Understand Politics

by Peter Joyce

  However, the introduction of poll tax was surrounded with controversy. It was an extremely difficult and expensive tax to collect, and its problems were compounded by a campaign seeking to encourage people not to pay. It was argued that the tax was essentially unfair by making all contribute regardless of their means. Eventually, the government was forced to back down. Poll tax was abandoned and replaced by the council tax as local government’s independent source of finance. This was essentially a tax on property, the level of which was determined by the value of property (which was viewed as suggestive of the financial means of its occupants). In 1990, a uniform business rate was introduced to govern the financial contribution made by business concerns towards the costs of local authorities in which they are situated.

  Conservative reforms to local government finance served to enhance the power of central government over the level of local spending and also established central government as the main contributor towards it.

  VALUE FOR MONEY

  The concept of market forces was introduced into the operations of local government in order to make local government provide enhanced value for money. A large number of services were transferred from direct local government control and made subject to competitive tendering. Legislation which included the 1980 Local Government, Planning and Land Act and the 1988 and 1990 Local Government Acts has moved local government in the direction of an enabling authority rather than one which directly provides services.

  The implication that people may be attracted to move to the most efficient and cost-effective local authorities has been enhanced by the Audit Commission’s publication of local authority performance indicators, commencing in 1995. Conservative governments also sought to involve the private sector in projects which included the rejuvenation of declining urban areas. Although this sometimes involved local government working in partnership with financial and business interests, this approach has, on occasions, resulted in the establishment of bodies such as urban development corporations and task forces that have bypassed local government.

  The 1997 Labour government abandoned compulsory competitive tendering in favour of what is termed ‘best value’, which modified the Conservative emphasis on value for money. Best value sought to promote economy and efficiency in service provision by requiring service providers to demonstrate through a process of independent audit that they were providing best value. However, this approach went beyond the measurement of quantifiable data by suggesting that the cheapest service provider was not always the best choice.

  THE MANAGEMENT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT

  The 2000 Local Government Act introduced a number of reforms that were designed to modernize the operations of local government in England and Wales. This measure enabled local residents (through the mechanism of a referendum) to decide whether they wanted a directly elected mayor and also introduced changes to the composition of the executive arm of local government which could be based upon a directly elected mayor and a cabinet, a cabinet headed by the leader of the council or a directly elected mayor and a council manager. Additionally, a directly elected mayor for London (in addition to a directly elected assembly) was provided for in the 1999 London Government Act.

  THE EMPOWERMENT AGENDA

  The desire to secure the empowerment of communities has received considerable attention in the early years of the twenty-first century. The aim of this approach is to give communities more power over local concerns and to ensure that agencies delivering services to localities are aware of and able to act upon local priorities. Empowerment requires effective mechanisms of communication to be established to provide citizens with the ability to raise their concerns and to see what action results from their interventions.

  This principle was promoted in the 2000 Local Government Act which – as amended by the 2007 Sustainable Communities Act – extended the role of local authorities to promote or improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of their area through the mechanisms of a sustainable community strategy, and by the 2007 Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act which established a ‘duty to involve’ local people in key decisions. This latter role was extended by the 2009 Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act.

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  THINGS TO REMEMBER

  Sub-national government refers to the administration of public services by bodies whose activities are confined to one specific geographic area within a state.

  States may have unitary political structures (in which power is concentrated in the hands of central government) or federal political structures (in which power is shared between central and sub-national units of government): the UK has a unitary political structure and America a federal one.

  The division of power in a federal political structure is usually formalized in a codified constitution.

  A key virtue of federalism is that it prevents the concentration of power in the hands of central government.

  Problems are also associated with federalism, including the determination as to which tier of government should exercise responsibility for specific functions.

  Confederal political structures facilitate co-operation between independent states which do not cede any significant degree of their power to a central authority.

  Countries that possess unitary political structures may utilize regional machinery of government to secure a localized form of service delivery.

  A wide range of functions is performed by local government, which is able to tailor the delivery of public services according to local needs.

  There are a number of problems affecting local government, including the level of interest displayed by local people in its affairs and the extent to which financial resources at its disposal enable it to solve contemporary problems with which it is faced.

  Local government lacks autonomy and is subject to a number of controls exerted over its operations by central government.

