federalism

Question 1

the US is federal today

Answer 1

-each state is able to decide upon and enforce a variety of laws
-the supreme court has ruled in favour of states against fed gov
-electoral practices vary + are developing
-political parties remain ‘broad churches’ as they have drastically different ideologies across the country
-appealing to the supreme court isn’t a right, state court remains important

Question 2

the US isn’t federal today

Answer 2

-the growth of the fed gov seems to encroach on state reserved powers
-the electoral college + house of representatives place great importance on a few states
-only the fed gov has the resources to deal with terrorist attacks
-the supreme court has also ruled for fed gov, further centralising power

Question 3

similarities between federalism and devolution

Answer 3

-US states are reliant on grants from the gov to supplement budgets, the 4 UK nations rely on money from the central gov
-the national gov maintains a degree of supremacy over regional govs
-both states + devolved regions have notable differences in legislation to other parts of their respective countries

Question 4

differences between federalism and devolution

Answer 4

-each state can have a vast array of varying legislation/criminal punishments, most of the UK criminal law is centralised
-the states have their sovereignty protected, devolved bodies can be removed by parliament
-UK devolved bodies have limited recourse to appeal to the supreme court, US states frequently challenge fed gov in the supreme court