To Know Objectives: AP Comparative Government--United Kingdom
Institutions
Describe the basic functions of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of United Kingdom.
1. Describe the institutional arrangements and interactions of the branches of government in United Kingdom. (Is there a fusion of power between the executive and the legislature? If so, how? Is there a separation of power between the executive and the legislature? If so, how? To what degree is the judiciary independent? How is this exemplified?) The UK has three branches of government and runs as a parliamentary system (different from the presidential system). In this system the legislative branch and the executive branch are fused. They are a unitary state meaning political authority is centralized in London. The cabinet which is chosen by the prime minister from members of parliament (MOP) is the center of policy making in the UK. There is then no separation of power between the executive and legislative branches. Though the legislative is split between the house of commons and the house of lords, the house lords has only the power to delay legislation and debate technicalities of bills. Lastly the judiciary is independent of the executive and legislative but has limited powers, for example it does not have the power of judicial review.
2. Describe the recruitment of elites in United Kingdom. (How do political leaders make their way into government office and how do they rise? What are common characteristics of these leaders in terms of class, gender, ethnicity, religion, education, etc.?) The recruitment of leaders in the UK occurs through a vote within the party that gains majority in the elections. Each party (the conservative, labour, and liberal democrats) elects a candidate to run for a single member district winner take all or “first past the post” system. This type of system of reduces the influence of minor parties which is why we see a majority two party system and why the liberal democrats have difficulty gaining seats in parliament. The party that gains the majority of seats in Parliament is the party in power and their elected party leader becomes the Prime Minister. Common characteristics of MPs is the demographic of party affiliates. Many of the members of the conservative part come from “public schools” and the upper classes of UK society. Whereas the Labour party appeals to the middle classes and therefore their MP’s typically come from less privileged “private schools”.
3. Describe the influence of the military in the political systems of United Kingdom. The military plays little to no role in the political systems of the UK. For example, when Tony Blair chose to back the the US after the 9/11 terror attacks; that was a decision made by him without influence.
4. Describe the political party system of United Kingdom. (Is the system a one-party, multi-party, dominant party or two-party system? How was this created? How is it exemplified? What is the impact of this system on how the regime governs?) There are many political parties in the UK but because of the single member district, first past the post system, it makes for a two party system in Parliament. So the effect is that smaller parties like the Liberal Democratic Party have difficulty allocating seats in the House of commons. This system is then exemplified by the two dominant parties, the conservative and labour part which appeal to the upper and middle classes respectively.
5. Describe the distribution of governmental powers in United Kingdom. (Is the system unitary, federal, confederal or some type of hybrid system? How are regions represented in the national government? How much sovereignty do regional and local governments have? How is this exemplified and what are recent trends of how power is distributed throughout the system?) The United Kingdom is a unitary system meaning that authority is centered in London. Though Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have a degree of autonomous power that is devolved from London.
6. Describe the effectiveness of the civil service. Describe the methods of recruitment of civil servants in United Kingdom. (Is recruitment of bureaucrats based on merit or other factors? Why?) There are thousands that deliver public services and administer laws. They can even act as advisers to ministers which is considered a ‘top level’ job and they have a lot of input into policy making. Recruitment is largely based on merit since there is fairly low amounts of patron-clientelism in the UK.
7. Describe the role that a written constitution serves in United Kingdom. -The constitution is a sum of all their laws and principles. It describes the relationship between the individual and the state and describes the function of the legislative, judicial, and executive branch. They don't have one set document, they pull from many different documents and fuse them together. Citizens, Society and the State
8. Describe the state’s relationship with politically relevant social cleavages in United Kingdom.
-Social cleavages the are relevant right now is ethnicity. They try and accommodate for these cleavages by giving sovereignty to certain ethnic groups such as the Scottish and the Welsh.
9. Describe the status of civil society in United Kingdom by describing United Kingdom’s relationship with civil society.
