Federalism and Separation of Powers - Essay Example

Federalism and Separation of Powers College: Federalism and Separation of Powers Federalism is a typical government system in the United States that endows the central government and regional government with a big share of the sovereignty powers. On the other hand, separation of powers is a government revolution system that seeks to bring a balance between democracy and the sovereignty of the government by sharing power between the legislative, executive and judicial arms of the government. Government reformists have advocated for the separation of powers as a process of expressing democratic liberty of the people in the United States and reducing the government dominance in the state affairs.

This structural change in the government is embedded in the articles 1-3 of the US constitution and its main agenda is to reduce the tyranny within the country and to control government powers. This essay seeks to analyze the difference between federalism and separation of powers and hence their influence on the current state of governance. In a federal system, the national government grants power to the states government to apply own strategies in their own state and to induce innovation according to the laws of the state.

In other words, each state is a free entity and is free to exercise own policies and to engage in diverse government cultures as they deem fit for the people of the particular state (Gerston, 2007). The advocates of this system support it on the ground that it is the best practice that is only effective in managing a diversified population such as one that exists in the United States, and that it allows the local people to have a better access to their leaders (Topher, 2007). In addition, each state is allowed to be creative and to learn from other states that are successful.

In this system, the country government reserves most of the powers and acts by controlling power in the United States. However, the federal government has the disadvantage that it allows a non-unified policy implementation which often brings out confusion among the people, and that power control is minimal. The effect of the separation of powers is that the three branches of the government would act as a check and balance mechanism to protect the people over power abuse. Any policy would have to be analyzed by each branch of the government before its implementation.

There is quite a difference in the two systems of power sharing with regard to the current system of power sharing in the US government. For instance, in the federal system, the citizens in overlapping states may be faced with confusion and they may be subject to any varying state policies. With the separation of powers, a unified system is established and the people a common rule will unify the people in the United States (Madison, 2012). The demerit of this reformed structure is that the people would have less chances of interacting with the government or even contributing to the policy development.

In this view, although the separation of powers provides democracy through limited power sharing and the development of a unified system, it kills it by creating a government that is far from the people. From this analysis, it is possible to perceive separation of powers as a powerful structural adjustment that just like any other reforms has its own disadvantages. While the federal government bestows sovereign power to the state and country government, separation of power creates more power control by establishing unified policies that are approved by the various branches to ensure that abuse of power is minimal.

In my opinion, separation of powers is a superior policy that would grant the people with liberal democracy and unify together as people of the same country. It is not surprising, as Krane and Koenig (2005) note, that the current political leaders in US do not regard federalism as a key factor in their campaigns.In conclusion, separation of powers is a structural reform that intends to unify the people and regulate the use of power (Madison, 2012). By sharing power among the three arms of the government, it is possible to minimise power abuse that is evident where the country government possesses the absolute power against the state government in a federal structure.

In brief, the advantages of this system far much outweigh the merits of the federal system, and hence justify its implementation. ReferencesGerston, L., (2007). .American Federalism: A Concise Introduction. New York, United States: M.E. SharpKrane, D., & Koenig, H. (2005). The state of American Federalism, 2004: Is federalism still a core value? Publius, 35(1), 1-40, 188.Madison, J., (2012). Separation of Powers. Chicago: University of Chicago PressTopher, R., (2007). Federalism: The Advantages and Disadvantages of Federalism.

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