Cooperative federalism (1930s-1970s) is a concept of federalism in which national, state, and local governments interact cooperatively and collectively to solve common problems, rather than making policies separately but more or less equally (such as the nineteenth century's dual federalism) or clashing over a policy in a system dominated by the national government.

Comparisons Between the European Union and the United States

In the Lisbon Treaty the distribution of competences in various policy areas between Member States and the European union is redistributed in 3 categories. In the United States soon after its creation (1789), it had exclusive competences only(changed somewhat since then, but the basic design remain to this day). Competences not explicitly listed belong to lower levels of governance.

In the American federal system, there are limitations on national government's ability to carry out its policies through the executive branch of state governments. For example, in Printz v. United States, 521 U.S. 898 (1997) the Court held that the national government could not directly require state law enforcement officers to conduct background checks under the Brady firearms legislation. The court explained that prior decisions warned that "this Court never has sanctioned explicitly a federal command to the States to promulgate and enforce laws and regulations." And yet, there are significant advantages in a federal system to obtain state assistance in the local implementation of federal programs. Implementing such programs through national employees would significantly increase the size and intrusiveness of the national government. Moreover, local implementation may assure that these programs are implemented in ways that take local conditions into account.