Objectives
By the end of this meeting, participants should be able to:•Explain how a federal system works.•Describe the role of the national, state, and local governments in Georgia politics.
What Is Federalism?
• Federalism–System of shared powers between
two or more levels of government–Lower level of government enjoys
constitutional protection from national government–National government can compel
action–Example: United States under the
Constitution of 1789
Contrast: Confederation
• System of shared powers between two or more levels of government
• Lower-level governments retain sovereignty
• National government cannot compel action
• Example: United States under Articles of Confederation
Contrast: Unitary System
• All power centralized with the national government
• Lower-level governments (if they exist) only have powers if the central government delegates
• Example: United Kingdom–Power centralized in London–Powers delegated to subnational
parliaments in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales
Dynamics of FederalismWhich best describes the U.S. system?
• Dual Federalism–Separate spheres of power
• Cooperative Federalism–Shared spheres of power
• Intergovernmentalism–Mixture of dual and cooperative
federalism–Shared spheres in particular policy areas
Limits of Federalism
• The Constitution sets some clear limits–States cannot coin money or negotiate
treaties–Supremacy clause holds that national laws
trump state laws if in conflict• The Constitution also creates ambiguities–Necessary and proper clause–Commerce clause
• Court interpretation has changed over time
–Tenth Amendment
State Governments
• Most are similar in structure to federal government–Bicameral (Exception: Nebraska)–Gubernatorial powers vary by state–Professionalization of legislatures
varies by state–Key distinction is presence of direct
democracy—initiative, referendum, recall
Local Governments
• More variation than state governments–Mayoral—large cities, mayor has
considerable power–Council-manager—small-to-
medium cities–Commission—declining in number
due to collective action problems
Top Related