Federalism is a mixed or compound mode of government that combines a general government (the central of “federal” government) with regional government in a single political system. Federalist form of government has several advantages, such as protecting us from tyranny, dispersing power, increasing citizen participation, and increasing effectiveness, and disadvantages such as supposedly protecting slavery and segregation and increasing inequalities between states. An upcoming challenge I see to federalism in the next decade is for the federal government to “stay within its own realm.” This means that the federal government will, at some point, push the states too far and overstep its boundaries.
l policies, influenced by globalist discourses, which operationalise the language of globalisation, are hegemonized into many societies, located within the European Union (Ayes, 2015; pp868). The adoption of these discourses (and many other factors, including the collapse of the Soviet Union), has splintered the traditionally established left/right political cleavage in Europe, which had previously consisted of divisions between capital and labour during the early-mid 20th century. The parameters of political thought in Europe, are now directed by socio-cultural issues, including immigration levels and threats to national identity (Rydgren, 2006; pp16).
The inability of established political parties to acknowledge these shifting social dynamics, or to envision credible solutions to these issues, has led to the development of a political niche within European society. This niche has made it possible for RRP parties to gain electoral support in many European countries. RRP parties attempt to progress the socialisation (dispersal throughout a citizenship), of the political conflicts caused by these issues (Schattscheider, 1974; pp7). This has created fertile ground for the articulation of a new discursive hegemony in Europe.
The European Union (EU) is a transnational economic and cultural partnership, nominally linked to globalisation. Some political agents believe that the EU symbolises the potential for the creation of a transnational (cross-nation) point of authority. This authority is believed to be encapsulated in various international institutions formed by the EU, like the European Parliament. It is also believed to be shown, in various pieces of deontic legislation passed by the organisation, such as European Union law. Deontic powers are the various obligations, duties, and authorizations attached to a subject position or written pieces of legislation, thus maintaining social order (Searle, 2010; pp9) Deontic modals in argumentation, refer to the various obligations and values a person must consider, before choosing an acceptable means-goal, to achieve a claim for action (Fairclough & Fairclough, 2013; pp42-43).
Attempts to constitutionalise the EU, have triggered portrayals of the union as a mere extension of globalisation and a threat to national sovereignty (Berezin, 2009; pp195). A constitutionalised EU would involve the dislocation of an agent’s national identity and would attempt to construct a unified Pan-European, multicultural, identity (a culturally integrated European identity overriding national identity). This Pan-European social identity is theorised to carry
