The United Kingdom

Outline

1) The Blair Revolution: Apathy and Insoluble Problems?

2) Thinking about Britain:

a) Key questions

i) Gradualism

ii) Relative economic decline and its political implications

iii) The Thatcher revolution

iv) The victory of New Labour

b) The basics

i) A variety of names

ii) The peoples of the U.K.

c) Signs of decline

3) The Evolution of the British State

a) Sequential, not simultaneous crises

b) The broad sweep of British history

i) more and more democracy

ii) persistence of class divisions

c) The collectivist consensus

4) British Political Culture

a) The civic culture and the collectivist years

i) Widespread sense of legitimacy

ii) Tolerance of diversity

iii) Nationalism

b) The politics of protest: toward an uncivic culture?

c) The civic culture holds

d) Will there always be a Britain?

i) polarization and catch-all parties

ii) devolution

iii) cultural and racial diversity (food and television)

iv) European Union

5) Political Participation

a) The Conservatives

i) pragmatic

ii) noblesse oblige

iii) organization

iv) Thatcherism and after

b) Labour

i) pragmatism

ii) crisis-motivated radicalization

iii) defeat-motivated moderation

c) The Liberal Democrats

d) Minor parties

e) The British electorate

f) Interest groups

6) The British State: Enduring Myths and Changing Realities

a) Bagehot’s dignified and real parts of the British system

b) The Monarchy and the Lords: still dignified

c) Parliamentary sovereignty, sort of

i) Parliamentary parties

ii) collective responsibility

iii) party discipline

d) Cabinet government?

e) The rest of the state

f) Labour and constitutional reform

7) Public Policy: The Thatcher and Blair Revolutions

a) The retreat from the commanding heights: nationalizing and privatizing

b) Blair and the third way

c) Foreign policy: The U.S.A., Europe, and Ireland

8) Feedback

Commentary

One of the key concepts to attend to while considering Britain has to be “gradualism.” Compared with most other states, the time span over which the British system has evolved (minimizing the exceptional periods of violent upheaval) is immense. In 1976, as people in the U.S. marked the bicentennial of our independence, a British colleague of mine wore a t-shirt proclaiming the “Bi-millenial” celebration in England. Pushing the origins of British political history back to the Roman conquest may be a bit of a stretch, but it is nearly 800 years since the signing of the Magna Carta. The major break with the evolutionary tradition, the Protestant Revolution led by Cromwell, was followed by the Restoration.

A newer form of gradualism is illustrated by the struggles the U.K. has had in formulating and implementing public policy in the last 50 years. From the collectivist consensus to the Thatcher and Blair “revolutions,” governments in Britain have tried to find appropriate responses to loss of empire and relative economic decline. The Thatcher years appear to have been a watershed from which flows the New Labour of Tony Blair.

Examining in detail the policy results of the old collectivist consensus will reemphasize for American students the concepts of interventionist government, social welfare programs, and a strong state. A natural follow-up to that examination is a look at the policy elements of Thatcher’s first two governments. It’s then worth while to take a look at which elements of the Thatcher “revolution” Blair co-opted and which he rejected in order to remake Labour.

Ongoing issues will be valuable teaching tools. If students stay abreast of the actions and reactions of the country, the government, the people, and politics, they ought to improve their understandings of how the British system works. At the beginning of 2002, the issues to watch seem to be Northern Ireland, the Euro, the war on terrorism, the effects of globalization, Blair's successes and failures, and economic slowdown.

	Unit Outline Great Britain

	Outline 1) The Blair Revolution: Apathy and Insoluble Problems? 2) Thinking about Britain: a) Key questions i) Gradualism ii) Relative economic decline and its political implications iii) The Thatcher revolution iv) The victory of New Labour b) The basics i) A variety of names ii) The peoples of the U.K. c) Signs of decline 3) The Evolution of the British State a) Sequential, not simultaneous crises b) The broad sweep of British history i) more and more democracy ii) persistence of class divisions c) The collectivist consensus 4) British Political Culture a) The civic culture and the collectivist years i) Widespread sense of legitimacy ii) Tolerance of diversity iii) Nationalism b) The politics of protest: toward an uncivic culture? c) The civic culture holds d) Will there always be a Britain? i) polarization and catch-all parties ii) devolution iii) cultural and racial diversity (food and television) iv) European Union 5) Political Participation a) The Conservatives i) pragmatic ii) noblesse oblige iii) organization iv) Thatcherism and after b) Labour i) pragmatism ii) crisis-motivated radicalization iii) defeat-motivated moderation c) The Liberal Democrats d) Minor parties e) The British electorate f) Interest groups 6) The British State: Enduring Myths and Changing Realities a) Bagehot’s dignified and real parts of the British system b) The Monarchy and the Lords: still dignified c) Parliamentary sovereignty, sort of i) Parliamentary parties ii) collective responsibility iii) party discipline d) Cabinet government? e) The rest of the state f) Labour and constitutional reform 7) Public Policy: The Thatcher and Blair Revolutions a) The retreat from the commanding heights: nationalizing and privatizing b) Blair and the third way c) Foreign policy: The U.S.A., Europe, and Ireland 8) Feedback Commentary One of the key concepts to attend to while considering Britain has to be “gradualism.” Compared with most other states, the time span over which the British system has evolved (minimizing the exceptional periods of violent upheaval) is immense. In 1976, as people in the U.S. marked the bicentennial of our independence, a British colleague of mine wore a t-shirt proclaiming the “Bi-millenial” celebration in England. Pushing the origins of British political history back to the Roman conquest may be a bit of a stretch, but it is nearly 800 years since the signing of the Magna Carta. The major break with the evolutionary tradition, the Protestant Revolution led by Cromwell, was followed by the Restoration. A newer form of gradualism is illustrated by the struggles the U.K. has had in formulating and implementing public policy in the last 50 years. From the collectivist consensus to the Thatcher and Blair “revolutions,” governments in Britain have tried to find appropriate responses to loss of empire and relative economic decline. The Thatcher years appear to have been a watershed from which flows the New Labour of Tony Blair. Examining in detail the policy results of the old collectivist consensus will reemphasize for American students the concepts of interventionist government, social welfare programs, and a strong state. A natural follow-up to that examination is a look at the policy elements of Thatcher’s first two governments. It’s then worth while to take a look at which elements of the Thatcher “revolution” Blair co-opted and which he rejected in order to remake Labour. Ongoing issues will be valuable teaching tools. If students stay abreast of the actions and reactions of the country, the government, the people, and politics, they ought to improve their understandings of how the British system works. At the beginning of 2002, the issues to watch seem to be Northern Ireland, the Euro, the war on terrorism, the effects of globalization, Blair's successes and failures, and economic slowdown.