The British Case
Why study the UK?
• State (origins and threats)
• Political Economy
• Electoral systems
• Institutional arrangements
• Parties and ideologies
Which matters most?
• Structures?
• Agents?
• Institutions?
Structures
Institutions
Hands Off Our Clocks
Actors/Agents
Gordon Brown Tony Blair Margaret Thatcher
Labour Party PM Labour Party PM Conservative Party PM
2007-2010 1997-2007 1979-1990
Actors/Agents
David Cameron Nick Clegg Ed Miliband
Conservative Party Liberal Democrats Labour Party
2015 Elections
BLUE; Conservative. RED; Labour. PURPLE; UK Independence Party (UKIP)
YELLOW; Liberal Democrats GREEN; Green Party
source
Actors/Agents
Nicola Sturgeon
Scottish National Party
Harriet Harman
Labour Party
Leanne Wood
Plaid Cymru (Wales)
David Cameron
Conservative Party
Suzanne Evans Sal Brinton
UK Independence Party Liberal Democratic Party
Eras of British Political Economy
– Collectivist consensus (Keynesianism)
– Thatcherism (Neoliberalism)
– The third way
– Return to Conservatism and austerity
Figure 2-1 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STATE, REGIME, AND GOVERNMENT
The State
• centralized authority
• monopoly of violence over a given territory
• sovereignty
– ability to carry out actions independently of
internal/external challengers
– borders
– fixed territory recognized by other states
• set of institutions that work to achieve basic
goals of equality and freedom
Institutions
State Institutions
• Branches of government: legislature,
executive, judiciary (and courts)
• The crown (royal family/Queen)
• The bureaucracy: ministries, departments,
offices, agencies, bureaus
• Army
• Police
State as Political Organization
• Institutionalization of conflict
– Balancing freedom and equality
• Developed out of a specific historical context
• Now the only legitimate political organization
Development of the State in UK
• State: parliament, crown, unitary system
• Developed over long period of time
– Issues of control
– Relationship of church/state
Comparing States
• Legitimacy
• Strength
• Capacity and autonomy
Capacity and Autonomy
• Capacity: ability of states to get things done;
fulfill tasks
• Autonomy: ability to act free from direct
public interference
• Too high autonomy and capacity leads to
authoritarianism; too low, to state failure
• Both depend on the issue at hand—might
have autonomy or capacity in one area but
not another
Regimes
• State v. regime
• Regime types: democracy v. non-democracy
• Regime values expressed in constitutions
Development of the Regime in UK
• Regime-type: democracy
• Components of the regime: liberal democracy,
parliamentary sovereignty, constitutional
monarchy, party discipline
• Developed gradually
– Rise of parties
– Expansion of suffrage
Government
• Leadership, elite, “administration”
David Cameron
Conservative Party
Figure 2-1 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STATE, REGIME, AND GOVERNMENT
The House of Commons
• Lower house of Parliament
• 650 members, 650 districts
• Single Member Districts, First Past the Post
elections
The House of Commons
• Lower house of Parliament
• 650 members, 650 districts (Single Member
Districts)
• Voters choose party (rather than individual)
• 5 year terms (fixed as of 2011)
• Duties: pass laws, approve government
policies, table vote of no confidence
The House of Lords
• Upper chamber of Parliament
The House of Lords
• Upper chamber of Parliament
• Unelected – hereditary peers, life peers, law
lords, archbishops of Canterbury and York,
senior bishops of Church of England
• Final court of appeal for civil cases and
criminal cases in England, Wales, Northern
Ireland
• Amend and delay legislation
• Reforms introduced by Blair
Prime Minister
• Fusion of powers
– Must be an MP
• Head of government
– Picks the cabinet
– PM + cabinet = executive branch
• 5 year term limit
• Subject to vote of no confidence
Prime Minister
• Fusion of powers
– Must be an MP
• Head of government
– Picks the cabinet
– PM + cabinet = executive branch
• 5 year term limit
• Subject to vote of no confidence
Cabinet of Ministers
• Must also be members of Parliament
• Formulate policy
• Answers to parliament
• Collective responsibility
Actors/Agents
Nicola Sturgeon
Scottish National Party
Harriet Harman
Labour Party
Leanne Wood
Plaid Cymru (Wales)
David Cameron
Conservative Party
Suzanne Evans Sal Brinton
UK Independence Party Liberal Democratic Party
Eras of British Political Economy
– Collectivist consensus (Keynesianism)
– Thatcherism (Neoliberalism)
– The third way
– Return to Conservatism and austerity
