Federalism is a system of government that shares power in a country
between the national government that is the government of the whole country
and individual regional governments within the country.
In this video we will first learn about how Federalism tends to manifest itself in different
countries, its main hallmarks,
secondly why some countries might choose to become federal
and finally what the disadvantages of federalism are and what federal countries do to avoid
these
But first, why don’t you like this video and hit the subscribe button for more great
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Federalism does not manifest itself in the exact same way in every country considered
to be federal.
Instead there are a few hallmarks which are common between these countries.
One of these hallmarks is the existence of a constitution, a written document
which ensures power is shared out fairly between the national and regional governments.
A constitution is agreed to by both sides, and that can’t be changed unilaterally,
meaning without the consent of both the national and regional governments.
For example in the US, changes to the constitution agreed to by the national government can not
be brought into effect without ⅔ of state governments voting for them.
Often in Federal systems, the constitution also includes an impartial judicial body
which ensures that both national and regional governments are not overstepping their powers
as laid out in the constitution.
Also, in federal systems, citizens are able to vote for regional legislatures and a national
one that represents the entire nation,
These then make up the respective national and regional governments.
So for a brief summary,
federal systems usually consist of a Constitution that lays out how exaclty power is shared
between the national and regional governments,
national and regional legislatures then make up these respective governments,
and finally an impartial judicial body makes sure that neither the national nor regional
governments overstep their powers in any areas.
But how is power commonly shared between national and regional governments?
Often, regional governments have power over things that have immediate relevance to people
like education
and public services.
the national government on the other hand has power over things that are better managed
on a nation level, to provide consistency amongst all regions
like foreign affairs,
defence,
trade,
citizenship,
and macroeconomic policy.
But why would any country want to adopt federalism?.
The main advantage of Federalism is that it allows for multiple different cultures to
exist under one country.
In this way Federalism accommodates dissent and disagreement
and it prevents countries from falling apart from within.
Federalism also reduces the number of weak states in an area by having them combine into
one and work together, which reduces the chance of aggression between them.
It also promotes economic growth between regions by removing barriers to trade.
Also, Federalism disperses power centres to ensure individual and regional freedom.
Finally, what are the main disadvantages associated with federalism and what do countries do to
avoid these?
One of the reasons why federalism fails is because of a lack of balance.
This can be due to disparities in population size between regions that leads to one region
dominating the national government
and ignoring or openly disregarding the interests of minority regions.
For example in the former Yugoslavia,
Serbia was by far the largest region in terms of population and it dominated the national
government,
This fact eventually led to many regions seceding, or leaving Yugoslavia because they felt the
country of Yugoslavia prioritised the interests of Serbians over their own separate ones.
One way of remedying this problem of having one region that is larger than other regions
is by overrepresenting the number of representatives that work for the smaller regions in the national
government.
For example in the US there are major population disparities between states,
the largest state Calirfornia has a population of 39 million,
whereas Wyoming the smallest state is just over half a million in size.
In the Senate, both states have two senators each, meaning Wyoming is vastly overrepresented
This happens to all of the 50 states in the senate, and this overrepresentation also happens
in the electoral college which is used to elect the President.
Supposedly, this overrepresentation helps to prevent smaller states being dominated
by the larger states, smaller states were in the former yugoslavia.
Another problem often raised about federalism is where to draw the line in the distribution
of power between the national and regional governments.
In the US many have argued that despite the checks and balances on national government,
it still has a disproportionate amount of power compared to regional governments.
This can be best evidenced by the supremacy clause in the US constitution
which allows national government to override regional governments if they disagree on a
specific topic,
a clause which also exists in a similar form in the Indian constitution.
This clause was famously invoked in the US in the 19th century when the national government
wanted to end slavery, but the South wanted to retain it,
leading to the national government overriding the South, and a Civil war starting shortly
thereafter.
Some might argue that this in example of the national government having too much power,
and forcing itself on the minority
but the alternative, of an impotent national government with power instead completely decentralised
has shown to be a failure;
the 1781 articles of confederation that preceded the adoption of federalism in the US consisted
of 13 colonies with a weak centre
that could never hope to vy with the strongly centralised British empire.
But the question remains, where do you draw the line in power distribution between national
and regional governments?
To conclude federalism is about balance,
balancing the interests of the nation
with those of individual regions,
a pursuit that is dependent on consent and working together,
often symbolised through a constitution that codifies this mutual consent, as it cannot
be changed unilaterally.
Federalism is pursued because of the belief that certain smaller states have enough in
common and would be better off economically and in terms of not having to vy with other
smaller states, in one single country.
Because Federalism thus deals with countries that have diverse cultures and populations
within them, it underlines this need for balance
so as to prevent internal conflict between the different regions.
individual regions must have their own power over their own individual affairs,
but also must have a voice in national affairs,
to prevent being overridden by other regions.
That’s federalism, thanks for watching, please like, share and subscribe