US Federalism

Comparative Politics – Federalism and Devolution

In this course, Dr Andrew Blick (King’s College London) explores the similarities and differences between federalism in the United States and devolution in the United Kingdom. In the first module, we summarise the key characteristics of US federalism, before moving on in the second module to summarise the characteristics and historical context of devolution in the UK. In the third module, we explore the extent to which devolution in the UK can be compared to a federal system, such as that we see in the US, highlighting the similarities between the two. In the fourth module, we explore the limitations on such comparisons, highlighting the ways in which UK devolution and US federalism can be seen as substantially different.

US Federalism

In this module, we explore US Federalism, focusing in particular on: (i) various definitions of federalism; (ii) US federalism as division of responsibilities; (iii) select examples of powers handled centrally at federal level, e.g. foreign policy, and powers handled mostly at state level, e.g. education policy; (iv) the advantages of this system for states in the US, particularly in enabling political representation.