-Civil Societies are very relevant in the UK. Because of the freedoms of speech and other guaranteed rights. The UK has a good relationship with civil societies.
10. Describe the role of the news media in United Kingdom by describing United Kingdom’s relationship with the news media.
-The media has the support of the UK government. They are encouraging the free use of media to increase transparency in the government. Even though the government is encouraging the freedom of media, there is still a complex relationship between the media and the government because media has the ability to blow certain things out of proportion or draw the reader to only certain aspects of an issue.
11. Describe formal methods of political participation in United Kingdom.
-People can join political parties, run for elections and try and become a member of parliament. People can also start a formal petition that parliament has to take seriously. There is also way to participate through media, because of freedom of speech an media because can write anything they want about the government and others can write letters to the editor in response.
12. Describe informal methods of political participation in United Kingdom.
-People in the United Kingdom gain political efficacy through protests and mass media, keeping governmental transparency. Protests can occur in many manners, including: all out riots, marches, and boycotts. Previous protests and violence in Ireland and riots during 2011 are both examples.
13. Describe the political efficacy and culture in United Kingdom. Analyze trends in political efficacy and culture from the last 50 years.
-The main tradition of governmental transparency has resulted in many citizens holding politicians responsible for many actions/policies. People in the United Kingdom believe themselves to have a substantial amount of political efficacy, as shown in large numbers of voter turn out, an increasing acceptance to protest as seen in the 2011 riot, and belief in transparency.
14. Describe notable elements and trends of political socialization in United Kingdom. -Many elements of political socialization in the UK occur through ethnicity and social class and the views of one's family, along with changes in governmental policies towards citizens. Political socialization also occurs through the actions of the party in power, and how the shadow cabinet and media react. Political and Economic Change
15. Describe the interactions between the political system of United Kingdom and economic trends. Analyze the impact of economic reforms (including efforts to nationalize and privatize segments of the economy).
-Government reforms in marketing affect the stability of the nation economically, with things such as changes in political philosophy from Keynesianism (a more socialist view) to neo-liberalism (movements toward a more laissez-faire, free-market approach to the economy).
16. Describe the impact of regime changes in United Kingdom.
-Regime changes have very little impact in the running of the nation as a whole, transferring power occurs seamlessly from one party to the next through the direct elections of the people.
17. Describe the status of democratization in United Kingdom.
-Democratization occurs in the UK in a sense of the government attempting to incorporate the wishes of the people into governmental reforms. Moving the nation to a better reflection of what the people want.
18. Analyze the impact of changes in economic development (including income equality, delivery of services, standards of living and education levels) in United Kingdom.
Recently the UK economy has shifted from a manufacturing economy to a more decentralized government with components made up of
19. Analyze the impact of globalization and economic interdependency in United Kingdom. Describe the impact of globalization on governmental sovereignty and religious, cultural and ethnic identities in United Kingdom. Public Policy
20. Describe the interest aggregation of United Kingdom. Analyze how these political systems weigh the input of varied interests on policy making in United Kingdom. (Which groups get what from the United Kingdom government? Why?)
21. Describe the status of the social welfare state in United Kingdom.
22. Describe the impact of economic liberalization policies in United Kingdom.
23. Describe the status of protected individual liberties in United Kingdom.
24. Describe the status of policies related to gender rights, civil rights, environmental protection and population growth in United Kingdom.
25. Describe the relationship that United Kingdom has with supranational organizations (including the EU, ECOWAS and the WTO.) Describe the relationship that United Kingdom has with international organizations (including the EU, WTO, G8, WB, IMF, OPEC and the UN.) Describe the impact of these relationships on United Kingdom’s governmental sovereignty.
26. Describe how United Kingdom has responded to any movements to fragment its territorial sovereignty. The UK recently has been adamantly against movements to fragment its territorial sovereignty. The most recent example of this is Scotland. Scotland has wanted independence and to break apart from the United Kingdom.
27. Be able to compare any of the above objectives with Nigeria, Russia, China, Mexico and Iran.)