InfoTrac Reader Great Britain Great Britain is perhaps the most commonly studied country in comparative politics courses because of its role in developing democracy and the modern state system. That said, few people think of it as one of the world’s great powers; its political and economic standing declined for most of the twentieth century, a period in which Britain lost almost all of its colonies and become no more economically influential than Italy. British politics is unusually exciting and divisive in the middle of the first decade of the twenty-first century. Three issues, in particular, roil the political waters. First is Britain’s controversial decision to support the United States and send thousands of troops to overthrow the Baath regime in Iraq. As casualties mount and resistance it coalition forces continue, there is now talk that he may not be able to survive allegations that he and his colleagues took liberties with the truth in justifying coalition activities and have acted to suppress damaging information. Second, the country and the Labour Party are still divided over whether or not Britain should adopt the euro. It is currently one of three EU countries that kept its own currency. Although the Conservatives and much of public opinion remain opposed, most Labour Party politicians acknowledge that Britain will have to join. They have not figured out how and when to do so, especially determining what it would take to win over public opinion, since the government has promised to submit any decision to adopt to euro to a referendum. Third is Blair himself. His stance on Iraq has seriously eroded his standing with the British public and with many fellow Labour politicians to the extent that some observers think he will not be able to survive in office much longer. He almost certainly scuttled any chance that he would become the first President of Europe, a position which is likely to be created soon. He has already served longer than any other Labour Prime Minister, and pressures are mounting on him to consider leaving so that whoever succeeds him will be ready to fight the next election (which must be held by 2006). Blair outgunned. (In Fact ...)(Brief Article) The Nation March 15, 2004 v278 i10 p7 (175 words) Britain: The Blair Problem; He weathered a rough week. But talk has turned to who will replace him. (Cover Story) Stryker McGuire, William Underhill, Gary Meenaghan. Newsweek International Feb 9, 2004 p16 (917 words) Did Blair Get Off Too Lightly? (World/Britain's WMD inquiry)(Tony Blair; weapons of mass destruction) J.F.O. Mcallister. Time Feb 9, 2004 v163 i6 p46 (548 words) ANALYSIS: TRUST IN GOVERNMENT - Blair must own up to his mistakes. PR Week (UK) Jan 30, 2004 p16 (1944 words) Blair survives an ordeal. (Tony Blair is cleared by a judicial inquiry) Global Agenda Jan 28, 2004 pNA (1250 words) Howard's burden; Bagehot. (Michael Howard still has a mountain to climb)(United Kingdom Conservative Party leader) The Economist (US) Jan 10, 2004 v370 i8357 p50US (1014 words) Lords behaving badly; Constitutional reform. House of Lords reform The Economist (US) Nov 29, 2003 v369 i8352 p36UK (478 words) George's big adventure; The left. The anti-war movement tries its hand at politics The Economist (US) Nov 29, 2003 v369 i8352 p55US (508 words) Doomed from the start: unlike Labour, the Tories democratised their party before they modernised it. So MPs were saddled with a leader they never wanted. Tory leadership special, Iain Duncan Smith John Kampfner. New Statesman (1996) Nov 3, 2003 v132 i4662 p8(2) (1488 words) Now for the hard part - Now for the hard part; The Tory leadership. (The Tories sack their leader) The Economist (US) Nov 1, 2003 v369 i8348 p17US (1077 words) The battle for childhood: we all love children; even politicians do. Yet we are in danger of taking from them everything that is most precious: freedom, health and happiness. Richard Reeves. New Statesman (1996) Oct 20, 2003 v132 i4660 p18(3) (2761 words) Browned off with Blair? (analysis of the United Kingdom's Labour Party politics) Global Agenda Oct 2, 2003 pNA (1154 words) The Final Chapter. (Tony Blair) Stryker McGuire, Liat Radcliffe. Newsweek International Sept 29, 2003 p24 (1896 words) Examining the success of the British National Party, 1999-2003. David Renton. Race and Class Oct-Dec 2003 v45 i2 p75(11) (4548 words) Is Britain still in decline? (includes review of Law and Opinion in Twentieth-Century Britain and Ireland) Paul Brothwood. Contemporary Review Sept 2003 v283 i1652 p156(5) (2370 words) Forging a peaceable kingdom: