references

Shahi 1

Power Structure

During the one week period, I learned more about centralization of power vs. decentralization, dual vs cooperative federalism, and the effort of the national government expands its power base. This knowledge is personally important to me, and I communicated this knowledge with fellow students in which we discussed the differences between the centralization and decentralization of powers, dual and cooperative feudalism, and as well we looked at the ways the national government is seeking to expand its base of power. We note that centralization of power entails concentration of power only in one body or person while decentralization of power entails dispersal of the powers across the system instead of concentrating on one body or person. Also, we noted that dual federalism entails the distinct separation of the federal and state governments’ roles and powers while cooperative feudalism is where there is no clear line between the roles and powers of the federal and state government, and therefore cooperation is two-way traffic. This information widens my knowledge regarding various types of governments.

During the one week period, my political thinking has evolved in which I have understood the differences between centralization and decentralization of powers, dual and cooperative federalism, and expansions of the power base of the national government. I communicated these ideas and concepts with my fellow students and majority agreed with my ideologies that decentralization of powers is critical in ensuring effective governance and cooperative federalism ensures cooperativeness between the states and the federal government. Additionally, the national government seeks to expand its power base by influencing the decisions of the state governments.

During the one week period, I participated in a group discussion on centralization of power vs decentralization, dual vs cooperative federalism, and the effort of the national government expands its power base on which we noted on the advantages and disadvantages of each. This group consisted of the fellow students, and this discussion widened our understanding of the topics. This information is important to enlighten the political class on the effective structure of government (centralization vs decentralization and dual vs cooperative federalism).