Dear fc225,
In order for you to understand what it means, we shall start with the
explanation of what is "federalised", a term which is essential to our
understanding of the question.
To federalise, means "To subject to the authority of a federal
government; put under federal control." (The American Heritage®
Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, Copyright © 2000
by Houghton Mifflin Company;
<http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=federalize&r=67>).
Now, in the United States, every institution is subjected to the
constitution, and that includes institutions bellow the federal level
- States, counties and towns. This is the structure of the government.
In practice, political and social practices are affected by this
structural division. If we look at the political process in the United
States, we can clearly see that it is federalized.
Several examples might be in order. Let's start with legislation, at
the heart of the political process. This might be done on a
state-level, but must be subjected to Federal Constitutional
principles.
Lobbism, although it also takes place in the State level, is more
effective in many cases in the federal level.
If we look, finally, on social movements participating in the
political process, we see a variety of activities that go up to the
federal level. Therefore, on all levels of the political process, you
could see how activity is subjected to the structure of the system.
I hope this helped. I used the words "federal" and "political process"
in order to find an answer. If you need any clarifications on the
answer, please ask before you tip/rate it. |
