Reading

Read the text and say what ways of organizing a nation there exist.

Federalism is a way of organizing a nation so that two or more levels of government have formal authority over the same area and people. It can also be defined as a system of shared power between units of government.

Although federalism is not unique to the USA, it’s not a common method of governing. Only 11 of the 190 or so nations of the world have federal systems of governing, and these countries, which include Germany, Mexico, Argentina, Canada, Australia, India, Russia and the USA, share little else.

Most governments in the world today are not federal but unitary governments, in which all power resides in the central government. If the French Assembly, for instance, wants to redraw the boundaries of local governments or change their forms of government, it can (and has). However, if the US Congress wants to abolish Alabama or Oregon, it cannot.

American states are unitary governments with respect to their local governments. Local governments get their authority from the states; they can be created or abolished by the states. States also have the power to make rules for their own local governments. They can tell them what their speed limits will be, the way in which they should be organized, how they can tax people, what they can spend money on, and so forth. States, however, receive their authority not from the national government, but directly from the Constitution.

There is a third form of governmental structure, a confederation. The USA began as such, under the Articles of Confederation. In a confederation, the national government is weak and most or all power is in the hands of its components – for example, the individual states. Today, confederations are rare except in international organizations such as the UN.

The workings of the federal system are sometimes called intergovernmental relations. This term refers to the entire set of interactions among national, state and local governments.

Scanning

Answer the following questions.

1. What is federalism?

2. What way of organizing a nation is a common method of governing in the world? Why?

3. What is the difference between a federal government and a unitary government?

4. Why are American states called unitary governments?

5. Do American states receive their authority from the national government?

6. What is a confederation?

7. Why are confederations rare in the world?

8. Why are the workings of the federal system are called intergovernmental relations?

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