The Implosion of American Federalism

Robert Nagel's book examines the Court's renewed interest in federalism and relates it to wider cultural issues. He argues that worries about political disunity are overrated: far from being in the throes of a return to a confederated system by giving power back to the states, the US is tied in a system of centralization more likely to implode than disintegrate.;Nagel takes the controversial position that the Court's small but highly controversial efforts at promoting decentralization are significant mainly in revealing a partial awareness of the powerful centralizing trend that is now in place.