The Westminster Model beyond Britain: The Legacies of Imperialism Flashcards
(25 cards)
What drove early British Empire expansion (1600s-1800s) and where were early settlements established?
Driven by mercantile activity -> i.e. the Slave Trade and East India Company
Settled first in American, Canada, Caribbean, Africa, India
Main rival in British territorial conflicts?
France
What major colonial loss occurred in the late 1700s and what regions were added in later expansion?
Lost America
Gained Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Africa
What administrative issue plagued the British Empire?
Was difficult to govern centrally from London -> rebellions were common
Which colony was first to gain self-government and which dominions followed?
Canada in the 1840s
Followed by Australia, New Zealand, South Africa
When did post-war decolonisation begin, and which country led it?
After 1945 and was led by India in 1947
When did British decolonisation effectively end?
With the handover of Hong Kong in 1997
What is the Westminster Model?
A system of parliamentary democracy exported by Britain to former colonies
What are the two WM pathways?
Transplanted - in settler colonies with self-government (i.e. Canada and Australia)
Implanted - in newly independent states (i.e. India and Kenya)
Did most colonies adopt a full Westminster Model?
No, most adopted adapted or hybrid versions
What is “Easminster”?
A regional variant of Westminster found in Asia
Which country quickly abandoned the WM?
Kenya
How did New Zealand change its WM system?
Introduced Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) in 1994 which reduced executive dominance
How does Barbados both follow and deviate from WM?
It uses FPTP and has strong executives, but includes bicameralism, judicial review and central bank independence
What two dimension are used to map WM systems and how many of the 36 democracies studied by Lijphart were former British colonies?
Executive-Parties and Federal-Unitary
14
Where do most of the former British countries cluster?
At 2 both executive-parties and federal-unitary dimensions (e.g. UK, New Zealand, Malta)
Which former colonies are far apart?
UK, Canada, and India at opposite corners
What is meant by “conceptual overstretch” regarding the WM?
The term WM is over used and poorly defined across over 35 countries
Has few shared features with many deviating from the ‘ideal type’
Caribbeans system the closest but still seen as caricatures
Widespread WM poses risk of perpetuating colonial legacy narratives
What early democratic effect did British rule have and what democratic norms did Britain promote?
British colonies often had an early democratic advantage
Britain promoted self-government and electoral institutions as democratic norms
How are Caribbean democracies describe today?
Flawed democracies with strong executive dominance
What did Lee & Paine (2019) find about democracy in former British colonies?
Their initial democratic edge faded -> British rule did not sustain democratic consolidation
What was the British Empire’s democratic legacy?
It influence global democratic forms and spread Westminster institutions
How lasting were the Empire’s democratic benefits?
Often short-lived compared to other empires
Why is WM no longer a coherent democratic “family”?
Former colonies have evolved in diverse directions, making WM too broad and inconsistent
