The powers of the federal executive have been growing steadily in the United States since Lincoln’s War, which destroyed the limited, coordinating government that had existed in DC up to his time in office and replaced it with a powerful, centralized entity that could stomp upon the States with impunity. Proof of this may be seen in the numbers of executive orders issued by the presidents. Prior to Lincoln’s War they were quite rare, not even totaling 20 in most cases. After that tu...| Abbeville Institute
Here’s a good legal Rule Of Thumb: whenever anyone makes a federalism argument concerning any dispute, do not take them seriously. It’s a mug’s game. The Venn Diagram of “people who argue for federalism” and “people who lack control over the federal government” is pretty much a perfect circle. And the positions will completely flip … Continue reading "Federalism Is For Suckers, Part The Millionth"| Legal Planet
I have been a big advocate for decentralized power, which in our American context has been connected to “states’ rights;” the most prominent period and example being the American Civil War, where the Southern states resisted centralized federal control and both fought for and applied to their Constitution a strong decentralized states’ rights policy.| Abbeville Institute
(Version française disponible ici) Monster wildfires tear through vast stretches of territory and force entire communities to flee. Thick smoke chokes urban centres hundreds of kilometres away. It’s an all-too-common summer scenario for Canadians today. However, even as climate change fuels more frequent and intense wildfires, governments can reduce the damage and protect lives and livelihoods with […]| Magazines – Policy Options
(Version française disponible ici) At a glance, the seven priorities outlined in Prime Minister Mark Carney’s mandate letter to his cabinet ministers may seem entirely disconnected from environmental concerns. Issues such as housing, economic growth, national security and immigration may appear to be separate from climate change or biodiversity loss. But that idea is both artificial […]| Magazines – Policy Options
Modern fantasy/scifi seems to not feature many federal countries (or as we will call them, “federations”)—that is, countries made up of several subunits such as states or provinces, eac…| Building Worlds
Support for a North American Indigenous trade coalition would leverage the continent-wide potential of Indigenous trading networks. It’s a win-win-win.| Policy Options
Our vision ensures that our tools, however powerful, remain servants of the permanent things that make us human.| The American Mind
(I write a monthlyish opinion piece for Barron’s. A shorter version of this post appeared there in June 2025. My previous pieces are here.)| J. W. Mason
Danielle Smith’s Bill 54 makes it dramatically easier to launch referendums, fuelling separatist movements amid fierce Indigenous opposition.| Policy Options
The Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment provides that when the government takes private property for a public purpose, it must compensate the property... The post “Background Principles” and the General Law of Property appeared first on Harvard Law Review.| Harvard Law Review
I’ve written the fourth in a series of six posts that will be coming out with the Streit Council, on the problem of economic integration without political union. There’s no paywall. You can read it…| Benjamin Studebaker
I’ve written the third in a series of six posts that will be coming out with the Streit Council, on the problem of economic integration without political union. There’s no paywall. You can read it …| Benjamin Studebaker
The criminal law power is a legislative power allocated to Canada’s federal government via the Constitution Act, 1867. More specifically, section 91(27) of this Act gives Parliament exclusive jurisdiction over “The Criminal Law, except the Constitution of the Courts of Criminal Jurisdiction, but including Procedure in Criminal Matters.”[2] This means that legislation that falls within […]| Centre for Constitutional Studies
John C. Calhoun was a brilliant political theorist and distinguished politician, and a noted champion of rights for minorities. The importance of his thoughts is reflected both in the doctrine of states’ rights, as well as in relation to the federal system which serves as a textbook example of effective state management. Calhoun was also one of the first to observe that constitutional provisions which set limits on government powers, if open to interpretation, will almost always be in favor...| Abbeville Institute
Badger Institute : Passing the amendments would give Wisconsin’s 33 state Senators and 99 state Assembly members, elected by you, a say in where huge sums of federal money go. It doesn’t get much more democratic than that.| Badger Institute
I have a new favorite song. I discovered it during the promotional build-up to the annual football contest between two worthy academic institutions: The University of Michigan and The Ohio State University. I don’t know whether the song has a title, but it is sung to the tune of “ The Old Grey Mare” (she ain’t what she used to be ):| Abbeville Institute
Gregg Jarrett like most of the “journalists” on Cable TV writes a book and, apparently, as part of his remuneration, can market the book through the cable broadcast (marketing is the backbone of selling books). In this case, he has written something called The Trial of the Century.| Abbeville Institute
