Federalism and Foreign Policy: Do the States have Rights‪?‬

Throughout history the American nation has been significantly altered by the decisions of the Supreme Court which has been responsible for the correct interpretation of the most important American document: the United States Constitution. Especially concerning the separation of powers among the different governmental branches legislature, judiciary, and executive and the subdivision of power between the federal government and the governments of the constituent states, a lot of decisions had to be made. The rulings of the Highest Court of the United States shaped the country and its future considerably and delegated more rights to the federal government. This paper will investigate in particular the question if the member states of the federal union do have rights in regard to foreign policy or if they are completely subordinate to the decisions of Congress. Beginning with an explanation of the term federalism, I will try to give a brief overview over the American governmental system. Following that, I will take a closer look at the basis of the American government – the U.S. Constitution and the delegation of powers it attends to. The third part then deals with U.S. foreign affairs, the constitutional background it is based on, and moreover the role Congress plays in foreign policy-making. Subsequently, in the next chapter, the focus will be on the constituent states and their special role within the federal union and in this context I will consider predominantly their possibilities to have an influence on foreign affairs matters. Finally, the thesis will consider two of the most important cases that have been ruled by the United States Supreme Court: the opinions in Chae Chan Ping v. U.S. – ‘The Chinese Exclusion Case’ – and U.S. v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp. have been among the most significant decisions concerning U.S. federalism and have been of great importance for the role of the states in foreign affairs. To conclude, I will summarize the results that fo llow from this work.