Britain Flashcards
(25 cards)
Bureaucracy and the branch it’s associated with
Government administration made up of non-elected officials that are responsible for helping to implement government policies over a number of areas. Executive branch.
Three characteristics of a bureaucracy in a liberal democracy
Clear goals
Task specialization
Hierarchical authority structure
Importance and influence of bureaucracy on policy making
- ability to influence because they are the ones implementing it
- especially difficult for govts to get rid of bureaucracy
Quangos and their purpose
non governmental organizations which along with govt officials and help develop public policies
hold a solid amount of government
One major change in the UK’s bureaucracy since 2010
In order to help with budget cuts, they eliminated many quangos
Two common criticisms of the UK’s bureaucratic system
Issues of accountability, easy to influence leaders. intense structure of rules can sometimes create inconsistencies
Welfare State
Part of govt where state aids in the protection of economic and social wellbeing of its citizens
Can the UK still be considered a welfare state
Moderately still a welfare state
protection of the health care system
many industries are still privatized
Contrasting attitudes of liberal democrats, tories and new labour party towards welfare state
Tories don’t really support welfare system
Liberal Dems support a moderate welfare staye
New Labour Party would like more of a welfare state
Two threats in looming welfare state
Fringe politics are on the rise which means that they would either strongly support/not support welfare state
Increasing population due to refugee issue which could put too much pressure on welfare budget
Homogenous
Consistent, same culture and people in the population
Heterogenous
Multi ethnic groups which make up the population
Three ethnicities that currently impact British politics
Northern Irish, South Asian, British-African
One way the govt attempts to accommodate ethnic demands
Freedom of religion and association
Granting powers of regional govt to localized ethnicities like Irish, Scottish and Welsh
Two examples of where ethnicity has led to conflict
Brixton Riots - Led by multicultural youth angered by alienation in society
“7/7” attacks - British muslim youth blew themselves up in the subway, killing 56
Is the UK a consensual or conflictual political culture
Cross cutting cleavages in society which make it more consensual, apart from the occasional disruption
Supranational Organization
Multinational union involved with political powers, which deals with and negotiates with different political powers.
Can the UK be considered a supranational organization
UK can’t be considered a supranational organization because regional powers are united under one power which ultimately controls the navy and military, whereas a supranational organization couldn’t do that
Purpose of the EU
To create harmony between the dense amount of countries on the European continent. Issues are handled in debates rather than at war
Benefit and drawback of UK being in EU
no longer free trade with European countries.
Cost saving because the UK will no longer have to set aside money to go to the EU budget
How the UK integrated into the EU and how it didn’t
Common agricultural policy Different currency (sterling vs euro)
Contrast attitudes of Tories and New Labour in regards to EU
NL supports EU, and wants to integrate further
Tories want to be more sovereign and split instead
Voting system and party system
First past the post and the majority govt with a two party system
Have attempted to reform to Proportion Representation but lack major party and broad support
Elections
Free, fair, regular and competitive
