Citizenship Grade 10 Unit 5: Federalism in Ethiopia

Federalism

• Federalism is a system of government where power is divided between a central authority and regional or local governments.
• It involves a high federal court adjudicating disputes concerning federalism.

Federalism vs Federation

• Federalism is a principle or system of government where power is divided between a central authority and regional or local governments.
• Federation is a specific form of government that is based on the principle of federalism, with a central government and a number of regional governments or states.

Types of Federalism

• Laws made by states (regions) usually apply to the respective regions, while laws by federal legislatures apply to all states.
• In con-federal arrangements, the central government has no direct authority over citizens’ life.
• In federations, the federal government has direct authority over citizens by legislating rules and laws.
• Federations can be classified as Dual federalism and Cooperative federalism.

Dual Federalism

• Dual federalism is a system where government authority is clearly divided between state and national governments.
• It is also known as Layer Cake Federalism.
• State (regional) governments have their own powers, where the central government could not intervene.
• State (regional) governments controlled almost all aspects of individual citizens.
• The national (central/federal) government had authority over internal improvements, international relations and regulations of those relations, determining commercial aspects between the states, etc.
• Advantages of dual federalism include protection of local jurisdictions from federal Government overreach, prevention of too much power in the federal government's hands, and allowing local laws to develop and reflect the requirements and wants of local constituents.
• Disadvantages of dual federalism include tension between state and federal government, decreased cooperation between the federal and state governments, and reduced efficiency of programs that require full cooperation from both governing bodies.

Cooperative Federalism

• Cooperative federalism requires state and national governments to share power and collaborate on overlapping functions.
• The federal government gives tax revenue to the states in order to fund interstate highways.
• States are allowed to govern the construction and maintenance process in accordance with goals set by the national government.
• It is also known as marble-cake federalism.
• Federal, state, and local governments interact and cooperate in this system.

Federalism in Ethiopia

• Federalism in Ethiopia is a system of government where power is divided between federal and regional governments.
• Devolution, the principle of federalism, means to transfer power to the region that constitutes the federation.
• The devolution of power makes neither the federal nor the regional governments supreme.
• Power is coordinated between the center and the region to help to avoid a monopoly of power.