Constitutional scholars Christopher P. Banks and John C. Blakeman offer the most current and the first book-length study of the U.S. Supreme Court's "new federalism" begun by the Rehnquist Court and now flourishing under Chief Justice John Roberts. While the Rehnquist Court reinvorgorated new federalism by protecting state sovereignty and set new constitutional limits on federal power, Banks and Blakeman show that in the Roberts Court new federalism continues to evolve in a docket increasingly attentive to statutory construction, preemption, and business litigation

1. "A Notably Conservative Court?"Plan of Book2. Federalism Politics & Policies: Old, New, and Progressive TrendsFederalism at the FoundingThe Evolution of Federalism JurisprudenceThe Founding and Nascent NationalismThe Civil War, Dual Federalism and the Rise of Economic NationalismThe Rise of the Democratic Welfare State Through Cooperative FederalismThe Judicial Role in New Federalism Politics3. The Rehnquist Court, New Federalism, and States' RightsThe Politics of New FederalismRehnquist New FederalismRevolutionary and Counter-Revolutionary TrendsDormant Commerce ClauseProcess Federalism and Clear Statement RulesNew Federalism and the Constitutional Culture4. Federalism, Justice Clarence Thomas, and Religious Freedom in the StatesThe Rehnquist Court and Religious LibertyJustice Clarence Thomas and Establishment Clause FederalismHistorical Roots and Contemporary Approaches to Establishment Clause FederalismAssessing Establishment Clause FederalismThe Constituencies of Establishment Clause FederalismCongress and the ExecutiveRecent Developments in Federal LawThe Executive BranchState and Local GovernmentsInterest GroupsChurchesPublic Opinion and American Religious LifeReligious Liberty, Federalism, and the Roberts Court5. Federalism and GlobalizationFederalism, the Constitution, and Foreign Policy PreemptionStructural Shift from AboveStructural Change from BelowThe U.S. Supreme Court ResponseThe Sidelined CourtThe Confined CourtFlexible, Pragmatic Foreign Policy PreemptionDivided Court?Conclusion6. The Roberts Court and New FederalismFederalism and the New Roberts Court AppointmentsNew Directions of Federalism in the Roberts CourtStatutory Construction Cases: PreemptionConstitutional Cases: The Eleventh Amendment and Commerce ClauseConclusion