Bureaucracy refers to a system of government in which national or state officials make most of the important decisions such as government or economic policies. In a bureaucratic government, the state officials make policies instead of such policies being made by elected representatives. It also refers to an administrative or political system in which non-elected officials of the government implement rules and laws that govern the state.
According to Blindenbacher and Koller (2011), the historical development of bureaucracy can be traced back to Egypt and India, nearly ten thousand years ago, when farmers and businesspersons started interacting through trade. Since then, bureaucracy has rapidly grown into governments, national institutions, and international organizations. For example, during the twentieth century, most governments had adopted the bureaucratic style of leadership.
On the other hand, federalism refers to a form of governance in which power is shared between the national government and the state or provincial governments (Blindenbacher & Koller, 2011). Through federalism, power is shared between the governments; hence, the rule of democracy applies.
In my view, federalism has led to devolution of power within governments. Through federalism, citizens can now exercise their electoral and constitutional rights by electing representatives to the federal government. Through federalism, state governments today have their representatives in the federal government to push for implementation of specific policies, hence reducing chances of poor governance that has been prevailing within the national government due to bureaucracy. Through federalism, power is divided between the national and state governments.
However, in the recent past, most political leaders and activists have been pushing for adoption of democratic style of leadership. This is whereby the citizens elect all members of a governing body. It is believed that democracy would enhance transparency in leadership and governance. I would also argue that federalism has resulted into a balance of power between the national government and the state or provincial governments. It has also led to mutual and cooperative relationships between national and state governments.
In conclusion, it is worth noting that federalism has led to decentralization of power and hence decreased bureaucracy.
