Le fédéralisme en tant que remède à l’état de guerre : l’exemple des États-Unis

Two main aspects of American federalism are examined: firstly, while American federalism sprang from a particularly realistic concern for inter-state relations, it led to the emergence of an intrinsically idealistic project which consisted in taking an ever increasing number of States into a single federation spanning an immense territory. That this utopian ambition was eventually accomplished is an indication of how incredibly successful American republican federalism proved to be. Secondly, federalism in the United States is closely linked to national identity, as it was conceived in opposition to Europe where States were absolutely sovereign which resulted in a permanent state of wa