United Kingdom

By: Click to edit Patrick Cole Master subtitle Austen Blass style Einar Veizaga Blake DeFries

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Location in the World

The United Kingdom is an island/archipelago just north of the European mainland. 4/17/12

Historical Background

In 1707 United Kingdom of Great Britain was created by the political union of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland. In 1800 the Kingdom of Ireland merged with the Kingdom of Great Britain to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. However, Ireland was partitioned in 1922 and only northern Ireland remained part of the UK. UKs emergence as a world power can be traced back to the defeat of France in the Napoleonic Wars (1792-1815) in which the UK emerged as the principal naval and economic of the world.

The UKs time as a world leader was nearing its end due to financial hardships caused by WWI (1914-1918 and compounded by the Great Depression (1929-1932) 4/17/12 afterwards.

Type of Regime

The United Kingdom has a Constitutional Monarchy

A constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a written constitution. It differs from absolute monarchy in that an absolute monarch serves as the sole source of political power in the state and is not legally bound by any constitution.

The UK also employs a parliamentary system. Their regime also includes Proportional Representation

Class of voting system aimed at securing a close match between the percentage of votes that groups of candidates obtain in elections, and the percentage of seats they receive

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Type of regime (cont.)

Graphical illustration of the Parliamentary System employed by the UK 4/17/12

Economic system/Role in Global Economy

The UK was the first nation to industrialize in the 18th and 19th centuries. However by the late 19th century, the US and Germany began to challenge the UK as having the predominant role in the global economy. The current economic system in the UK is a mix of capitalism and a free market economy.

Despite its small land

size, the UK is the second largest financial economy in the world second to the US. 4/17/12
Map of UK export of goods (2005).

Political Leaders, Parties, and Electoral System

There are three Major Parties in the UK

Conservative Party center-right philosophy; currently hold 307 seats in the House of Commons Labor Party center-left philosophy; currently hold 258 seats in the House of Commons Liberal Democrats - center to center-left social liberal philosophy; currently hold 57 seats in the House of Commons

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David Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the UK.

Political Leaders, Parties, and Electoral System (Cont.)

The UK utilizes the First-Past-the-Post electoral system. The citizens vote for a party, not a specific person, to run for Prime Minister, although the party lets the public know which person they would designate as Prime Minister. The Prime Minister has the confidence that s/he can get legislation passed. However the Prime Minister may also be more easily removed by the legislature through a vote of no confidence.

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Ethnic Groups/Cultural/ National Identity

There is relatively low diversity in terms of race in the UK. 92.1% are white 2% are African/Caribbean (Compared to 12.9% in the US) 0.8% are Asian 3.6% are Indian

In spite of this, the national identity is still moderately heterogeneous in terms of cuisine, culture and language.

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Language(s) / Religion

The languages spoken in the UK range from common languages such as English and Welsh to more uncommon languages such as Jrriais or Guernsiais (both variations of French). The variety of religion is just as diverse. From Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism to Neopaganism and Jainism although they take up a small percentage of the population.

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Natural Resources

Coal Petroleum Natural gas Iron ore Lead Zinc Gold Tin Limestone Salt Clay

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Relationship with the US/EU

The relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom is unparalleled among the major powers in the world. So much so that this relationship between the US and the UK has been termed the Special Relationship following a 1946 speech by Winston Churchill. The relationship encompasses military, diplomatic, political, economic as well as cultural relations.

The UK and US share and cooperate in maintaining/producing military bases.

The UK and the US (as well as Australia, Canada and New Zealand) are part of the United Kingdom United States of America (UKUSA) Community, meaning they cooperate in intelligence gathering and do not spy on each other. 4/17/12 The US and the UK are each others largest source of foreign direct

Relationship with the US/EU (cont.)

The UK is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, the European Union and the United Nations.

Thus the UK has many channels through which it can implement policies.

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Classification/ Data Analysis indexes

Freedom House Score PR- 1; CL- 1 GDP Per Capita: $34,800 Life Expectancy: 79.01 Years Death Rate: 10.65/1000 Infant Mortality Rate: 10.56/1000 Literacy: 99% (Male and Female) Education Index: .957 HDI Index: .947 Corruption Index: 7.7 Gini: 34

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Recent Conflicts

War on Terrorism

The United States war on terrorism would undoubtedly involve the UK in the conflict as well. Since the beginning of UK intervention in Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003) approximately 518 soldiers have died. Terrorist groups target the UK as well as the US in their terrorist acts.

Since the start of the war, a plethora of car bombs and letter bombs among others have targeted airports, bridges, post offices, buildings, etc. have plagued the nation.

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