Federalism means the method and the form of dividing the powers of the central and unit governments in such a way that both remain coordinateand independent within their spheres of powers. It is confronted with several problems. They are variously solved in different federations. The most important of them are:
A satisfactory distribution of powers.
Every federation is confronted with the problem of distributing powers between the federal union and the component units in such a way that the central government remains efficient while the diversity and autonomy of the component units are secure. In other words, the problem is that the centripetal forces for integration should not be so strong as to impair or destroy the autonomy and
State as a whole and of the uniformity of laws and policy compel the centre to enter into relations with the units in such matters as administration, finance and legislation. These relations are of several kinds. They are established by law or by usage. The American Constitution provides that the Federal Government guarantees to each Federating State republican form of government and protection against invasion. Some of these relations are established by usage. For instance, the Federal Government in the U.S.A. gives grants-in-aid to the component States for the development of agriculture, vocational education etc.
It is not binding on the State to accept i.e. but if once it receives that grant-in-aid, it binds itself to federal control in respect of the activities for which it received the money. In administrative matters, the relation between the two governments arises regarding the question of enforcing the federal laws. In U.S.A. and Brazil, the Federal Government enforces its laws by means of its Federal officials. This duplicates the administrative services and increases the expenses of the State inasmuch as there are two civil services, the federal and the local. In German and Swiss Federations, the federal laws are executed by the officials of the unit governments. The federal government maintains only such services which are its exclusive functions, e.g., the foreign or military services.
A satisfactory method of amendment The federal constitution is supreme over both the centre and the units and, therefore, it should be so framed that neither of them could amend it against the interest and consent of the other. This can be done in the following way: firstly, by making it impossible to amend the constitution by either the Centre or the Units alone: secondly, by making it rigid, that is, by providing that it could be changed only by a different and difficult process of amendment from the ordinary legislative process: thirdly, by giving a share to both the Centre and the Units in the amendment procedure so that neither the centre nor the larger units could bring a change in the constitution without the participation and consent of other units.
Secession. One of the problems of a federation, which may even become a danger to its existence, is that of secession. A federal State is an agreement between two or more sovereign States to join together into a union which creates a new sovereign State. But the question is: Has any one or more of the component units the right to break away or secede from the federal union and become once again a sovereign State? This is the problem of secession. It is not merely an academic question. It has been a cause of the Civil War in the U.S.A. during 1861-64 and of a brief civil struggle in Switzerland in 1847. Even today it is a cause of political struggles and tensions in several federations, as, for instance, in the Indian Union, the Dravidian Deccan, the Nagas, Sikhs and Kashmiris are agitating for secession and independence from India. HoweVer, none of the federal constitutions in the world, except that of the Soviet Union, recognises the right of the component units to secede from the federal union.