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1、Unit Eight,British and American Political Systems,英美概况 主编：齐智英,Contents,英美概况 主编：齐智英,Unit Eight,In the capitalist countries, the separation of powers and the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie are symbols of the political systems, but the forms in each of the countries differ. Bills can be proposed from
2、members of the Congress and may be passed in the USA, but in practice “only the members of the stronger party in the House of Commons are real law-makers”. There is no Minister of Justice in the British government and there is no criminal code and no civil code, either. In deciding whether the accus
3、ed is guilty or innocent, there must be the presence of the jury in both the British and American courts.,Unit Eight,8.1 the Political System of the UK The political system in the UK is the constitutional monarchy, while the USAs is the federal system. Although the forms of the systems vary, the ess
4、ence is the same. Both exercise the separation of powers and the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie. In this section, the political systems in the UK and the USA are dealt with in the two parts below 8. 1. 1 The Constitutional Monarchy The British Monarchy1 is hereditary. The King or the Queen is the h
5、ead of state, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the head of the Judicature in the UK. And the temporal head of the Established Church of England. The Monarchy, as we know it today, began to take shape at the end of the 15th century. The constitutional Monarchy started at the end of the 17t
6、h century because Parliament then established its fights, whereby power gradually passed into the hands of ministers and a two-party system was developed. Politics,Unit Eight,was dominated by the Tory (or Conservative) Party and the Whig (or Liberal) Party2 until 1914. Later the new Labor Party took
7、 the place of the Liberal Party. Since the end of the Second World War the Conservative and the Labor parties have been in power by turns. The present sovereign is Queen Elizabeth II, 11th generation of the House of Hanover and the head of state of the country. She married her third cousin Philip, D
8、uke of Edinburgh in 1947 and came to the throne on February 6, 1952. Now they have four children. Prince of Charles, their eldest son, is the heir. According to legislation, the present Queens title is “Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ire
9、land and of Her Other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of Faith”. This long title no longer suggests any substantial power.,Unit Eight,Constitutionally she seems to have great power. Every act of the state is done in her name. Every letter sent out by any government d
10、epartment is posted in an envelope marked “On Her Majestys Service”. All ministers in the government are appointed by her and every public official is her servant. The Queen summons, prologues and dissolves Parliament. In the new session she makes the opening speech and outlines her governments prog
11、ram. She concludes treaties and declares war. She gives her assent to bills before they become law. She confers peerages and other honors. She seems to have unlimited power. But practically everything she does is done on the advice of her ministers, and everything has been decided in advance by Parl
12、iament or the Prime Minister3 together with his cabinet. The Queen does it automatically without any alternative. However, this does not mean that the Monarchy is only a useless relic of a bygone age and a tremendous waste of public money. Most probably its real importance lies in its effect on publ
13、ic attitude, and it is also a constant symbol of the whole nation.,Unit Eight,The vital power lies in the Prime Minister and his Cabinet. They make the real decisions, lead the departments of the government and manage the affairs at home and abroad. They directly control the armed forces, the police
14、 and the prisons. They make and carry out all the important decisions. The activities of the Cabinet4 are top secret. The Crowns5 is used as symbol and is described as the representative of the people. Although the Crowns main function is limited to the mechanical signing of official documents, it h
15、as a definite role in the UK. The Crown is the only legal and constitutional link binding the members of the Commonwealth of Nations to the home country and to one another. In this way it is easier to make her former colonies believe that they are not in any way bound to the English government or it
16、s politicians. However, the Queen now has various constitutional Crown.,Unit Eight,8. 1.2 The Federal System of the USA The political system of the United States is established on the basis of three main principles: federalism, the separation of powers and respect for the constitution and the rule of law. The United States of America is a federal union of 50 states. The center of the national government is the District of Columbia. Each state inside itself has counties, cities, towns