war, violence, and fear of brutalization in post-First World War Britain *. Jon Lawrence. The Journal of Modern History Sept 2003 v75 i3 p557(33) (16075 words) So were the Tories right after all? (Feaures). (British Prime Minister Tony Blair provides fodder for psychologists) Peter Dunn. New Statesman (1996) July 21, 2003 v132 i4647 p24(2) (1557 words) Blair's Britain After Iraq. (Tony Blair) Steven Philip Kramer. Foreign Affairs, July-August 2003 v82 i4 p90 How the Prime Minister deceived us: Clare Short, for the first time, gives a full account of the events that led to her concerns over war in Iraq, her initial decision to stay in office and ultimately her resignation. (Features). Clare Short. New Statesman (1996) June 9, 2003 v132 i4641 p19(3) (2703 words) A plague on all your houses; Local elections. (Local election results) The Economist (US) May 10, 2003 v367 i8323 pNA (463 words) A ballot box in your front room: politicians and figures from the iTV sector discuss the impact of iTV voting trials on last week's local elections. (NMA iTV). New Media Age May 8, 2003 p23(1) (960 words) Don't miss the vote: in an effort to counter apathy and the inconvenience of polling stations, the Government is widening the trials of electronic voting for today's local elections. (Insight). Dominic Dudley. New Media Age May 1, 2003 p22(1) (1215 words) Making the choice explaining how people vote: how can people's choice of party be explained? David Denver examines three approaches and finds that the evidence from the 2001 general election suggests that the social determinist and party identification models are now less valuable than `judgmental' explanations, which focus on the importance of people's attitudes and opinions in determining which party they support. (Cover Story). David Denver. Politics Review Sept 2002 v12 i1 p2(4) (2427 words) Tears, tantrums, and bared teeth: the emotional economy of three conservative prime ministers, 1951-1963. Martin Francis. Journal of British Studies July 2002 v41 i3 p354(34) (14509 words) Allmendinger, Philip and Mark Tewdwr-Jones, "New Labour, New Planning." Urban Studies. 37 (2000). An overview of the Blair government’s initial efforts in one policy arena. The authors conclude that the Labour government did little to change past policies in planning, something other commentators have found in other policy areas. Advanced. Berrington, Hugh. "Election Report: After the Ball Was Over." West European Politics. 24(2001). One of the most accessible early articles on the 2001 Parliamentary election in which Labour won its second consecutive landslide victory. Intermediate. Curtis, Mark. "The Ambiguities of Power: British Foreign Policy Since 1945." The Ecologist. 26(1996). Curtis provides an excellent and brief overview of British foreign policy, focusing in particular on how its relations with the third world have served western interests more than those of the world’s poorest countries. Basic. Johnson, Nevil, "The Judicial Dimension in British Politics." West European Politics. 21(1998). Even though there have been no provisions for judicial review and other politically important roles of the courts in the United Kingdom, over the last few decades, judges have gradually asserted some of the powers that are common in most other democracies. Much has also changed since this article was written. Advanced. Kramer, Stephen Philip. "Blair’s Britain After Iraq." Foreign Affairs. 82 (July-August 2003). One of the best and most straight-forward accounts of British foreign policy toward Iraq and in more general terms. Intermediate Marr, Andrew, "Now for a Really Conservative Country." New Statesman. 20 December 1999. One of Britain’s best (and definitely the funniest) political journalists sums of the twentieth century in a few short pages. Basic. Miller, John. "Breaking Up Britain: A Kingdom No Longer United." World Policy Journal. 16 (1999). One of the few articles that assess all the many centrifugal forces buffeting the United Kingdom. This includes not only the rise of "nationalist" movements outside of England but the growing impact on the European Union on the British constitution and daily political life. Intermediate. Eric Shaw, "New Labour in Britain: New Democratic Centralism?" West European Politics. 25(2002). This article focused on the internal workings of the Labour Party under Tony Blair’s leadership. It concludes that despite Blair’s rhetoric about democracy, the party’s own decision making system has become decidedly more centralized and borders on being dictatorial. Advanced.