Comparative Political Analysis: UK, US, and Italy, Schemi e mappe concettuali di Inglese

Scarica Comparative Political Analysis: UK, US, and Italy e più Schemi e mappe concettuali in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! THE UK AND US PARTIES UK PARTIES → Labor Party: preferred by minorities and young voters; developed as a socialist party; the party is stronger in big cities situated in Northern England, Wales and Scotland (even though the Nationalists dominate). → Conservative Party: center-right; supported by middle class and business interests, in fact the voters tend to be older or wealthier. Party is stronger in rural areas and affluent suburbs of cities. → Liberal Democrats: center; want to keep UK close to Europe. → UKIP: won the Brexit Referendum. → Green party: environmental issues. → Scotland and Wales have their nationalist parties (Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru). → Northern Ireland: Democratically Unionists support the union with UK and Sinn Fein want the unification with Irish Republic. US PARTIES → Democrats Party: left wing, Liberal. Get support by ethnics minorities (blacks, Latinos…), women, younger people. The party does well in big cities, especially in the North East, MidWest and States along the Pacific coast. → Republican Party (or Grand Old Party): conservative and right wing; voted by white people (Men and older), protestants. Successful in rural and suburban areas especially in the South, the center and the West. CONSERVATIVE (UK) AND REPUBLICANS (US) → Free Market → Favor low taxation → strict control of immigration → against progressive laws → emphasize support to the military support and national defense → emphasise 'law and order' and a strong police force. Conservative party is hostile to EU control from Brussels. Republican party is against the big power located in Washington DC and wants the States to be more independent. LABOURITIES (UK) AND DEMOCRATS (US) → support workers' rights → favor strong public services, financed by taxes especially on the rich → open to immigration and protective of minorities rights → have Liberal attitude to change society and links to the religion → emphasize the issue of climate change Labour Party supports links between EU and UK. Democratic Party supports the center of power in Washington DC. HOW THE UK IS GOVERNED UK is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch. There is no written constitution. Division of Power based on laws and historical traditions. → Monarch: symbol of national unity and head of the state; She appoints the Prime Minister and other members of the Majesty’s Government, but they are chosen by the population. → Parliament: responsible for making laws and approving the decisions of the Government. It is divided into two houses: - The Commons: 650 members elected with the division of the territories in constituencies (there are different political parties in each one) and whoever wins the most votes becomes a member of the Parliament of that constituency. This house discusses the problems of the country, criticise/support actions of the gov. The proposal of a new legislation (bill) must be approved by the majority of the MPs. - The Lords: 750 members, not elected by people. Some of them inherited their titles, but the majority are ‘life peers’, people with experience in government. Their main purpose is to reconsider and improve bills already passed by the Commons. → Prime Minister: head of government, leader of the party with most MPs in the Commons; PM chooses other MPs of his party to become ministers. The most important are the Chancellor of Exchequer (financial matters), the Home secretary (immigration, prisons…) and Foreign secretary (foreign policy). The opposition is formed by the party with 2nd largest MPs. If no single party has a majority, a coalition of parties may form the government. → Government: remains in power for 5 years or as long as it has the support of a majority of MPs. If gov loses ‘a vote of confidence’ in the Commons, it falls and there are new elections. → Supreme Court: highest court in English legal system; 12 senior judges meeting at Middlesex Hall to make the final decisions on controversial cases/appeals. HOW THE USA IS GOVERNED The US is a federal republic of 50 states. The system of government is based on the 1787 constitution and is divided into three branches perfectly balanced: → The executive (President): head of the state, represents the country abroad, responsible for foreign relations; head of the federal government, responsible for running the country and appointing government officials including cabinet members (Secretary of State, of the Treasury, of Defense, Education… → Must be approved by the Senate); head of the armed forces, they send the military on missions abroad (only congress can declare war). Elected by US population every four year (they have 2 terms); The contenders contest each state separately. Each State has a number of votes in proportion to the population and each one of them they obtain, they also gain all the electoral college in the State. The only way to remove a president is by impeachment. → The legislative (Congress): consists of 2 houses, the Senate (100 members that serve 6 years term and are two for each state) and the House of Representatives (435 members and the number for each state is proportional to the population, re-elected every 2 years). Every new law must be approved by the Congress and the President, who can veto a new law, but the veto can be overturned by ⅔ majority in congress. The Senate is more important than the House; its approval is required for international treaties. → The judicial (Supreme Court): interprets and defends the US constitution and makes final decisions in legal cases. It decides if actions made by the President and Congress are constitutional. It consists of 9 judges appointed by the president (with senate approval). Their decisions are crucial: in the 2000 presidential election the Supreme Court decided the victory of George Bush (in pratica hanno dovuto ricontare tutti i voti della florida).