COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT

GREAT BRITAIN
DEMOGRAPHY
GEOGRAPHY
Great Britain lies on the European continental
shelf. Situated off the north-west coast
of continental Europe, it is separated from the
mainland by the North Sea and by the English
Channel, which narrows to 34 km (18 nmi;
21 mi) at the Straits of Dover. It stretches over
about ten degrees of latitude on its longer,
north-south axis and occupies an area of
209,331 km
2
(80,823 sq mi), excluding the
smaller surrounding islands.
FLAG OF THE UNITED KINGDOM
Union Jack
ROYAL COAT OF ARMS OF THE
UNITED KINGDOM

ROYAL COAT OF ARMS OF THE UNITED
KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND
NORTHERN IRELAND
ROYAL COAT OF ARMS OF THE UNITED
KINGDOM FOR USE IN SCOTLAND
UNITED KINGDOM
Flag : Union Jack
Capital City : London
National Anthem : God Save the Queen
Currency : Pound Sterling
Official Language : English
Type of Government : Constitutional Monarchy
Prime Minister : David Cameron
Chief of State : Queen Elizabeth II
ENGLAND
National Day : 23
rd
April
Capital City : London
National Anthem : Land of hope and Glory
Patron Saint : St. George
National Animal : Lion
Motto : "God and my right
Population : 53,012,456 ( 2011 census )

SCOTLAND
Population : 5,327,700 (2013 Estimate)
National Day: 30
th
November
Capital City : Edinburgh
National Anthem : Flower of Scotland
Patron Saint : St. Andrews
National Motto : In my defence God me defend
WALES
Population : 3,063,456 ( 2011 Census)
National Day :1
st
March
Capital City : Cardiff
Anthem : Land of Fathers
Official Language : English and Welsh
Patron Saint : St. David
NATIONAL FLAG
ENGLAND SCOTLAND
NATIONAL FLAGS
WALES
NORTHERN IRELAND
EDINBURG CASTLE
Scotland
WALLACE MONUMENT
Commemorates William Wallace, the 13
th
Century Scottish Hero.

Scotland
ROYAL COURT OF JUSTICE
England
STONEHENGE
Wiltshire, England
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF WALES
Aberystwyth, Wales
SNOWDON
The highest mountain in Wales
Gwynedd, Wales
PARLIAMENT BUILDING
Seat of the Assembly
Stormont, Belfast
BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND
C. KEY POLITICAL INSTITUTION
Great Britain
The monarchy is the oldest institution of government. Queen
Elizabeth II is directly descended from King Egbert, who united England under
his rule in 829. The only interruption in the history of the monarchy was the
republic, which lasted from 1649 to 1660.
Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy. The constitution
exists in no one document but is a centuries-old accumulation of statutes,
judicial decisions, usage, and tradition. The hereditary monarch, who must
belong to the Church of England according to the Act of Settlement of 1701, is
almost entirely limited to exercising ceremonial functions as the head of state.
Until 1707, this section deals primarily with English history.
England and Wales were formally united in 1536. In 1707, when Great Britain
was created by the Act of Union between Scotland and England, English
history became part of British history.

FASHODA INCIDENT
was the climax of imperial territorial disputes
between Britain and France in East Africa, occurring in 1898. A French
expedition to Fashoda on the White Nile sought to gain control of
the Upper Nile and thereby exclude Britain from the Sudan, and possibly
force the British out of Egypt as well. The British held firm as Britain and
France were on the verge of war. It ended in a diplomatic victory for the
British. It gave rise to the Fashoda Syndrome' in French foreign policy, or
seeking to assert French influence in areas which might be becoming
susceptible to British influence.
EFFECTS
In March 1899, the French and British agreed that the source of the Nile and the Congo rivers
should mark the frontier between their spheres of influence.

FASHODA
POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS
1. In his classic commentary on the British political system
The English Constitution, published in 1867constitutional
scholar Walter Bagehot described British political institutions
as being either dignified or efficient.

The dignified elementssuch as the House of Lords and the
monarchyare symbolic and decorative and have little real
power
The efficient elementssuch as the House of Commons, the
cabinet, and the office of the PMare the parts w/real
political power and with which Britain works and rules.


POLITICAL THINKERS
Harry Burrows Acton (19081974) was a British academic in the field
of political philosophy, known for books defending the morality
of capitalism, and attacking Marxism-Leninism.



Thomas Hill Green (7 April 1836 15 March 1882) was an English
Philosopher, political radical and temperance reformer, and a member of
the British Idealism movement. He was one of the thinkers behind the
philosophy of social liberalism.


JEREMY BENTHAM
Was a British Philosopher , Jurist and social reformer. He is founded as
the founder of modern Utilitarianism.
JOHN LOCKE
was an English Philosopher and Physician regarded as one of the most
influential of Enlightenment thinkers and known as the Father of
Classical Liberalism.
JOHN STUART MILL
was a British Philosopher, Political economist and Civil servant. He was
influential contributor to Social Theory, Political Theory, Political
Economy. Mills conception of liberty justified the freedom of the
individual in opposition to unlimited state control
HERBERT SPENCER
was an English philosopher, biologist, anthropologist, sociologist and
prominent classical liberal political theorist of the Victorian era.