  The period since 1979 has witnessed a considerable number of reforms to the structure and activities performed by local government in England and Wales.

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  14

  The nation state in the modern world

  In this chapter you will learn:

  how national sovereignty has been eroded by globalization

  the key factors affecting the development of the European Union

  the ‘special relationship’ between the UK and USA.

  Definition

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  Insight

  The study of politics extends beyond an examination of individual nation states and embraces international relations, which focuses on the inter-relationships between them.

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  In the previous chapters we have considered the political arrangements that exist within individual states. In this chapter we turn our attention to the relationships that exist between nation states. This aspect of the study of politics is referred to as international relations.

  Traditionally, the study of the relationship between states involved the study of foreign policy. This entailed examining areas of activity that included the formation of alliances between nations, diplomacy and the principles that a state wished to advance through its foreign relations. This approach was also based upon the belief that nation states exercised sovereignty in the conduct of their internal and external activities.

  SOVEREIGNTY

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  Insight

  The term ‘sovereignty’ implies a nation possesses the power to control its own domestic affairs and external relationships and is not subservient to external forms in these areas of activity.

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  Sovereignty entails a body possessing unrestricted power. The concept of sovereignty developed from the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. This was the name given to a collection of treaties that ended a series of wars in Europe between 1618 and 1648 (an event referred to as the ‘Thirty Years’ War’). Sovereignty denoted that rulers of states possess control over
their country’s internal and external affairs. The concept of the nation state developed from this period. In contemporary politics sovereignty has two dimensions. These are internal and external sovereignty.

  Internal sovereignty refers to the existence of a supreme legal or political authority within a state which has the power to make decisions that are binding on all of its citizens.

  Internal sovereignty is divided within federal states. In countries which include America, Australia, Canada and Germany, the national government may enact legislation in certain areas of activity while other matters are regulated by the states or provinces into which these countries are divided. In unitary countries such as the UK and France, sovereignty is not divided but resides in the institutions of national government that have the sole right to regulate these nations’ affairs.

  External sovereignty refers to a nation’s self-determination and suggests that a state has the ability to control its own affairs without interference from outside bodies and countries. External sovereignty has been eroded by the increasing interdependence of nations, which has arisen as the result of a number of factors that we will discuss in more detail in the following sections.

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  Realism in international relations

  The view that sovereign states were the key actors in the international system was associated with realist theories of international relations. These saw states being motivated by the rational concern of advancing the national interest. Realism argued that the main purpose of international organizations was to serve state interests and that these had no autonomy. Critics of these theories assert that organizations such as the EU do possess autonomy and have the ability to make member states conform to EU policy whether it is in their interests to do so or not.

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  NATIONALISM

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  Insight

  The desire of a nation (or an area within an existing nation state) to obtain sovereignty is often fuelled by nationalist sentiments based upon factors that include a separate language or distinct cultural identity.

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  Nationalism is a sentiment underpinning a people’s desire to exercise control over their own political affairs. Those who live in a particular locality are united by a desire to be independent of other nations and live under a political system which they control. This unity may be based on a common ethnic identity or cultural heritage (including language and literature) or be grounded upon a sense of shared citizenship which may transcend ethnic or cultural differences. ‘Nation state’ is the term used to describe the political community that arises when the boundaries of nation and state are the same.

  Nationalism may justify attempts by conquered or colonized countries, or those dominated either economically or politically by another country, to shake off the burden of foreign domination and attain self-government. Post-war history contains numerous examples of national identity being the motivating force for movements seeking the establishment of self-governing states. It inspired independence movements in African countries directed against European colonial powers. In Latin America, it was the main force behind anti-American movements in many countries, including Cuba and Nicaragua. The desire to establish a self-governing state has considerable influence on the contemporary politics of Canada and Spain, where national minorities (the Quebeckers, Catalans and Basques) desire self-government. In the UK, the demand for Scottish and Welsh home rule resulted in devolution legislation being enacted in 1998.

  Nationalism may be a progressive force when it seeks the liberation of subjugated peoples from oppressive, foreign rule. However, it may also be a reactionary movement. The love of one’s country (or patriotism) may lead to the hatred of other foreign peoples or races, which is termed ‘xenophobia’. For example, nationalism was the justification for ‘ethnic cleansing’ (or genocide) carried out in Bosnia-Hercegovina by the Bosnian Serbs against the Bosnian Muslims in 1992 and subsequently by the Serbs against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo in 1999.

