Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

CAPS > UK > Flashcards

UK Flashcards

1
Q

2 central cleavages

A

class and region

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

least important cleavage

A

religion

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Political institution

A

parliamentary majoritarianism (majority rule + parliamentary sovereignty)
|—> Prototypal case;
|—> Originated the “Westminster(-Whitehall)” model;
|—> Single-member electoral districts ——leads to——> 2 party systems;
|—> Single party cabinets;
|—> Cabinet dominance;
|—> Unicameralism (de facto);
|—> Unitary government (de jure/by law);
|—> No written constitution and (for long time) no judicial review;

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

constitutional monarchy

A

ceremonial role
- Paid civil servants (the government allocates a budget to cover the royal family’s expenses,
and the queen/king spends much of her time signing papers, dedicating public works, and
performing diplomatic functions);
- Although they select the head of government, the choice must always be the leader of
majority party in the lower house of parliament;
- Bill in 2011 abolishing male precedence in royal succession
- Support from the population until nowadays;

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

House of commons (parliament)

A

650 districts, power is concentrated here.
- Represents individual districts;
- Maximum of 5 years in power;
- Political parties matters more than individuals in the elections;
- Debate issues;
- Participate in legislative committees (though these are less powerful than their U.S.
counterparts);
- Vote on legislation proposed by the government;
- Power to propose measures;
- Power to remove the prime minister and the cabinet through a vote of no confidence.
- Is one of the most powerful parliaments in current democracies (doesn’t have much checks
and its laws are constitutional);

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

House of lords

A
  • Over 800 members;
  • Life peers (appointed by the crown on advice from the government);
  • Hereditary peers (right to seat from generation to generation) - recently reformed to only 92
    hereditary peers, elected by the totality of extant hereditary lords;
  • The effective power of this house has been limited over the years due to its undemocratic
    system;
  • Oversees and can ask for changes in proposals from the House of Commons but not veto
    them;
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Prime minister and cabinet (government)

A
  • Head of government;
  • Can stay in power for a maximum of 5 years;
  • Must be elected as MP and is the head of the larger party in the lower house;
  • Must appear in the legislature weekly for a televised question period, during which they must
    defend government policies and answer questions from MPs;
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

judiciary

A

common law tradition, no codified laws, verdicts of judges become laws, no checks by judiciary.
- Supreme Court was created in 2009;
- The judges in the Supreme Court are appointed by the crown and accepted by the
government for lifetime;
- The judges were appointed by the crown;

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Supreme court

A

Institution that checks if new laws are in line with constitution (turning point in history), members are also members of the house of lords

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Electoral system

A

Single member districts/First past the post -> Winner takes all

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Regional elections

A

MMP in Scotland and Wales, STV in Northern Ireland

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Conservatives (year and direction)

A

Founded in 1834, moderate right/pragmatic conservatism

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Conservatives (ideology)

A

Free market liberalism, law and order, traditional values, unionist(opposing devolution) and EU skepticism

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Labour (year and direction)

A

1990, moderate socialism or social democracy(Fabianism)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Labour (ideology)

A

Welfare state, state onwership industry, internationalism, post material issues, multiculturalism

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Liberal democrats(Year and direction)

A

1988, merger between liberal party and social democratic party

17
Q

Liberal democrats (ideology)

A

Economic liberalism, Individual freedom, welfare state, Pro EU, democratic reforms(electoral system), anti interventionists(Iraq war)

18
Q

Brexit and UK politics

A

Geographic insularity, majoritarian democracy, regional cleavage, transnational cleavage.
Most brits regret Brexit, more polarization

19
Q

Voorkennis

A

The UK is an island country - which throughout history as served as a shield, since it makes it
harder for its opponents to attack or invade the country.

20
Q

Major political developments

A

I. Magna Charta - foundation of rule of law (1215);
II. Independent (Anglican) Church of England (1534);
III. Bill of Rights - parliamentary sovereignty (1689);
IV. Expansion of the Empire - Colonisation (17th century);
V. First prime-minister (1721);
VI. First wave of decolonisation (Post WW1);
VII. Women suffrage (1928);
VIII.Second wave of decolonisation (Post WW2);
IX. Joining the European Economic Community (1973);
X. Supreme Court (2009);
XI. Brexit referedum (2016);

21
Q

Religious cleavage

A
  • Henry VII created the Anglican Church, which was controlled by the state (1534);
  • Religion plays a very weak role in contemporary politics of the UK (besides the Catholic
    (lower class) VS. Protestant (higher class) divide in Northern
    Ireland);
22
Q

Class cleavage

A
  • Central cleavage in British politics;
  • Product of the Industrial Revolution (started in 1750);
  • Politically relevant after the extension of suffrage (1885 and 1928);
  • Its relevancy was reduced with the welfare state;
  • Partial overlapping with a regional/centre-periphery cleavage (which highlights the
    differences of the 4 nations that compose the UK);
23
Q

Government - cabinet

A
  • Appointed by the prime-minister but is dependent on parliamentary confidence
    (parliamentarism);
  • Composed by 20 members that were elected MPs for the lower or upper house (usually from
    the lower);
  • Remain MPs;
  • Collective responsibility (even when individual cabinet ministers oppose a given policy, the
    entire cabinet must appear unified and take responsibility for the policy);
  • Tradition of single-party, bare majority cabinets;
    |
    |—>Exceptions:
    1978-1979: Liberal - Labor pact;
    2010-2015: Conservative - Liberal Democratic coalition;
    2017-2019: Conservative minority government with DUP support;
24
Q

Local government

A
  • May be considered a unitary state in which no formal powers are constitutionally reserved
    for regional or local government.
25
Q

Electoral system

A
  • Single Member District (SMD) / First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) - “The winner takes it all” system;
    |
    |—> Disproportionally —> Has a negative impact on small parties;
  • Plurality system;
  • In regional elections: Mixed Member Proportional
    Representation in Scotland and Wales and Single Transferable vote in Northern Ireland;
  • Debate on electoral system reform —> 2011 referendum on
    “Alternative voting” which failed by 67,9%;
    |
    |—> “Alternative voting” system: voters order the candidates
    they would like to see elected (single-member
    candidate);
26
Q

Devolution and regionalism

A

Northern Ireland
- Catholics have been excluded from politics for many years;
- “The Troubles” (1960-1998) - violent conflicts between nationalists and unionists;
- 1998: Good Friday Agreement - new power-sharing assembly;
- 2006: St. Andrews Agreement - extension of power;
- Regular deadlock;
Scotland
- 1998: Scotland Act;
- 2012 and 2016: Extension of powers;
- 2014: Referendum of Scottish independence (“No” wins by 55,3%);
Wales
- 1998: Wales Act;
- 2011 and 2017: Extension of powers;

27
Q

Brexit timeline

A
  • 1973: EEC accession;
  • 2015: general election - absolute majority for Conservatives;
  • 2016: Brexit vote - Cameron resigns;
  • 2017: May triggers Article 50;
  • 2019: May loses parliamentary votes (Brexit delays and May
    resigns);
  • 2019: Tory electoral victory;
  • 2020: UK leaves the EU;
28
Q

Brexit determinants

A

|—> Geographical insularity;
|—> Majoritarian democracy;
|—> Globalization cleavage;
|—> Strong difference in support across regions and age groups;

29
Q

Affective polarisation

A
  1. In-group identification based on a shared opinion.
  2. Differentiation of the in-group from the out-group that
    leads to in-group favourability and out-group
    denigration.
  3. Evaluative bias in perceptions of the world and in
    decision making.

CAPS (10 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions