by limiting arbitrary action from the state. First, federalism can limit government power and infringe rights, since it allows the possibility that a legislature wishing to restrict liberties will lack the constitutional power. The level of government that possesses the power lacks the desire. Second, the legalistic decision-making processes of federal systems limit the speed with which governments can act.
The argument that federalism helps to secure democracy and
human rights has been influenced by the contemporary
public choice theory. It has been argued that in smaller political units, individuals can participate more directly than in a monolithic unitary government. Moreover, individuals dissatisfied with conditions in one state have the option of moving to another. Of course, this argument assumes that a freedom of movement between states is necessarily secured by a federal system.
The capacity of a federal system to protect
civil liberties has been disputed. Often there is confusion between the rights of individuals with those of states. In
Australia, for example, some of the major intergovernmental conflicts in recent decades have been the direct result of federal intervention to secure the rights of
minority groups, and required limitations on the powers of state governments. It is also essential to avoid confusion between the constraints set by
judicial review, the power of the courts to overrule the legislature and the executive, and federalism itself.
Europe
Several Federal systems exist in Europe, such as in
Switzerland,
Austria,
Germany, and
Belgium. In Germany during the first part of the twentieth century,
Adolf Hitler viewed federalism as an obstacle, and he wrote in ''
Mein Kampf'' as follows: "
National Socialism must claim the right to impose its principles on the whole German nation, without regard to what were hitherto the confines of federal states." In Britain, federalism has long been proposed as a solution to the "Irish Problem", and more lately, the "
West Lothian question"
[1]
Following the end of
World War II, several movements began advocating a European Federation, such as the
Union of European Federalists or the
European Movement, founded in
1948. Those organizations were influential in the European unification process, but never in a decisive way. Europe remains far from being a federation, although the
European Union includes some characteristics of federalism. The European federalists campaigned in favour of a directly elected
European Parliament (est. 1979), and were among the first to put a European Constitution on the agenda. Their opponents are both those in favour of a lesser role for the Union and those who wish the Union to be ruled by national governments rather than by an elected European government. Although federalism was mentioned both in the drafts of the
Maastricht treaty and the
Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, it was never accepted by the representatives of the member countries.
Governments in favour of a more federalist European Union are usually the German, Belgian and Italian governments. Those traditionally opposed to this idea are the British and French governments. Today, the Poles and Austrians are also increasingly noted for their opposition to a more federal union.
The proposed creation of a
European Defence Community can be considered a step towards creating a more federalised Europe.
United States
Main articles: Federalism in the United States
In the United States, federalism is the system of government in which power is divided between a central government and the government of each state. Before the
U.S. Constitution was written, each
American state was essentially sovereign. The U.S. Constitution created a
federal government with sufficient powers to both represent and unite the states, but did not supplant state governments. This federal arrangement, by which the central federal government exercises delegated power over some issues and the state governments exercise power over other issues, is one of the basic characteristics of the U.S. Constitution that checks governmental power. Other such characteristics are the separation of powers among the three branches of government--the legislative, executive, and judicial. The authors of the ''
Federalist Papers'' (
Alexander Hamilton,
James Madison and
John Jay) explained in essays number 45 and 46 how they expected state governments to exercise checks and balances on the national government to maintain
limited government over time.
Because the states were preexisting political entities, the U.S. Constitution did not need to define or explain federalism in any one section. However, it contains numerous mentions of the rights and responsibilities of state governments and state officials
vis-à-vis the federal government. The federal government has certain ''expressed powers'' (also called ''enumerated powers''), including the right to levy taxes, declare war, and regulate interstate and foreign commerce. In addition, the so-called ''elastic clause'' gives the federal government the ''implied power'' to pass any law "necessary and proper" for the execution of its express powers. Powers that the Constitution does not delegate to the federal government or forbid to the states—the ''
reserved powers''—are reserved to the people or the states
[2]. The power delegated to the federal government was significantly expanded by amendments to the Constitution following the
Civil War, and by some later amendments-- as well as the overall claim of the Civil War, that the states were legally subject to the final dictates of the federal government.
After this, the federal government has increased greatly in size and influence, both in terms of its influence on everyday life and relative to the state governments. There are several reasons for this, including the need to regulate businesses and industries that span state borders, attempts to secure civil rights, and the provision of social services. Although many people believe that the federal government has grown beyond the bounds permitted by the express powers, from 1938 until 1995, the
U.S. Supreme Court did not invalidate any federal statute as exceeding Congress' power under the Commerce Clause (see ''
United States v. Lopez'', challenging the
Gun-Free School Zones Act). However, most actions by the federal government can find some legal support among the express powers, such as the
commerce clause.
