Comparative models: Constitutions

Question 1

Where can the rational approach be seen in both constitutions?

Answer 1

In how individuals perceive their rights and strive for sovereignty

Question 2

What do individuals within the devolved regions and the states have in common?

Answer 2

They compete for sovereignty to secure their positions

Question 3

How did COVID demonstrate this?

Answer 3

The leaders of the devolved regions and the state governors adopt localised policies for dealing with the virus. In the US, all 50 states had a different approach as they rationalised what they thought was the best response for their state. In the UK, each devolved region had its own approach, distinct from England, who had its policies determined in Westminster

Question 4

What are US citizens able to rationally pursue in terms of rights?

Answer 4

Their right according to the BoR to prevent both state and federal government from encroaching upon their freedom

Question 5

Give a recent example of this

Answer 5

The 2018 Carpenter vs US case which saw the SC decide that accessing someone’s cell phone location data is equivalent to a 4th amendment search and requires a warrant

Question 6

What has recently enabled citizens to better fight for their rights in the UK?

Answer 6

The passing of the HRA in 1998

Question 7

Give an example of a UK citizen fighting for their rights using the HRA?

Answer 7

Supermodel Naomi Campbell declared press coverage of her stay in rehab as intrusive to her right to a private life and in a landmark decision the coverage was declared illegal (Campbell vs Mirror group newspapers 2004)

Question 8

How do checks and balances and the separation of powers allow greater access points for democratic participation?

Answer 8

It means they have more access points to lobby a large range of institutions via interest groups at both the state and federal levels

Question 9

Why are there fewer access points because of the UK constitution and what does this mean for citizens?

Answer 9

There are fewer access points because sovereignty is located centrally, so considerable lobbying is done in Westminster

Question 10

How has this somewhat changed since devolution?

Answer 10

It is also rational for individuals and groups to target the Welsh Senedd, Holyrood or Stormont

Question 11

How can the cultural approach be seen in the two constitutions?

Answer 11

In how the culture and history of a nation explains how individuals have acted collectively in perceiving their rights and competing for sovereignty

Question 12

What does the cultural history of the US constitution and BoR reflect?

Answer 12

The clear intent of the Founding Fathers to limit the concentration of power and preserve individual liberties

Question 13

What was the US constitution therefore forged within?

Answer 13

The cultural context of the late 18th century

Question 14

Explain how this was the case for the founding fathers when coming up with the constitution

Answer 14

Having escaped the control of a restrictive monarchy where sovereignty was in the hands of the few, and individual rights were at the whim of the ruling elite, they created a constitution that was largely a reaction to that repressive regime

Question 15

Whose cultural values did the US constitution reflect?

Answer 15

The social elite that had created it, who wished to be the new ruling class

Question 16

How was the UK constitution created in a different way?

Answer 16

It was the gradual product of a different culture

Question 17

Why is the UK constitution not the product of revolution in the same way as the US constitution?

Answer 17

The national and political upheaval in late 18th century America had not been seen in Britain since the Norman Conquest. Even the English civil war of the 17th century had failed to have similarly long lasting effects on the constitution as the monarchy was restored and evolutionary development continued

Question 18

The UK constitution has evolved but still contains elements of its feudal past like…

Answer 18

The House of Lords and Royal Assent

Question 19

What do both constitutions have in terms of culture?

Answer 19

Cultural expectations

Question 20

How do American citizens understand their constitution?

Answer 20

Most have a broad understanding of their rights and the constitution, in part because constitutional awareness is part of their education system and historical narrative. There is an acceptance that the constitution is difficult to amend and that SC rulings act as informal updated to the constitution

Question 21

How do British citizens understand their constitution?

Answer 21

They have a hazier understanding of their constitution partly because of its peripheral place in the education system. There is a sense of leaving constitutional changes to parliament, which is no surprise considering the importance of parliamentary sovereignty

Question 22

Where can the structural approach be seen?

Answer 22

In how the political process, laws and systems, as set out in both constitutions, affect how individuals have perceived their rights and competed for sovereignty

Question 23

What does the structural nature of the codified and entrenched US constitution mean?

Answer 23

It means the US constitution is significantly harder to amend than the UK’s

Question 24

Why is the US constitution described as rigid?

Answer 24

Because it is so hard to amend, having only been amended 27 times

Question 25

Why is the UK constitution described as flexible?

Answer 25

Because it is regularly and easily altered, with the 2011 Fixed Term Parliaments Act and the 2020 European Withdrawal Agreement both showing how there can be major changes to the constitution through simple Acts of Parliament

Question 26

What does the separation of powers in the US mean for the three branches?

Answer 26

It means that three branches of government are structurally equal, meaning no branch can dominate

Question 27

How does the constitution make the UK SC weaker?

Answer 27

Parliamentary sovereignty means that it can only declare Acts of Parliament ultra vires, lacking the constitution power of the US SC, which can declare laws and executive actions unconstitutional

Question 28

How do the constitutions arguably make the job of the PM easier than that of a president?

Answer 28

The fusion of powers between the UK legislature and executive means that the PM usually dominates parliament. The separation of powers in the US means that the president cannot dominate congress in the same way, especially in times of divided government

Question 29

How are the two bicameral created by the respective constitutions different?

Answer 29

In the US, the direct election of both chambers and their equal legislative powers often lead to disagreement and gridlock in passing legislation in a way not seen in the UK. The UK constitution allows the elected commons to structurally dominate the unelected lords. The Parlaiment Acts of 1911 and 1949 asserted the primacy of the commons