What are the principal models or theories of the British political system? Identify how, according to these models, political institutions in Britain provide for accountability and representation

Résumé du document

The British political system, fully encompassed in the monarchical democracy, offers a unique and original view on domestic politics. The British political system found its roots on strong historical grounds, which may be called the "path dependency" model. Nevertheless, it has also evolved through time, in response to new claims from politicians or citizens, and to emerging approaches of how the public body should be managed today. Throughout the development of the European Union, the system has to constantly adapt to these changes. In this context, the conceptualization of the British political system provides different models and theories. The Westminster model represents the core elements of the British Constitution and remains the cornerstone from which other models and theories emerged. From then on, the notions of accountability and representation are central in the discussion, as they embody the core executive's ability to address the citizens' concerns. Their evolution has gone along the reforms in the political system. In this document, we see the ways and means by which the principles of accountability and representation provided through the constant development of the political institutions in Britain.

Extraits

[...] Parry, eds, Fundamentals in British Politics, MacMillan Press p 109 D. Kavanagh, D. Richards, M. Smith, A. Geddes, British Politics, 5th Ed., Oxford University Press pp. 22-23 C. Scott, ‘Accountability in the Regulatory State', Journal of Law and Society, Vol March 2000, p 39 M. Flinders, The Politics of Accountability in the Modern State, Ashgate Publishing p 60 Ibid D. Oliver, D. Drewry, Public Service Reforms: Issues of Accountability and Public Law, London: Pinter p3 M. [...]

[...] What are the principal models or theories of the British political system? Identify how, according to these models, political institutions in Britain provide for accountability and representation The British political system, fully encompassed in the monarchical democracy, offers a unique and original view on domestic politics. The British political system founds its roots on strong historical grounds, which may be called the “path dependency”[1]. Nevertheless, it has also evolved through time, in response to new claims from politicians or citizens, and to emerging approaches of how the public body should be managed today. [...]

[...] Blondel, Beverly Hills and London: Sage Publications p 190 I. Holliday, A. Gamble, G. Parry, eds, Fundamentals in British Politics, MacMillan Press p 64 P. Dunleavy et al, eds, Developments in British Politics Palgrave p 322 G. Wislon, Westminster Model in Comparative Perspective', in Ian Budge, ed., Developing Democracy: Essays in Honour of J.F.P. Blondel, Beverly Hills and London: Sage Publications p 190 R.A.W. Rhodes, Understanding Governance: Policy networks, Governance, Reflexivity and Accountability, Buckingham, Open University Press p 3 D. Kavanagh, D. [...]

[...] Obviously, their constant evolution had, and still has a strong impact on accountability and representation. First, we should analyse how accountability and representation are defined with regards to the British political system. Accountability and representation are closely linked. On the one hand, “representation is a relation between interests and outcomes.”[20] The government is then representative when it aims at addressing the citizens' concerns and interests. This mechanism holds through elections, since the government tends to adopt policies that are preferred by citizens. [...]

[...] 43-61 L. Hooghe and G. Marks, Multi-Level Governance and European Integration, London: Rowman & Littlefield p 196 M. Flinders, Delegated Governance and the British State, Oxford University Press p 41 A. Przeworski, S.C. Stokes, B. Manin, eds, Democracy, Accountability and Representation, Cambridge University Press p 8 I A. Przeworski, S.C. Stokes, B. Manin, eds, Democracy, Accountability and Representation, Cambridge University Press p 40 C. [...]