1. At the federal level, citizens can vote in state and federal elections where the elected officials represent the people’s interests. Most commonly the republican and democratic parties. Being called upon to participate in the government lets it be to serve on a jury, testify in court, or petition your congress person to pass or defeat an idea for a law. In a confederation, citizens are able to maximize regional self-rule at the expense of effective national governance due to their power in voting. Authority is concentrated in the states. In a unitary system, citizens vote for subnational government representatives that are dependent on the national government where significant authority is concentrated. So citizens don’t have much of a say here.     

2. The system of division of power is the three branches of government that power is split into to prevent any branch from holding too much power. The Legislative branch is runned by the US Congress who creates and exercises the laws. The Executive branch is led by the president who enforces the laws. And the judicial branch interprets laws as per the US District courts, appellate courts, and at the highest level the Supreme Court. The three branches serve the purpose of ensuring that the two levels of government are the national government responsible for handling matters that affect the whole country. Subnational or state governments responsible for handling matters that lie within their regions. Each branch can limit and check each other’s power to stay equally balanced. There is a separation of functions between the federal and state governments in which voters get to choose the leader at each level. 

3. Federal and State governments must cooperate to form an interacting network. The federal government offers and has used grants to influence state actions to work towards selected national goals. These grants can be subjected to strict administrative criteria that guide project selection, performance, and financial oversight. They can also be less stringent federal administrative conditions and provide recipients more flexibility over how to spend grant funds. At the same time the national government can reverse and cap the escalating costs of federal grant programs. Compensation to the states and local governments can be given in which they are credited. The federal government can also enforce unfunded mandates that are federal laws and regulations that impose obligations on state and local governments without fully compensating them for the administrative costs they incur. These mandates can shape the actions of the state and local governments to fully comply as they can face the threat of civil and criminal penalties or even suspension of federal grant policies. This can be costly and with limited relief to states and local authorities. For example during covid 19, the US Government was threatening to the loss of $53 million pandemic relief funds for disadvantaged students in the NYC public schools. As a result the Mayor and US Department of education joined in a lawsuit to take this case into court. It evolved into a complicated relationship among both powers to get into agreement.