The imaginary line of secrecy and mistrust is called the iron curtain.
There could be several options for answering that question. I'd say one area of strength for the Articles of Confederation was that they encouraged coordinated, cooperative action between the states to resolve any disputes between the states. Another strength might be the establishment of a Department of the Treasury and Department of Postal Service so that money could be coined and mail service provided.
Meanwhile, there were also weaknesses, such as each state got only one vote, regardless of the size of the state. Also, each state could tax trade from other states -- there was no authority in the Confederation to regulate interstate commerce.
