ABSTRACT
This Chapter two explores the tensions inherent in the United States constitutional system and how those tensions converge and are at least partially managed in the practice of collaborative governance. The chapter grapples with the philosophical and practical conflicts embedded in the Constitution itself, as well as with the complexities created by multiple levels of government responding to critical needs and a rapidly changing societal context. First, the chapter begins with an overview of the values at stake in the United States Constitution, particularly the roots of divided government and what they mean for the practice of both traditional and collaborative governance. Second, the chapter explores how collaborative governance can serve as a safety valve to mitigate against some of the worst potential side effects of divided government and how some form of collaborative governance is necessarily embedded in the constitutional system. Finally, the chapter examines the practice of collaborative governance and how the details of that practice can bolster—rather than undermine—constitutional and democratic values.
