An Inside Look at Federalism

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Recommended: Importance of federalism

Taken at face value, federalism seems to be innately detrimental to the legislative powers of the central government. Sacrificing a degree of authority to a subnational unit can (but not always) lead to a central government that, in simplest terms, doesn’t always get what it wants. This revelation then begs the question, why would constitutional designers even bother with federalism? Especially since oftentimes the shapers will be or are part of the government as well. The answer isn’t always straightforward, but the short version is that federalism is crucial to democracy. That is, placing limits on the authority of the central government as to prevent tyranny. If this limitation comes at the behest of investing some degree of authority into separate subnational units, the main conundrum we then face is how powerful should these states be? Does it matter whether the constitution outlines their authorities or not? I argue that the specification of powers is indeed important because at the crux of federalism the main behavioral determinant is to whom are the subnational governments are responsible.
Federalism can be analyzed in two sects: administrative versus federal units. Administrative meaning the subnational units are constructed solely for means of organization and implementation. In this model, the central government is completely powerful and subnational governments merely carry out decisions made at the national level. There is a great advantage associated with this type of federalism – the legislative process carries out comparatively smoother (in reference to federal units). The reason here being there are simply less obstacles to overcome. When the central government makes a decision, it is passed down to the subnatio...

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...re becomes a mutual recognition between the state and federal levels about their respective roles in the governmental process as a whole. A constitution that outlines powers also helps create stability and institutional barriers against the tyranny of the central government. Overall, it seems clear that the actual writing down of rules is indeed important.

Works Cited
Carey, John M. “Parchment, Equilibria, and Institutions." Comparative Political Studies. 33(6-7): 735-761. Print. Sept. 2000
"Constitutional Amendments." National Constitution Center – Constitutioncenter.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
Devas, Nick, and Simon Delay. “Local democracy and the challenges of decentralising the state: An international perspective." Local Government Studies. 32 (5): 677-695. 2006
Heller, William B. “Notes from class.” Binghamton University, SUNY
Notes 6 February 2014

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