It&#x27;s odd that you say &quot;federalism is a non-starter for the US at the present day,&quot; since that is exactly the system we have in the United States. Individual states are responsible for much (most?) of the government of their citizens, while the Federal Government takes care of higher-level tasks like war, as you mentioned.<p>it&#x27;s in the constitution, the 10th amendment: &quot;The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.&quot;