- Describe the primary differences in the role of citizens in government, among the federal, confederation, and unitary systems.
- The different in the role of citizens in government is that in the federal systems, its citizens have rights and their own responsibilities in every layer of government. However, power is split between the central government as well as the regional authorities, and each have their own leaderships. The confederation systems, the people are loyal and will align with their state or region, but the decision-making is usually decentralized. The citizens of the unitary systems are engaged with the central government and the entities on the regional level receive their authority from it, with limited autonomy.
2. Briefly explain how you understand the system of division of power.
- The system of division of power is how authority is split up between the three branches (executive, legislative, and judicial). This division is set in place to avoid one entity from having too much power and dominating or potentially abusing its power. The point is for there to be checks and balances so all entities are held accountable.
3. How does the federal government shape the actions of state and local governments? Write your answer based on doing a bit of research on how the federal government has influenced the actions of NY state and local governments, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- During the pandemic, New York’s state and local governments were influenced by the federal government through the CDC’s recommendations on how to “stay safe” and other agencies like it, there were policies put in place on traveling and getting vaccinated, and the biggest influence was funding and how and where it was being distributed.
