The Federal Nation: Perspectives on American Federalism (Studies of the Americas)

This volume gathers contributors from both the US and UK to provide a comparative examination of federalism in the Bush era, a period of huge change in national politics, but also one of significant shifts in US federalism in relation to social and socioeconomic issues. Contents 7 List of Figures 9 List of Tables 10 Contributors 11 Introduction 13 Part I: U.S. Federalism in National and Comparative Perspective 20 1 Federalism, the Bush Administration and the Evolution of American Politics 21 2 What a Difference a Few Decades Make: The Conservative Movement, Executive Power, and the Constitution in the United States 35 3 Canada’s “Open Federalism”: Past, Present, and Future 49 Part II: Intergovernmental Strategies in Contemporary Federalism 71 4 Three Faces of Contemporary American Federalism 72 5 Fragmented Structures and Blurred Boundaries: Strategies for Regional Governance 91 6 Congressional Devolution of Power 110 Part III: Inequality and Federalism 134 7 Hurricane Katrina, Racial Federalism, and the American State: A Tale Foretold? 135 8 The Politics and Policy of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program 152 9 Criminal Justice Policy Across the United States: Due Process in the Punitive Turn 172 Part IV: Uniformity and Diversity in Federalism 190 10 Gay Rights, the Federal Marriage Amendment, and the States 191 11 Clearing the Air: The New Politics of Public Smoking 211 12 Abortion, the Judiciary and Federalism in North America 227 13 No Child Left Behind: Federalism and Education Policy 244 Index 263 A 263 B 263 C 263 D 264 E 264 F 264 G 264 H 265 I 265 J 265 K 265 L 265 M 265 N 266 O 266 P 266 Q 266 R 266 S 266 T 267 U 267 V 267 W 267 Y 267 Z 267 Front Matter....Pages i-xiv Introduction....Pages 1-7 Front Matter....Pages 9-9 Federalism, the Bush Administration and the Evolution of American Politics....Pages 11-24 What a Difference a Few Decades Make: The Conservative Movement, Executive Power, and the Constitution in the United States....Pages 25-38 Canada’s “Open Federalism”: Past, Present, and Future....Pages 39-60 Front Matter....Pages 61-61 Three Faces of Contemporary American Federalism....Pages 63-81 Fragmented Structures and Blurred Boundaries: Strategies for Regional Governance....Pages 83-101 Congressional Devolution of Power....Pages 103-126 Front Matter....Pages 127-127 Hurricane Katrina, Racial Federalism, and the American State: A Tale Foretold?....Pages 129-145 The Politics and Policy of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program....Pages 147-166 Criminal Justice Policy Across the United States: Due Process in the Punitive Turn....Pages 167-184 Front Matter....Pages 185-185 Gay Rights, the Federal Marriage Amendment, and the States....Pages 187-206 Clearing the Air: The New Politics of Public Smoking....Pages 207-222 Abortion, the Judiciary and Federalism in North America....Pages 223-239 No Child Left Behind: Federalism and Education Policy....Pages 241-259 Back Matter....Pages 261-265 Federalism is often described as the greatest of the American contributions to the art of government, but it has been an evolving and protean entity since its original establishment in the Constitution. Based on the contributions of international scholars, this volume explores three facets of modern federalism : the vertical tensions over the distribution of authority between national and sub-national governments; the tensions between the national government's role as the instrument of policy uniformity throughout the nation and the inclination of the states to take different approaches to similar issues in light of their own political cultures; and the changing context of federalism in the more conservative political context of recent times. In addition, a number of the essays explore the Canadian model of federalism, which helps to place the U.S. model in comparative context