The second level of government operates in the states, regions, provinces, or other entities into which the country is divided. Each of these has control over certain types of policy and legislation, usually of immediate relevance to its own people. These are of course just typical examples. The level of decentralisation and the exact distribution of powers and responsibilities varies greatly between federations depending on their needs and circumstances.
For example, in Nigeria, environmental protection is a state matter, but in Malaysia, it is run along federal lines. In some federal systems there are powers which do not belong exclusively to either level of government but are shared between them.
In India, for example, both the Indian Parliament and the State Legislatures can pass laws on criminal justice and social and economic planning. But, if there is incompatibility between them, the central level of legislation prevails. A second characteristic of federalism is that it provides processes and mechanisms by which the different states, provinces or regions of the federation can be included in decision-making at the central or union level.
Normally, this takes the form of an upper House of Parliament, or Senate, in which these states, provinces or regions are represented. In Australia and Argentina, for example, each state is represented in the Senate by an equal number of directly elected Senators; in India and Malaysia, some members of the upper house are chosen indirectly by the members of the State legislatures.
Power-sharing is also achieved through co-operation between different levels of government. In Canada, a Council made up of the heads of provincial governments meets to discuss issues of common interest and to coordinate service delivery.
For example, although healthcare in Canada is primarily a provincial concern, the Council has enabled provincial ministers to work together to lower pharmaceutical prices across the entire country. As you know, America has a federal government that consists of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches headquartered in Washington, DC.
The other level comes from the 50 state governments, each with their own powers and sovereignty. Under this system, the states remained sovereign and independent, and a newly created Congress served as a last resort to resolve disputes. But the articles had some weaknesses. These flaws prompted the Constitutional Convention of There, delegates from the 13 states drafted the Constitution to address the problems with the Articles of Confederation.
The Constitution created a stronger central government to oversee national issues while keeping most power in the states. In the United States, the federal government has the power to regulate trade between states, declare war, manage the mail, and print money—among several other powers.
State governments have their own set of powers too. Notably, all power not granted to the federal government is reserved to the states and the people. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. These powers are referred to as enumerated powers. The Tenth Amendment reserves powers to the states, as long as those powers are not delegated to the federal government. Among other powers, this includes creating school systems, overseeing state courts, creating public safety systems, managing business and trade within the state, and managing local government.
These powers are referred to as reserved powers. Concurrent powers refers to powers which are shared by both the federal government and state governments. But it is also important to keep in mind that there are some challenges that federalism cannot resolve.
For example, some members of the same ethnic group might live in more than one region of the country. Or, some parts of the country might have several minority groups within one territory.
For those, federalism alone may not offer sufficient protection. These groups may need special minority rights and protections, as well as a strong independent court system to enforce these rights.
Federalism can be expensive because it duplicates government functions at both the central and regional levels. Federalism can also be inefficient and inflexible. For example, it might be more difficult for a federal system to coordinate responses to natural disasters or pandemics. If the different levels of government do not collaborate well it makes it harder for them to deliver on their policy promises.
Some other possibilities include: giving cultural autonomy to particular religious or linguistic minorities. Devolving more power from the centre to local governments, or establishing special autonomy for particular provinces. Nevertheless, in large, or diverse countries where different groups mainly live in different parts of the country, federalism might be a good arrangement and support social cohesion and sustainable peace. Workshop participants discuss Covid considerations ahead of the elections in Timor-Leste.
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