Chapter 2 Great Britain. Flashcards
Fiefdom
Land king grants to nobles in exchange for support.
Celts
Pre-Roman inhabitants from Europe.
Exchequer
Britain’s treasury minister.
The continent
British term for mainland Europe.
Mixed monarchy
King balanced by nobles.
Magna Carta
1215 agreement to preserve rights of English nobles.
Parliament
When capitalized, Britain’s legislature, now usually meaning the House of Commons.
Lords
Upper House of Parliament; now much less important than commons.
Commons
Lower House of Parliament: the elected, important chamber.
Anticlerical
Wants to get the Roman Catholic Church out of politics.
Common law
System of judge made law developed in England.
Precedent
Legal reasoning based on previous cases.
Republic
Country not headed by a monarch.
Commonwealth
A republic; also organization of countries that were once British colonies.
Republican
In its original sense, a movement to end monarchy.
Crown
The British government
Prime minister
Chief of government in parliamentary systems.
Minister
Head of a major department (ministry) of government.
Whigs
Faction of parliament that became liberal party.
Tories
Faction of parliament that became Conservative party.
State of nature
Humans before civilization.
Civil society
Humans after becoming civilized: modern usage: associations between family and government.
Conservatism
Ideology of preserving existing institutions and usages.
Reform acts
Series of laws expanding the British electoral franchise.
Welfare state
Political system that redistributes income from rich to poor. Standard in west Europe.
Reform act of 1832
Allowed more of the middle class to vote but still only expanded the electorate by half, to about 7% of adults.
Statute
Ordinary law, usually for a specific problem.
Dignified
In bagehot’s terms, symbolic or decorative offices.
Efficient
In bagehot’s terms, working, political offices.
MP
Member of parliament
Junior minister
MP with executive responsibilities below cabinet rank.
Portfolio
Minister’s assigned ministry.
Fusion of powers
Connection of executive and legislative branches in parliamentary systems; opposite of u.s separation of power.
Government
A particular cabinet, what Americans call “the administration.”
Whip
Parliamentary party leader who makes sure members obey the party in voting.
Backbencher
Ordinary MP with no executive responsibility.
Vote of no confidence
Parliamentary vote to oust prime minister.
By election
Special election for a vacant seat in election.
Whitehall
Main British government offices.
Westminster
Parliament building.
Opposition
Parties in parliament that are not in the cabinet.
“Two plus” party system
Two big parties and several small ones.
Single member district
Sends one representative to parliament.
Plurality
Largest quantity, even if less than a majority.
Proportional representation (PR)
Electoral system of multi member districts with seats awarded by the percentage by the parties that win.
Majoritarian
Electoral system that encourages a dominance of one party in a parliament, as in Britain and the United States.
Social class
Layer or section of population of similar income and status.
Working class
Those paid an hourly wage, typically less affluent and less educated.
Middle class
Professionals or those paid salaries, typically more affluent and more educated.
Meritocracy
Promotion by brains and ability rather than heredity.
Public school
In Britain, a private boarding school, equivalent to a U.S prep school.
Periphery
Nation’s outlying regions.
Center periphery tension
Resentment in outlying areas of rule by the nation’s capitals.
Rhodes scholarship
Founded by South African millionaire; sends top foreign students to oxford.
Class voting
Tendency of classes to vote for parties that represent them.
Civility
Good manners in politics.
Center peaked
Distribution with most people in the middle, a bell shaped curve.
Center seeking
Tendency of political parties toward moderate politics calculated to win the center.
Authority
Political leaders’ ability to be obeyed.
Malthusian
Theory that population growth outstrips food supply.
Home rule
Giving a region some autonomy to govern itself.
Hooliganism
Violent and destructive behavior.
Orangemen
After King William of orange (symbol of Netherlands royal house), northern Irish Protestants.
Party image
Electorate’s perception of a given party.
Party identification
Psychological attachment of a voter to a political party.
General election
Nationwide vote for all mp’s.
Hung parliament
One in which no party has a majority of seats; requires a coalition.
Seat
Membership in a legislature.
Constituency
The district or population that elects a legislator.
Central office
London headquarters of British political party.
Safe seat
Constituency where voting has long favored a given party.