"
Dual federalism" holds that the federal government and the state governments are co-equals, each sovereign. In this theory, parts of the Constitution are interpreted very narrowly, such as the
Tenth Amendment, the Supremacy Clause, the Necessary and Proper Clause, and the Commerce Clause. In this narrow interpretation, the federal government has jurisdiction only if the Constitution clearly grants such. In this case, there is a very large group of powers belonging to the states, and the federal government is limited to only those powers explicitly listed in the Constitution
[3].
However this theory also holds the federal government as the final judge of its own powers-- which many people fear holds potential for abuse. Understanding the constitutional role of
Native American governments (
Indian country), separate and distinct from state and federal governments, exercising limited powers of
Tribal sovereignty, has given rise to the concept of "tri-federalism."
[4]'
Canada
Main articles: Canadian federalism
In Canada, the system of federalism is delineated by the division of powers between the
federal parliament and the country's
provincial governments. Under the
Constitution Act (previously known as the
British North America Act) of
1867, specific powers of legislation are allotted. Section 91 of the constitution gives rise to federal authority for legislation, whereas section 92 gives rise to provincial powers. For matters not directly dealt with in the constitution, the federal government retains residual powers; however, conflict between which level of government has legislative jurisdiction over various matters has been a longstanding and evolving issue. Areas of contest include legislation with respect to regulation of the economy, taxation, and natural resources.
Australia
On 1 January 1901 the
Australian nation emerged as a federation. The model of Australian federalism adheres closely to the original model of the United States of America, though through a
Westminster system.
Federalism with two components
In
Belgium, the state structure is formally a federation, but because it exists in fact of only two component parts, the Dutch-speaking and the French-speaking populations who are relatively equal in strength, one could speak of a special case of federalism. In such cases, resembling a marriage, it is difficult to think that one 'partner' (the bigger of the two) could force a majority-decision on the other, but also that the other (the smaller of the two) could block indefinitely such a majority. When the differences of opinion nest on the cleavage between both 'partners', decisions on those subjects, even trivial ones, can only be taken by a compromise between both 'partners'. As such, federalism with only two 'partners' resembles in practice more a confederation.
This was also the case in
Czechoslovakia until the
Czech Republic and
Slovakia separated in 1993. Also,
Tanzania, which is the union of
Tanganika and
Zanzibar.
Christian Church
Federalism also finds expression in
ecclesiology (the
doctrine of the
church). For example,
presbyterian church governance resembles
parliamentary
republicanism (a form of ''political federalism'') to a large extent. In
Presbyterian denominations, the local church is ruled by elected
elders, some of which are
ministerial. Each church then sends representatives or commissioners to
presbyteries and further to a
general assembly. Each greater level of assembly has ruling authority over its constituent members. In this governmental structure, each component has some level of sovereignty over itself. As in ''political federalism'', in presbyterian ecclesiology there is shared sovereignty.
Other ecclesiologies also have significant representational and federalistic components, including the more democratic
congregational ecclesiology, and even in more hierarchical
episcopal ecclesiology.
Some Christians argue that the earliest source of political federalism (or federalism in human institutions; in contrast to
theological federalism) is the
ecclesiastical federalism found in the
Bible. They point to the structure of the early
Christian Church as described (and to many, prescribed) in the
New Testament. This is particularly demonstrated in the
Council of Jerusalem, described in
Acts chapter 15, where the
Apostles and
elders gathered together to govern the Church; the Apostles being representatives of the universal Church, and elders being such for the local church. To this day, elements of federalism can be found in almost every Christian denomination, some more than others.
See also
★
Asymmetrical federalism
★
Federalism in the United States
★
Anti-Federalism
★
Christian Democracy
★
Confederation
★
Federalist
★
Federalist Society
★
Federation
★
States' rights
★
Cooperative Federalism
★
Democratic World Federalists is a San-Francisco-based civil society organization with supporters worldwide, advocates a democratic federal system of world government.
External links
★
National Brainstorming project Canadian site.
★
Interuniversity journal '''Federalism-e'''
★
The American Enterprise Institute Federalism Project '''The Federalism Project'''
★
Cases & Materials on American Federalism
★
Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy Federalism article
★
Publius: the journal of federalism
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