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In the development of the state of Federalism existant in our Status Quo, and indeed inherent in astate/central government federalized system, a desired layer of Federalism in addition to the state/central dichotomy is missing or is dangerously weaker than desireable. This third layer is the uber-government of the world politic. In addition to state and federal soveriegnity and rights the power of the world as a government is lower than ideal.
Currently in the Status Quo most democratic/republican nations have a Federalism system, often modelled after the United States. Certain powers are guaranteed for the first politic, the federal government, and certain powers are guaranteed for the second politic, the state or provincial government. Many governments have a third layer of localites, but many of these function without real power, but only as another bearocratic layer that serves to benefit citizens. With the exception of education the locality in the United States serves no express function not able to be assumed by either the state and/or federal government. Many larger nations have a fourth layer existing between the state and the central power. The former Soviet Union had such a structure between the USSR government, member Republics, states within the republics and then localities. However in such a system one or both of the two intermediaries between the Federal Government and the localities is often very weak and negligible as a power center.
The neglected power level is the level of world governance, or the interactions between nations with no larger possible global grouping. National governments have long subscribed to a form of world governance in the respecting of treaties between nations as law, and with several binding organizations, like the former League of Nations, United Nations, GATT and WTO. These organizations function to foster cooperation between nations and so on. However, they control few aspects of power that play off against national or provincial power controls, and as such these organizations are just that: organizations. Not governments, not power levels but organizations subject to the whims of the member states.
The costs of rejecting a powerful world governence are staggering. When states incorporated themselves autonomously into a federalized regime, like in the United States or Switzerland, violence and warfare between the member states has become non-existent. A balanced federalism that included the third politic being the third layer of world governance, would inherently therefore have the power to subdue member nations aggression between themselves. For instance if a world governmental organization had the power to collect taxes and raise an army it could have a larger army than any nation. Therefore one nation could not attack another weaker nation due to the centralized world army's superiority. War on its face would become more obsolete than it is already. When you add the benefits of the World Government having the authority of ultimate Judicial Review and criminal justice, as well as world-wide democracy the prospects for an Adolph Hitler, Saddam Hussein or Slobodan Milosevic become unreal. Global stability on par with what Switzerland has experienced is not only feasible but assured with the adoption of the third politic.
Additional benefits could easily be recognized with such a strong third layer of federalism. The money saved by drastically reduced defense spending alone could fuel the costs of eliminating extreme poverty and starvation, eliminating many diseases, and even exploring/colonizing space. The threat of nuclear holocaust no longer would cast its shadow over the world, nor would the terrible plague of war. The only existing barriers apparent to any of these problems is money, international unity, and conservatism/isolationism inherent in nationalistic ideaologies throughout the globe. All could be solved with the savings of defense money and the vitalization of the ultra-poor and poor in war-torn and dictator embezzled nations.
The method of creating such an enhanced and more powerful layer of Federalism is not as radical as one might think. Much of the infrastructure is all ready available in the form of the United Nations and other multi-nation treaty organizations. Steps could be taken to revitalize the United Nations into a World Government on par with the Unites States' efforts to throw off the shakles of weakness imposed by the Articles of Confederation in its early history and take a significant step forward that has produced the most powerful, successful nation on the planet, all along remaining a democracy and representative in governance. A similar step could be taken in regards to the United Nations and a new, stronger third Federalism layer of world government. Like the conditions of the Constitution being ratified, the new world government will have substantial isolationist and inertial restraints that it must overcome. Hopefully, to ensure the freedom and prosperity of every human being, whether he or she is born in the United States, Nigeria, Serbia, or China, world leaders can have the same strength and courage as the United States framers did and can usher in a new Age of Equality, an Age of Justice, an Age of Prosperity and a new Age of Freedom.