History of World Federalism
What is World Federalism?
The term federalism comes from the Latin foedus (agreement) and postulates the stipulation of a binding contract between the parties.
World federalism requires the relinquishment by nations of certain sovereign powers in favor of an international organization, as well as a sharing of competences between the intergovernmental entity and the Member States.
Forms of Federalism
There are different forms of federalism such as traditional federalism and confederalism.
Traditional federalism is the model adopted by the United States, in which the States relinquish their sovereignty to the federal government, which in turn represents them in front of other nations.
It constitutes a centralized model of federalism, in which State laws are subject to the federal Constitution.
The most decentralized model of federalism is the confederation of States, or confederalism, which differs from traditional federalism in that the States have a higher degree of power and freedom
The European Union can be considered an example of such system of government, because its Member States preserve their sovereignty even though they relinquish part of it to the community’s authorities in specific matters.
The Federalist Papers
In the Federalist Papers, James Madison theorized a form of federalism in which the States preserved their sovereignty.
In his vision of federalism Madison affirmed the State right to declare a federal law unconstitutional, as expressed in the Virginia Resolution of 1798.
the difference between federalism and confederalism is based on the degree of State independence from the central authority.
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