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What Is The FEDERALISM System ? | Fedralism in Afghanistan| FEDRALISM Government System – Explained

The term federalism is often confusing. You would think that federalism involves a system where the federal government has more influence and power, but it’s just the opposite. Federalism actually describes a system of government where some powers belong to the national government, and some powers belong to the state government.

What is a federal system government?

Federalism and the federal system define the basic structure of American government. There were many disagreements at the Constitutional Convention. Many delegates feared a national government that was too strong and many delegates feared that states’ rights would merely continue the weak form of government under the Articles. The Constitution created a federal system of government (federalism) as a compromise. Under federalism, power is shared and divided between national and state governments. Both levels have their own agencies and officials and directly affect the people. The Founding Fathers really had no other choice except federalism. The weak union created under the Articles would not work yet people did not want to give all the power to a national government. Federalism was the middle ground–compromise–a way to distribute authority between the states and the national government

What are the advantages of a federal system of government ?

The powers are limited.

I learnt that the “individual” was the top-most focus of the American society. Every policy devised at the official level would firstly think how it would benefit or affect the individual living inside the American state. In our society, there is greater emphasis on family, society and the country but a lot of attention in the US is paid to individual liberty. The state tries to ensure all forms of liberty for the individual. This includes the freedom of religion. Every individual is free to practice whatever religion he or she prefers. However, there is no state religion in the US. The government does not have a religion or does it pursue any policy, including the foreign policy, on the basis of religion. There are no religious parties in the US.

Another important area of individual liberty enshrined in the US Constitution is the freedom of speech and cultural expression. While everyone is allowed to independently articulate their views, people are expected to refrain from making hate speeches.

There is also freedom of information. The government of the United States cannot put any curbs on the media. Interestingly, there is no Ministry of Information in the United States. The media is largely independent and free from official control. All media outlets are under private ownership which keeps ascertaining public opinion about their interest in different issues through opinion polls and surveys. The US media rarely discusses the country’s foreign policy. A lot of attention is paid to domestic issues by the media because not many people in the US take a keen interest in foreign affairs. Newspapers and TV channels keep the interest of their readers and viewers supreme and they avoid printing and broadcasting such material which fails to attract public attention.

The government structure in the US is not centralized. The country is divided into independent federal, state and local governments. There are fifty states in the US but all of them have different constitutions, separate laws and state flags. Several laws, including those pertaining to death penalty, gay and lesbian marriages or age of eligibility to use alcoholic drinks, differ from one state to the other. For example, death penalty is legal in New York but it is illegal in Florida. In the same way, punishment for one offense could also be different from one state to the next state.

Unlike Pakistan, the President of the United States does not appoint the governors of American states nor does he influence them. They are elected by the voters inside the states and enjoy full independence in terms of pursing state policies. The states in the US are so much powerful that they can even negotiate international trade deals with other countries provided that they do not clash with the interests of the US federation.

The American states are empowered to impose taxes on the citizens. Mr. Elias informed us that 90% of state budget in the US comes from public taxes while the government accounts for only 10% of the budget.

Another classic example of decentralized American federal system are the local governments. The local governments are also autonomous and powerful to impose taxes. The county police chief is elected. He is so powerful that even the President of the US cannot pressurize him. Thus, he is expected to perform well if he is interested to seek a new term for the same office. There is no national education policy in the US. Every county and state has its own education policy. Every county is divided into a school district. The federal government’s contribution to the total education budget of the states is barely 6% while the remaining budget is paid by the states themselves.

The US federal government has four mandates which can not be take away from it under the US constitution.

  1. Defense
  2. Foreign Policy
  3. Management of dollar
  4. Inter-state commerce

The US has a bicameral presidential system comprising of the House of Representatives, the lower house with 435 members, and the US Senate, the upper house with 100 seats. Presently, the Democratic Party of President Barrack Obama has 255 seats in the lower house while the Republicans have 178 seats. Two other seats are currently vacant. Representation in the House of Representatives is given to the states on the basis of population. At the moment, California, the most populated state of the US, has 53 seats. The Senate provides equal representation to all states.

Federal systems must have at least two levels of government. As you know, America has a federal government that consists of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches (headquartered in Washington, DC). That’s one level. The other level comes from the 50 state governments, each with their own powers and sovereignty.

What are recent examples of federalism in action?

A healthy federalist system is one in which citizens are active, informed participants who hold government officials accountable and push back when they overstep their powers. The recent challenges to Governors Cuomo and Newsom’s actions are an example of individuals and organizations demanding accountability. An example of state governments pushing back against overreach by the federal government can be seen with the recent federal vaccine mandates. When OSHA and other federal agencies issued mandates which attempted to usurp states’ acknowledged authority over public health, states pushed back, filing lawsuits that have been upheld by federal courts.

Why did the founders create a federal system of government?

The American colonists fought the American Revolution because they wanted to break free from the tyrannical government led by England’s King George III. After winning the war in 1781, the new American citizens were very hesitant to create a powerful, centralized government. That’s why they created the Articles of Confederation. But the Articles were too weak and gave states too much power. Federalism was a compromise. It’s the idea that government authority rests in both the national and state governments. It’s why you are a citizen of both your state and the United States!

Fedralism in Afghanistan

The decades of war and conflict in Afghanistan need to finally come to an end. The roots of terrorism and Al-Qaeda ought to be vanished forever. The intervention of the international community should further occur mostly through civil and reconstruction approaches. Likewise, the contemporary time in Afghanistan witnesses that the current presidential system cannot respond to these requirements. Therefore, there is the need for a federal system that includes all the Afghan ethnic groups and is recognized nationally. A political federalism, a specific form of federalism designed for the post-conflict states and those suffering from ethnic crisis such as Afghanistan. A federal government will provide autonomous power to all ethnicities in their areas, which will develop stability and security. Accordingly, the level of dissatisfaction among the citizens regarding inequality of power will decrease. The Taliban, extremists and insurgents will not acquire the support of the civilian anymore. On the whole, political stability leads Afghanistan to a new era of reconstruction along with the help of the international community. Once this system is in place, it paves the way for further socio-economic development and military and civil self-sufficiency of the Afghans.

Restoring peace in Afghanistan – Is federalism the answer?

The federal structure for Afghanistan will have many advantages. It will prevent unfairness and resulting in dispersing of power. Also, such structure will increase citizen participation and augment diversity. Additionally, such a system will also increase administrative effectiveness and will provide the country a balance. In addition, the constituent provinces of the country may be able to block some national policies and may lobby for greater share in others. Such a structure will probably promote greater accommodation of ethnic, cultural, and racial diversity.

Afghanistan is a society of minorities having several ethnicities with quite diverse culture and communities. Every ethnicity is eager to retain and embrace their culture, language, and leadership. However, when the central government began to impose upon the cultural affairs and cutting edge leadership of provinces, the resistance to central government and its policies gained momentum. For example Faryab is a province where most of residence are Uzbek. They always had Uzbeks run the affairs of the province and the locals communicate in Uzbeki language. The central government suddenly appointed Daud Laghmani a Pashtun as governor of Faryab. People protested for weeks until the central government changed its decision.

In the last 20 years, Afghanistan has experienced a highly centralized political order which became the main protagonist for collapse of state. Instead of debating, it is better that Afghanistan pilot decentralization in four provinces as a policy and draw its lessons from it.

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