What Is Federalism?
Federalism is a mode of government that combines a general level of government with a regional level of sub-unit governments, while dividing the powers of governing between the two levels of governments. Part of the Technocratic family.
Definition
Federalism is a mode of government that combines a general level of government with a regional level of sub-unit governments, while dividing the powers of governing between the two levels of governments.
Definition quoted from Wikipedia: Federalism (text available under CC BY-SA 4.0; checked October 20, 2026).
Core ideas
- Divided sovereignty.
- Regional self-government.
- Constitutional protection of each level.
Associated thinkers and leaders
James Madison, Alexander Hamilton
Core ideas, origins and thinkers: Atlas summary.
Where Federalism sits on the Atlas maps
| Map dimension | Score (0–100) | Position | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Collective / planned ↔ Market | 65 | near the center | |
| Social Progressive ↔ Traditional | 40 | near the center | |
| Authority Libertarian ↔ Authoritarian | 22 | toward libertarian | |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 51 | near the center | |
| Foreign policy Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 39 | near the center |
All nine underlying dimensions
| Dimension | Score | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Economic ownership Collective ownership ↔ Private ownership | 66 | toward private ownership |
| Civil liberties Civil liberty ↔ State restrictions | 33 | toward civil liberty |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 51 | near the center |
| Social and cultural values Progressive ↔ Traditionalist | 44 | near the center |
| Political governance Democratic ↔ Autocratic | 11 | strongly toward democratic |
| Equality and hierarchy Egalitarian ↔ Hierarchical | 48 | near the center |
| Economic management Free market ↔ State planning | 37 | near the center |
| Military intervention Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 39 | near the center |
| Religion and government Secular state ↔ Religious authority | 30 | toward secular state |
These positions are estimates on the Atlas’s nine-dimension scale, produced by running the tradition’s core principles through the same questions and scoring used for test-takers. They are interpretations for comparison, not objective measurements. How scores are made.
Estimated positions on key questions
| Statement | Position | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Opposition parties should be free to compete in elections. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Religious doctrine should take precedence over civil law when they conflict. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| People should be free to criticize the government without fear of legal punishment. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Central economic planning is preferable to decentralized market decisions. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| The means of production should ultimately be owned collectively. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Preserving a historic national majority is a legitimate immigration objective. | Disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Society works best when established social hierarchies are respected. | Disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Military power should be used proactively when serious external threats are emerging. | Disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Same-sex couples should have the same right to marry as opposite-sex couples. | Agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| The government should be able to monitor private communications to prevent crime. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
Related ideologies
Main differences from the closest ideologies
- Compared with Civic Republicanism, Federalism sits 6 points further toward nationalist on the national identity dimension.
- Compared with Constitutional Liberalism, Federalism sits 15 points further toward nationalist on the national identity dimension.
- Compared with Ordoliberalism, Federalism sits 9 points further toward collective / planned on the economic dimension.
Figures with the closest estimated positions
Closeness of estimated positions only; this does not mean these people identify with Federalism.
Sources
Position last reviewed: not yet reviewed individually.