Federalism

Traps in Federalism

• Confuses Ghanaian constitutional history
  Burns 1946: African unofficial majority in Legislative Council. Coussey 1951: led to Nkrumah as Leader of Government Business. 1957 independence; 1960 republic (Nkrumah president); 1992 Fourth Republic.
• Picks the wrong country or place
  Learn the place with its distinguishing fact (OPEC HQ: Vienna; founded in Baghdad). Read whether the stem asks where something began or where it is now.
• Confuses federal and unitary systems
  Federal: powers divided CONSTITUTIONALLY between centre and units (Nigeria, USA). Unitary: power concentrated at the centre, which may delegate (Ghana, UK).
• Reverses the principle or its effect
  Ask what problem the principle is meant to solve; the right answer serves that purpose, the reversal defeats it.
• Picks a closely related concept
  Learn related terms as contrasting pairs with one-line definitions, then identify which one the stem describes.
• Confuses electoral systems and bodies
  Franchise = right to vote. First-past-the-post: highest votes wins a constituency. Proportional representation: seats in proportion to votes.
• Gives only one part of the concept
  Recall the full definition and check the option covers it, not just one component.
• Misunderstands local government
  Local government is government at the grassroots by locally elected councils with defined powers and revenue. Deconcentration transfers tasks to field officers of central ministries; devolution transfers powers to elected local bodies.