АМЕРИЧКА ФЕДЕРАЦИЈА
AMERICAN FEDERATION

Summary/Abstract: The United States of America are the first contemporary federation in the world. Many solutions existing in its 1787 Constitution, and the dynamic practice of defelopment of federalism in that country served as a model constituting a series of federations, such as Argentina, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Australia. Experiences and theoretical achievements in course of more than two hundred years of functioning of American Federation are rather instructive even today, especially due to tire fact that they were the result of a great compromise between various political conceptions and views. Federalists supported the idea of establishing by individual states to the center — the Federation, while nationalists (anti—federalists) were for complete autonomy, namely full sovereignty of every state — member of the confederation. However, although federalists formally won, since the rights and role of the central authorities were emphasized in the 1787 Constitution, in addition to the state of law, the American Federation could not free itself of its confederal structure, so that for a long time to come it has functioned through conflicts between the member-states and the federal center over specific constitutional powers and competences. This was a period of so-called dual federalism, which lasted almost until the end of the XIX century. At the early nineties, with the emergence of industrial revolution and the creation of corporations, cartels, and large industrial companies, the role of central state apparatus began to rise although gradually. The present-day physiognomy and structure of the American Federation was definitely established by the end of the thirties of the XX century, and since then it has been functioning as a state with all elements of a clearly centralized power. However, event that process of federal centralization reached its peak in the mid-seventies — the time of economic difficulties and requests for greater liberalization of the economic processes. At present, the opposite process is developing through the requests for certain restriction of competences of the center of Federation and for the strengthening of the role of states, of local authorities, including the economic subjects in the power. This strategy of new federalism was launched in the period of president Regan and it is now gaining force within the framework of the USA.

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