Введение

Учебно-методическое пособие предназначено для студентов 3-го и 4-го курсов факультета международных отношений, обучающихся по направлениям подготовки и специальностям «Международные отношения» и «Регионоведение». Данное пособие рассчитано для продвинутого этапа обучения английскому языку и ставит следующие цели: углубление языковых знаний и понимания оригинального английского текста, расширение словарного запаса, совершенствование навыков устной речи, а также анализа аутентичных общественно-политических текстов.

Пособие представляет собой сборник аутентичных текстов, знакомящих студентов с государственным устройством США и политическими партиями. Особое внимание уделяется развитию профессиональных навыков ведения дискуссии по современным проблемам американского общества, внешней политике США и положению страны в современном мире.

Подобранные тексты снабжены комплексом упражнений, направленных на дальнейшее совершенствование языковой, речевой и профессиональной подготовки студентов, а также навыков перевода в сфере профессиональной коммуникации.

UNIT I

American federalism

Part 1. What is Federalism?

Warm-up

Work in groups. Discuss the following questions. Share your ideas with your groupmates.

1. What ways of organizing a nation according to the territorial division do you know?

2. Why is federalism a rather unusual system of governing?

3. How many nations of the world have a federal system of government?

Reading

Read the text and say what ways of organizing a nation there exist.

Federalism is a way of organizing a nation so that two or more levels of government have formal authority over the same area and people. It can also be defined as a system of shared power between units of government.

Although federalism is not unique to the USA, it’s not a common method of governing. Only 11 of the 190 or so nations of the world have federal systems of governing, and these countries, which include Germany, Mexico, Argentina, Canada, Australia, India, Russia and the USA, share little else.

Most governments in the world today are not federal but unitary governments, in which all power resides in the central government. If the French Assembly, for instance, wants to redraw the boundaries of local governments or change their forms of government, it can (and has). However, if the US Congress wants to abolish Alabama or Oregon, it cannot.

American states are unitary governments with respect to their local governments. Local governments get their authority from the states; they can be created or abolished by the states. States also have the power to make rules for their own local governments. They can tell them what their speed limits will be, the way in which they should be organized, how they can tax people, what they can spend money on, and so forth. States, however, receive their authority not from the national government, but directly from the Constitution.

There is a third form of governmental structure, a confederation. The USA began as such, under the Articles of Confederation. In a confederation, the national government is weak and most or all power is in the hands of its components – for example, the individual states. Today, confederations are rare except in international organizations such as the UN.

The workings of the federal system are sometimes called intergovernmental relations. This term refers to the entire set of interactions among national, state and local governments.

Scanning

Answer the following questions.

1. What is federalism?

2. What way of organizing a nation is a common method of governing in the world? Why?

3. What is the difference between a federal government and a unitary government?

4. Why are American states called unitary governments?

5. Do American states receive their authority from the national government?

6. What is a confederation?

7. Why are confederations rare in the world?

8. Why are the workings of the federal system are called intergovernmental relations?

Speaking

Study the following table and prepare the summary of the text.

	Unitary	Federal	Confederate
Central government	Holds primary authority Regulates activities of states	Shares power with states	Limited powers to coordinate state activities
State government	Few or no powers Duties regulated by central government	Shares power with central government	Sovereign Allocate some duties to central government
Citizens	Vote for central government officials	Vote for both state and central government officials	Vote for state government officials

Part 2. The US Federalism

Warm-up

Discuss the following questions in groups. Share your ideas with your groupmates.

1. Why did the US Founding Fathers create a federal system of government?

2. Where do both levels of government derive their powers from?

3. How can you comment on the following statement: “Federalism within the United States system is the balancing of power between a Federal Government and State Governments”?

Pronunciation

Watch the pronunciation of the following words and word combinations:

• unattainable

• attainder

• legitimacy

• endow

• assigned

• enumerated

• concurrent

Reading

Federalism refers to the division of governmental powers between the national and state governments. The Founding Fathers created a federal system to overcome a tough political obstacle. They needed to convince independent states to join together to create a strong central government. Writing to George Washington before the Constitutional Convention, James Madison considered the dilemma. He said that establishing “one simple republic” that would do away with the states would be “unattainable.” Instead, Madison wrote, “I have sought for a middle ground which may at once support a due supremacy of national authority, and not exclude the states.” Federalism was the answer.

Under federalism, both state and national governments may directly govern through their own officials and laws. Both levels of government derive their legitimacy from the Constitution, which endows each with supreme power over certain areas of government. Both state and federal governments must agree to changes in the Constitution. Both exercise power separately and directly over the people living under their authority, subject to the limits specified in the U.S. Constitution, the supreme law of the country. The Constitution and acts of the national government that conform to it are superior to constitutions, laws, and actions of state and local governments.

In the American federal system, the national (federal) government has certain powers that are granted only to it by the Constitution. The 50 state governments also have powers that the national government is not supposed to exercise. For example, only the federal government may coin money or declare war. Only the state government may establish local governments and conduct elections within the state. Some powers are shared by both federal and state governments, such as the power to tax and borrow money. Some powers are denied to the federal and state governments, such as granting titles of nobility and passing bills of attainder.

The individual states all have republican forms of government with a senate and a house. (There is one exception, Nebraska, which has only one legislative body of 49 senators.) All have executive branches headed by state governors and independent court systems. Each state has its own constitution.

In the American federal system, the powers of the national government are limited. However, within its field or range of powers, the national government is supreme and modern judicial interpretations of the Constitution have expanded federal responsibilities. But the states can neither ignore nor contradict federal laws and the Constitution. The core idea of American federalism is that two levels of government (national and state) exercise power separately and directly on the people at the same time. Under federalism, the state of Indiana has authority over its residents, but so does the federal government based in Washington, D.C. Indiana residents must obey the laws of their state government and their federal government. Federalism is a central principle of the Constitution, but the balance of power between the state and national governments was not defined exactly at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Since then, debates about the rights and powers of states in relation to the federal government have continued.

Federalism within the United States system is the balancing of power between a Federal Government and State Governments. Within this system the Federal Government is superior to the State Governments. For example, a state could not pass a law that directly contradicted a law passed on the federal level. Within these principles, power is divided among the federal and state governments. The US Constitution specifically states what types of powers are to be granted to what governments.

• Delegated Powers - To delegate means to specifically assign, in this case delegated powers are those powers specifically assigned to the Federal Government. The founding fathers feared a national government that would overstep its bounds, so they took care to only allow the national government very specific powers. These are also referred to as enumerated powers.

• Reserved Powers - To reserve is to save, in this case all powers not specifically delegated to the Federal Government are to be reserved or saved for the State Governments.

• Concurrent Powers - Concurrent means "at the same time", in this case concurrent powers are those that both the federal and state governments have simultaneously. 

• Implied Powers - These are powers that are NOT specifically delegated in the Constitution, but are understood to be necessary or allowed. The elastic clause or necessary and proper clause allows these by stating that Congress has the power "to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers" (art. I, sec. 8). Examples include:

• Hamilton's creation of the National Bank - no power to create banks is delegated the Federal Government, however it was deemed necessary and proper to form a bank to aid in Congress's power to coin money and regulate the economy.

• Regulation of Railroads, Shipping, Highways - Congress is delegated the power to regulate interstate trade and as such it is implied that Congress also has the power to regulate interstate transportation by which interstate trade is made possible.

• Denied Powers - These are powers that are specifically NOT allowed to either the federal or state governments. Again, this listing of denied powers was a specific way in which the founding fathers attempted to create a limited government.