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a political system with multiple levels of government, in which each level had independent authority over some important policy areas. Has at least one lower level that has constitutionally protected status, meaning that subunit governments are woven into the political system and they coexist with the central government according to constitutional tradition and cannot be abolished unilaterally by the central government.
*** Dealing with Collective Dilemmas ***
-Central governments often gain power and become either confederated or federated when the subunits face collective dilemmas.
*Suppose to to be an equal and balance power between state and national government.
* Fragments power and protects against tyranny by dividing authority between states and national gov.
*Preserves diversity across geographic areas while instilling unity to tight common enemies and solve collective problems -> provides states with powers preserved by constitutional mandate, which allows people to live under different laws appropriate for their unique circumstances. This becomes problematic when costs/benefits are experienced by people who are not engaged in the specific activity (free riding). The conduction of business irrespective of the consequence for other states.
*** Preserving Unity***
1. sets common national standards to avoid the problem of negative externalities that result from differing state standards.
2. National agencies cooperate with parallel state-level agencies to coordinate activity for better effectiveness -> encourages states to try new policies.
3. the national government can subsidize state efforts and does so with regularity and purpose -> gives states incentives to cooperate with one another. |
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| a political system with multiple levels of government, in which lower-level governments retain full sovereignty and cannot be compelled by the national government to act. Requires voluntary compliance. |
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| a political system in which each level of government-national and state- is sovereign in its own sphere of policy authority. National and state operate independently of one another. |
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| a political system in which both levels of government-national and state-are active in nearly all areas of policy and share sovereign authority. Share power and work together to solve problem. |
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| a system in which multiple levels of government are active in a given policy area. Both the national and state gov. are active in a given area, often prevailed by the national government. |
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| intergovernmental relations |
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| the relationship between the different levels of government. i.e. IT may pertain to the struggle between the national government and the states for authority over a specific policy domain, or it may pertain to the coordination of action between the levels in an effort to achieve common goals. |
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| money that is distributed to lower-level governments with the purpose of funding special projects. |
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| grants that narrowly define how the funds are to be spent. These grants normally come with conditions that need to be satisfied in order for the money to be used. Which means that the state or local government must partner with the national government. |
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| a principle whereby the national government and the lower-level governments cooperate in funding a project. |
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| sums of money transferred to lower-level governments such that, as long as the general purpose of the grant is met, the lower-level governments are allowed considerable freedom in deciding how the money is spent. These grants were created due to the increasing complaint that other forms of grants led to excessive meddling by the national government. |
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an election in which citizens vote directly on a proposition raised by a group of fellow citizens.
** Elections at multiple levels of government provides an institutional check on national government. -> voters can split partisan loyalties according to the different preferences for different levels of government...no one party has complete control. |
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| an election in which citizens vote directly on whether to overturn a bill or a constitutional amendment that has been passed by the legislature. |
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| the constitutional or legal authority held by local governments that allows them to govern themselves with little or no interference from the state. |
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a political system in which the national government holds ultimate authority over all areas of policy and over the actions of subunit governments.
*** Federations vs. Unitary ***
- most federations are large landmasses which would be difficult to control under a unitary form of gov.
- unitary govs. regard preservation of national language/culture as more importanat. |
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| the Civil War (1860-1865) |
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Definition
Began after 11 southern states seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America. Ended when the Union army defeated the Confederate army.
-stemmed from a variety of deep splits between the states of the North and South:
1. Slavery
2. Disagreements over economic policies: Southern states feared Northern dominance in the national government and disagreements over the political divide over the federal government's management of Western expansion.
3. Interpreted the Constitution differently:
-Confederacy believed that the country was created by an agreement among the sovereign states vs. the Union believed that the US is a sovereign country and the preamble to the Constitution declared that "the people" had created an indissoluble union.
*** The Constitutions ambiguity about the nature of American federalism played a major role in the Civil War. |
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| Subunit government (states) |
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Definition
| face serious collective-action problems that inhibit them from achieving the common good. |
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| Federalist vs. Anti-Federalist |
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| one side advocates a supreme government vs. the other political system resembles a confederacy. Power between states and national government is in constant flux. |
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| the Courts and the Constitution |
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Definition
The federal courts have helped to determine the balance between the national government and the states:
-decisions by the fed. courts have enabled the increase in the national government's authority, while maintaining state authority over certain policy areas.
-Interpretations of the elastic and commerce clause open the door for the national government to make policies that override state law in virtually any domain.
Court decisions and changes to the Constitution are limited in their impact due to their lack of means to enforce their rulings.
- National government has become dominant in response to collective dilemmas among the states, but the Court protects against national encroachment.
A federal court system independent of interference from other branches is critical in preserving balancing. |
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(1896-1913) the national gov. began to develop a substantial administrative capacity to regulate the economy and an increase in authority in certain areas of commerce.
*** Granted authority to institute an income tax on individuals in 1913. |
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(1933-1952) the national gov. established bureaucracies to regulate the activities of banks, financial trading companies, and public employees.
* Set up programs to promote the building of transportation, recreation, and utilities infrastructure nationwide. -> to prevent the shocks on the economic system created by Great Depression.
* Social security system established.
* An increase in federal budget |
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(1964-1977) Democrats sought to use the power of the national government to correct various social problems such as poverty and inequality in housing, education, and healthcare.
* States received loans to improve conditions in inner-cities, build transportation infrastructure, enforce racial integration, and provide basic healthcare/education. |
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| Recent trends in the shift of power |
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Definition
* 1995-2005: Supreme Court favored states autonomy in regards to gun control, domestic violence, rights of disabled, and voting rights.
* 9/11 and crisis of 2008 made states more dependent on the national government. |
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| Give states more autonomy, but the national government can always threaten to deny states money unless they comply. -> the more states depend on grants to conduct operations, the more control the national gov has. |
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all persons, former slaves included, would count for a whole person in representation. -> states continued to violate these principles through Jim Crow Laws.
**1940s: National gov used its power to enforce the 14th amendment and became the main protector of racial equality. |
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*** State Institutions ***
-all states have separation of powers
-state level governance is accomplished by elected representatives -> some states allow direct democracy, citizens vote directly on laws.
- Supreme Court mandated that all electoral districts of state and national legislatives must be equal sic by population within each state.
*** State Powers***
-in 1990s, the Supreme Court handed a series of decisions that granted states more discretion in complying with national law.
- National government shed responsibility for social welfare in mid-1990s.
- Increase in power when national government becomes increasingly financially strained. Cutting back on taxes. |
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Special districts typically overlap or cut across multiple cities/counties and are dedicated to coordinating several local governments. Created in response to collective dilemmas; play the roles of enforcers.
*** Dillon's Rule***
- states that local governments are the creatures of the states, that states have sovereign authority to create, abolish, or amend local governments and that all local matter must be approved by the states. |
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| Institutions for City Governments |
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Definition
1. Mayor: local version of separation of powers
2. Council-manager with a council that is directly elected, they appoint city manager for day-to-day operations.
3. Commission: directly elected and sit together on a central commission that runs the city collectively -> ineffective due to collective dilemmas.
* Type of gov. affects who is represented, the quality of services, and success in attracting jobs. |
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| Charles Tiebout's rule on competition |
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Definition
| believes that competition among states or localities for people and businesses leads to more efficient government and more generous public programs. Induces innovation in government and leads to creative ideas. |
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| Paul Peterson's rule on competition |
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Definition
believes that competition among states for business investments creates a countervailing effect among the poor class.
-migration of people and investments harm the poor
- Generous social programs lead to an increase in taxes which leads to the loss of wealthy residents who move to cities, who have lower taxes. |
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