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Part 3: Citizens, Society & the State

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Social Cleavages

For much of British history based on:
Multi-National Identities

English (77%)
Welsh (4.5%)
Scottish (7.9%)
Northern Irish (2.7%)

Religion

Catholics (mostly Irish) vs. Protestants (mostly Scottish & English) – primarily before 1998

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Social Cleavages

Discussion Question: How has devolution impacted social cleavages: Weakened or strengthened them? How?
UK devolution created:

national Parliament in Scotland (national flag, currency, referendum!)
national Assembly in Wales (Welsh language, flag)
national Assembly in Northern Ireland (Good Friday Agreement in 1998)
Have much more control over regional issues; less likely to separate?

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Social Cleavages

More Recently Ethnic Minorities
Only about 7.1% of British pop is of non-European origins:

23% Indian (1.8% of total population)
16% Pakistani (1.3% of total population)
12.2% Afro-Caribbean
10.5% Black

BUT minority ethnic population grew by 53% between 1991 – 2001
Also, immigrants from Eastern European countries (EU) has increased

2^nd most spoken language in UK – Polish!

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Social Cleavages – Treatment of Minorities

Minorities have experienced some discrimination:

Ethnic minorities disproportionately suffer diminished opportunities
Unequal treatment by police (esp young men)
Physical harassment by citizens
Marginalization in education, job training, housing & labor

But some have also been very successful

Among men of African, Asian, Chinese & Indian descent, the proportional representation in managerial/professional ranks is actually higher than that for white men

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Social Cleavages

Discussion Question: Based on what you know so far, why do you think Pakistani Muslims have faced more discrimination than other ethnic minorities?

Attacks on 9/11 & 7/7
Largest group of British Muslims come from Pakistan
Muslims have an identity of being a minority distinct form a well-established majority
Many British Muslims are disaffected and unemployed
Lack of integration into British culture
Cleavage is coinciding! Ethnicity, Religion, Social Class

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Social Cleavages

Social Class Distinctions

Historically - working class vs middle-class
Education (most important portal to elite classes is through Oxford & Cambridge)

Geographic-Economic

South England vs North England, Scotland, and Wales
Wealth and high tech industry centered in South England

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Political Socialization & Participation

Socialization

Family
Schools (civics courses)
Media (BBC)

Participation

Voting – around 70% (down in recent elections)

Voting behavior still tied to social class and region

Social Movements

Not as strong
Centered on issues (Iraq war, environment, etc)

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Linkage Institutions

Political Parties (see student presentations)

Question to consider: To what degree do Political Parties address social cleavages?

Interest Groups

Interest group pluralism

Most influential interest groups are those tied to class and industry
Confederation of British Industry
Trades Union Congress
National Farmers Union
British Medical Association

Neo-corporatism: interest groups (peak associations) take the lead and sometimes dominate the state

Interest Groups:

Trade Unions Congress (TUC), Confederation of Business Industries (GSI)

Neo-corporatism: To be able to establish and maintain a neo-corporatist interest group system, a country has to have peak associations that are able to enforce the agreements between business, labour, and the government. Consequently, in Scandinavia, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, for example, where there are major peak associations that dominate their respective economic sectors, neo-corporatism can best explain major interest group activity.

Neo-corporatist theory also has its critics. Some argue that it is not a distinct interest group system at all but rather just another form of pluralism. This is because it still functions within a pluralist political environment and only major groups are involved in this special relationship with government; all other groups and interests compete in the same way that they would in a pluralist system such as the United States.