  Questions

  Define the terms ‘sovereignty’ and ‘nationalism’.

  Why is sovereignty an important political concept?

  THE UK CONCEPT OF THE SOVEREIGNTY OF PARLIAMENT

  The term ‘sovereignty of parliament’ implies that parliament may pass any legislation it wishes whose implementation cannot then be challenged by any other body within the state (such as a court or a local authority). This concept is at the heart of the UK’s system of government. Initially, this doctrine was designed to provide for the pre-eminence of parliament over the monarchy.

  A further aspect of the sovereignty of parliament is that one parliament cannot bind a successor to a course of action. Any law passed by one parliament can be subsequently amended or repealed by a successor. Thus, while the UK’s membership of the European Union asserts that European law has precedence over that enacted by the UK parliament, this apparent undermining of the sovereignty of parliament is addressed by the theoretical ability of a future parliament to withdraw the UK from this supranational arrangement.

  Threats to external sovereignty

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  Insight

  A nation’s ability to control its own affairs was eroded by developments that took place in the twentieth century, which included the rise of supranational governmental institutions such as the European Union (EU) and the emergence of a global economy.

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  It is doubtful whether any state has ever enjoyed total control over the conduct of its affairs. The nineteenth-century nation state perhaps went some way to approximating this ideal, but such countries were often required to pay regard to outside factors when administering their internal or external activities. In the twentieth century, sovereignty is even less of a reality: the ability of any state to function autonomously has been jeopardized by a wide range of factors. The term ‘globalization’ is used to refer to the increased interconnectedness of nation states in political, economic or cultural affairs, which has broadened the study of international relations beyond the affairs of the nation state to embrace the mechanisms and institutions through which the interdependence between nations is fashioned and implemented.

  Accordingly, issues that include the operations of multinational companies, the workings of supranational governmental institutions, security policy issues (to respond to developments such as terrorism that extend beyond national state boundaries) and attempts by non-governmental organizations to seek solutions to worldwide social, economic and political problems are now embraced within the study of international relations.

  SUPRANATIONAL GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS

  Many countries affiliate to governmental organizations that operate across national boundaries. The European Union (which we consider later in this chapter) is an example of such a body. Membership of supranational institutions places limitations on the activities of the member countries, whose sovereignty is thus restricted by the expectation that they will adhere to the policies determined by the central decision-making machinery of the organization. The refusal of any member country to do so may result in the deployment of sanctions against it.

  ORGANIZATIONS TO SECURE INTERGOVERNMENTAL CO-OPERATION

  In addition to supranational organizations which exercise governmental powers across national boundaries, other international bodies primarily serve as forums for co-operation, often in limited areas of state activity. These bodies may operate on a worldwide basis (such as the United Nations or the Commonwealth) or be confined to countries in specific regions of the world (such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization). These organizations may seek to influence the direction of member (and sometimes non-member) countries through the application of moral pressure, sanctions or force.

  Trade embargoes are a potent sanction which international bodies may use to force a government to change the direction of its politics. They may also utilize military intervention to accomplish their aims. The use of grounds troops in Bosnia under t
he auspices of NATO in 1995 sought to ensure the successful implementation of the peace agreement following its endorsement by the presidents of Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia.

  THE UNITED NATIONS (UN)

  The United Nations was formally established in 1945 by the leading nations that emerged victorious from the Second World War. Their main motivation was to prevent future wars by promoting the ideal of collective security. The UN is a global association of governments ‘facilitating co-operation in international law, international security, economic development and social equity’. In 2006 it consisted of 192 member states.

  The key governing bodies of the UN include the UN General Assembly (the equivalent of the UN parliament), the UN Security Council, and the International Court of Justice. The organization is headed by the UN Secretary-General, who is the chief administrator of the UN Secretariat. Its budget is derived from assessed and voluntary contributions of the member states. The Security Council is charged with maintaining world peace and security. It consists of 15 members (five of which – the USA, UK, France, the Russian Federation and China – are permanent members with a veto power over Security Council decisions). It has the ability to ask member states to provide armed forces or other forms of assistance to secure peace and security.