What Is Federalism

Many countries are now moving away from other forms of government and embracing federalism. In my opinion, federal governments work well and bring about development. The best example of a country that has adopted federalism is the United States. Federalism is when power is subdivided into units. There is the central government that is left with some exclusive federal power and the unit governments that enjoy states rights. The unit states are under the central government that unites all the other small groups. Federalism is different from the other forms of government like unitary government; this has got only one dominant unit of the government, and confederation government that has units that are independent. The central building block of a federal government system is democratic rules. Each unit of power has the rights to make their rules but abide by the interest of the national government. Laws in the small unit states have to be in line with the federal constitution.

Advantages of Federalism

Federalism is best suited for large countries. This allows the federal government to divide the big area into smaller regions and have replica units of the government in the areas. This brings people close to power. People have got the right to manage the resources in their area so long as the federal government receives a certain percent of the income. This will encourage and enhance development than when the national government is left to make all the decisions. Leaders at the ground level are close to the people and will thus make policies that are relevant and important to the region. Having small units of power also helps eliminate the possibility of having a concentration of power. Some powers are devolved to the regional units and thus easing the job of the national government. The local groups also act as training grounds for the national leaders.

Disadvantages of Federalism

The main disadvantage is that citizens are ignorant. They are not keen to understand the duties of the national government and the regional government. Federalism may sometimes make it difficult to form national policies especially when it comes to allocation of funds and the utilization of resources in the regional areas. Having small units of government means having the same functions that are in the central government in the regions created. This may lead to duplication of posts and offices. This will result in the conflict of authorities.