The structure of the American political system

Tomorrow's class topic is the structure of the American political system, the hallmark of which is the dispersal of power -- both across levels of government (national, state, local) and across different branch institutions (Congress, presidency, courts) within the national level.

Federalist Paper #51 is James Madison's defense of this diffuse structure. Like #10, this piece offers a theoretical argument about how institutions are best designed to counteract flaws in human nature; when we read it in class tomorrow, think about how well it applies in practice to the "real world" of American politics.

While both federalism (different levels of government) and separation of powers (different branches within levels) are key elements of American political system's structure, we'll be focusing mostly on federalism tomorrow (we'll come back to the separation of powers next week). As Smith points out in The American Anomaly, federalism can prove very useful for governing very large and/or diverse countries because it promotes both effective centralized coordination and sensitivity to regional differences. But, there are potential downsides as well -- most notably inefficiency and confusion about which level of government is responsible for dealing with emergent situations.

Federalism was at the heart of the controversies leading up to the Civil War that nearly tore the United States in half during the 1860s. During the 20th century, the national government's interventions in policy areas like social service provision (e.g. social security and welfare) and civil rights brought federalism again to center stage in American politics. In recent years, federalism continues to figure prominently in political debates surrounding many policy issues. Here are just a few examples:

• Education
• Disaster relief
• Healthcare (pdf)
• ID cards