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Linkage Institutions

Greatest influence of British interest groups comes through quangos

Quasi-autonomous nongovernmental organizations
Created by Parliament to put govt and private interests together on policymaking board
Recent trend toward eliminating and reforming quangos to save $

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Political Culture/Values

Discussion Question: Given what you know about Britain from your reading (you are reading, right??), research, discussions and notes, create a list of 5 common values in the UK:

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British Values (according to Ken Wedding)

Devotion to justice and fair play
Human and civil rights for all
Acceptance of class distinctions and social mobility
Equal representation
Civilian government
Pragmatism and cooperation
Tolerance
Both community and individual responsibility
Honesty and transparency in govt and business
Acceptance of activist govt

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Political Economy

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Political Economy

Liberal economic model

Postindustrial economy

Economic decline since WWII

Has become closely tied to the rest of Europe

Brexit will complicate this economic interconnection

Neoliberal economic policies

The Third Way

The economy has been declining since World War II. There are several possible reasons for this problem. For one thing, early industrialization means the downside is manifested earlier than in other countries. Moreover, after a while, its empire was a burden financially more than it was a benefit. Finally, many political scientists have argued that the postwar collectivist consensus focused the country on social expenditures while ignoring the need to modernize the economy.

Postindustrial economy: service sector; privatization means a smaller role for the state in economy. The government has sold Rolls Royce, Jaguar, and British Airways, and the welfare state has moved to welfare-to-work programs. Until the 2008 recession, the United Kingdom did better economically than France, Germany, or Japan, yet by 2011 it had a per capita GDP that was lower than the former colonies of Ireland and Australia.

The Euro was introduced in 2002, but the United Kingdom opted out of that currency. Changing to a single currency would have reduced the United Kingdom’s ability to respond to its own challenges, but it would have also allowed it to avoid the stress of exchange-rate fluctuations between the Euro and the pound.

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Foreign Relations and the World: Brexit

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Contemporary Place in World Politics

Has the mentality of both an island and an empire

Identifies more with its previous colonies, especially the United States, than continental Europe

British participation in the Iraq War has recently fueled anti-Americanism, more agreement with European allies on Middle Eastern conflicts

Brexit

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Issues in Modern Britain

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A United Kingdom

United Kingdom comprised of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland

Also contains 15 dependencies
United Kingdom owned 1/4^thof world at zenith

Multi-lingual State

Major languages are Scotish, English, Welsh, Cornish, and Irish

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British Multiculturalism

Britain maintains ties with many of its former colonies and is home to many descendants (and recent immigrants) from former imperial holdings
Make up about 8% of the British population

Indian (23%)
Pakistani (16%)
Afro-Caribbean (13%)
Black African (11%)

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England

Largest region of Great Britain
Makes up 2/3 of the land mass

Contains about 80% of UK’s Population

English have dominated the other nationalities historically, and still hold a disproportionate share of political power

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Scotland

History of resistance to English rule
Strong sense of national identity
Have their own flag
Recently granted their own parliament and regional assembly in 1999
Scottish National Party – political party of the region of Scotland

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Wales

Became subject to the King of England in 16th century
Plaid Cymru – Welch national political party
Strong sense of national pride reflected in their flag and in their own language

Signage in Welsh and English

Granted their own assembly in 1998

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Northern Ireland

Long history of conflict between England and Ireland, particularly over religion
Home rule was granted largely because of

the Irish Republican Army (IRA) which used

guerrilla tactics against British forces to secure independence

Sinn Fein – political party of the IRA
In 1949 the bulk of Ireland officially became independent
Northern Ireland remains under British control
Their continues to be a great deal of conflict

between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland

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Devolution

British government is a unitary system (centralized control)
Starting in the 1970s the Scots and Welsh made an aggressive push for certain political autonomy in their regions
Devolution – the turning over of some political power and autonomy to regional governments
The Labour Party had supported the idea of devolution since the 1970s
Margaret Thatcher’s administration blocked the idea during the period in which they controlled government
Under Tony Blair’s New Labour Party the idea of devolution was revisited
In 1999, referendums in Scotland and Wales successfully passed, and each

established their own regional assemblies: powers of taxation, education, and economic planning

In 1998, the Good Friday Agreement established a parliament for Northern

Ireland as well, but it was shut down by London in 2003 when violence broke out once again in the region of Northern Ireland.

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Education & Political Elite Recruitment

“Public schools” originally were intended to train boys for “public life” in the military, civil service, or politics
Majority of Britain’s political elites go to public boarding schools
Currently only about 65% of British 17-year olds are still in school, the lowest number of any industrialized society
Oxbridge (Oxford-Cambridge) – the most important portal to membership in the elite classes and political recruitment is through these two prestigious universities