State constitutions have long played an important role in American government, yet they are often neglected in K-12 classrooms.
In a federal democracy, how should voters get to choose their representatives? What roles should elected representatives play in deciding who will elect them? This digest explores redistricting controversies across America’s federated election system.
Christian G. Fritz has written Monitoring American Federalism: The History of State Legislative Resistance (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023). Fritz traces the development of interposition and nullification in American politics.
The Environmental Protection Agency has announced that the process of revising the meaning of "waters of the United States" is at final rule outreach after going through, among other processes, the federalism consultation period.
Austin Sarat contends that judicial federalism should have led the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to finding a constitutional right to suicide
Donald F. Kettl predicts which issues will test American federalism in 2023.
Jack Fiander explores the constitutional origin of federal-tribal relations in the United States.
In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022), the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade (1973), thus returning basic abortion policy to the 50 states, District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.
Professor Karthick Ramakrishnan, UC Riverside speaks on the national significance of California’s progressive federalism.
John Pearce welcomes guest Dr. John Kincaid, political scientist at Lafayette College, for a broad discussion about our governmental system in today’s world.
The Center’s commitment to the study of the American states dates back to Daniel J. Elazar’s pioneering work, American Federalism: A View From the States, first published in 1966.
The Center for the Study of Federalism (CSF) is a nonpartisan, interdisciplinary research and education institution dedicated to supporting and advancing scholarship and public understanding of federal theories, principles, institutions, and processes as practical means of organizing power in free societies.
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Most political and public issues in the United States are influenced to some extent by its federal system. Yet many do not understand that system. The CSF website seeks to foster a better understanding among the general public and scholars of federal governing systems generally and, specifically, of the federal system of government in the United States of America.
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Federalism is American government’s best kept secret. Its influence is pervasive and profound. Though not mentioned in the Constitution, federalism’s meaning and application have been at the center of disputes from 1776 to the Civil War to our current culture wars. We are scholars who focus on federalism, and through this podcast, we explore how federalism, from practice to theory, shapes our politics, policies, culture, society, and daily life.
Federalism’s influence on American government, culture and society is pervasive and profound, yet often unexplored. This short podcast examines single, practical topics to show how federalism’s influence is real and relevant in average citizens’ daily lives.
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